The PowerPro™ delivers memory control support for PowerPC® processors (MPC750, MPC740, MPC85xx) and the Tundra PowerPC-to-PCI bus switch, PowerSpan™. The PowerPro is designed for applications to leverage the switched PCI architecture of PowerSpan in PowerPC applications.

In MPC750/MPC8260 designs, the PowerPro enables ECC protection, which is not otherwise available from the MPC8260 in this application.

Key features include PC-100 SDRAM control and ECC protection: these features are becoming standard requirements in next generation PowerPC systems. The PowerPro supports 8-,16-, and 32-bit Flash, as well as other local peripheral devices such as UARTs.

Commercially available PowerPC memory controllers are traditionally combined with a large and complex PCI host bridge. The PowerPro is the only discrete SDRAM controller on the market today for non-PCI PowerPC applications.

Business Benefits

• Increases throughput with memory system optimization
• Provides industry's most flexible page management scheme
• Provides configurable interface latching to time the data path delay to the board-specific layout
• Provides the first discrete, off-the-shelf memory controller for PowerPC
• Reduces design effort in both software and hardware PowerPC systems
• Proven product testing in a hardware emulation environment