Just like years ago in the computer world, there is once again a duel between the classic PC processors and their opponents from the RISC world. The trade magazine ELEKTRONIKPRAXIS published a comprehensive comparison between microprocessors and microcontrollers, which are specifically designed for use in high-performance embedded systems, in its 4/2011 issue.



The comparison includes the Atom processors from Intel, the embedded range from AMD, the Cortex-A8 Core from ARM and the MIPS derivative Loongson 2F from China. Developers in the embedded sector can use the comparison as a decision-making aid to find the right processor and microcontroller for their particular application.



In the mobile segment with its notebooks, PDAs, smartphones and tablet PCs, as well as in industrial embedded applications with high performance requirements, the boundaries are becoming increasingly blurred: still a PC or already an embedded system or system with specialized functions? This convergence can also be seen in the processor and controller market, because in this performance class the well-known processors from the Pentium performance class meet the equally well-known high-end microcontrollers in the embedded world.



The author Dr. Christian Siemers, Professor at the Institute of Computer Science at Clausthal University of Technology, focuses on the respective requirements of different applications within the comparison. It turns out that only a few properties dominate the choice of hardware: "Our electronic systems still consist of software and hardware, and we map the functionality to both components. It is therefore important to be able to assess and select hardware based on just a few properties, and this is by no means just performance. Because missing parts are only compensated for with difficulty in software," comments Siemers.



You will find the complete evaluation from February 23, 2011 in issue 4 of ELEKTRONIKPRAXIS and online at www.elektronikpraxis.de. The issue is also available as an interactive rich media ePaper in the online archive: www.elektronikpraxis.de/epaper



*Embedded systems are computer systems that are embedded in a surrounding technical system and interact with it. The computer system usually has the task of controlling, regulating or monitoring the system in which it is embedded. Embedded systems perform their tasks largely invisibly to the user in a wide range of applications and devices, e.g. in medical technology, washing machines, airplanes, cars or consumer electronics.



**RISC: Reduced Instruction Set Computer



Elektronikpraxis is one of the leading trade magazines in the electronics industry and reports fortnightly on current events as well as new products, technologies and development processes. The target group is all professionals who develop, produce and sell electronics nationally or internationally. Specialists and managers receive useful content via the cross-media channels of the trade magazine, its special issues and reports, events and the online portal www.elektronikpraxis.de, which provide concrete solutions for everyday tasks. The parent company Vogel Business Media is one of Germany's leading providers of specialist information with around 100 specialist magazines and 60 websites as well as numerous international activities. Its headquarters are in Würzburg.