Re: MCF5270 versus MCF5208


I personally like the 5270 and beilieve that if you are only
doing a few hundred a year the 5270 will be a cheaper solution than the 5208
because of the less quirky internal memory archetecture.

We have ready to use 5270 Modules with software and tools.
The devkits start at 99.00 with all tools.

Paul

www.netburner.com



On 5 Feb 2007 10:38:58 -0800, "okalex" <okalex@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hello all,

I'm trying to choose a microprocessor for a new design and would like
to get input from members of the community who have used these
processors. The requirements are an Ethernet MAC (PHY would be nice,
but haven't found a chip which meets this plus the other
requirements), I2C, external memory bus to access 4MB SRAM (or SDRAM)
buffer, hobbyist-friendly packaging (not BGA, preferably QFP), and
cheap, if not free (i.e. GNU), development tools, RTOSes, and TCP/IP
stacks. A strong web-based user community would be an added bonus.

The MCF52233 would have been perfect if not for it's lack of an
external memory bus. Similarly, we looked at the Atmel AT91SAM7X
family, but had to eliminate it due to its lack of an external bus and
I2C. I've pretty much narrowed it down to a choice between the
Freescale MCF5270 and MCF5208, both of which have on-chip Ethernet
MACs and SDRAM controllers. I've also worked with the Coldfire family
before, but not ARM, so that is why we're leaning in that direction.
The 5208 and 5270 are so similar, however, I'm having a hard time
determining the which is better for our application. Looking at
Digikey, it seems that the MCF5208 is not as readily-available in the
QFP package as the 5270 is. Does anyone have any comments regarding
supply issues for these parts. We're not going to be using large
quantities of these, maybe a few hundred per year, so we'll probably
have to get them from a major distributor like Digikey or Mouser.

If anyone has any other recommendations of microcontrollers I should
look at, I'd be interested to hear it. An on-chip Ethernet MAC is not
an absolute requirement, as long as drivers for external Ethernet
controllers are available and the total system cost is minimized.

Thanks in advance,
Alex Parkinson

.