4 ms·

Yeah .. http://www.mouser.at/Semiconductors/Integrated-Circuits-ICs/Embedded-Processors-Controllers/Microcontrollers-MCU/8-bit-Microcontrollers-MCU/_/N-a86lo h

Yeah .. http://www.mouser.at/Semiconductors/Integrated-Circuits-ICs/Embedded-Processors-Controllers/Microcontrollers-MCU/8-bit-Microcontrollers-MCU/_/N-a86lo http://www.mouser.at/Semiconductors/Integrated-Circuits-ICs/... Apropros "M0's being so much better", this is not really an attitude that produces effective results in "the embedded" world. True fact: in embedded, many times you want the least powerful solution. 8-bit MCU's are freakin' everywhere, and they are not going anywhere.

foldr 9y ago
Modern ARM Cortex M0 MCUs are cheaper than AVRs, use less power, and have much better peripherals. The only reason to use an AVR MCU these days is if you (i) need to run it off a 5V rail or (ii) you prototyped your product with an Arduino.
- kevin_thibedeau 9y ago
  Cortex M has higher I/O latency.
  - foldr 9y ago
    Are you referring to the fact that you can switch a GPIO port with a single instruction on an 8-bit micro? That's true, but you can usually run the ARMs at higher clock speeds.
- SAI_Peregrinus 9y ago
  Cheapest M0 on Digikey: https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/cypress-semiconductor-corp/CY8C4013SXI-400T/CY8C4013SXI-400T-ND/5113942 https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/cypress-semiconduc... Cheapest 8-bit AVR on Digikey: https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/microchip-technology/ATTINY5-MAHR/1611-ATTINY5-MAHRCT-ND/6833241 https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/microchip-technolo... 2.5x the price is not cheaper.
  - foldr 9y ago
    Ok, yes, at the very very low end (that thing has 6 pins!) you might get an AVR for slightly cheaper. My point was that you typically get better price, power usage and performance from a Cortex M0. If you have $1 to spend, for example, there is rarely any advantage to going with AVR.
  - losvedir 9y ago
    2.5x doesn't seem like a useful way of looking at it. It's $0.24 vs $0.49. What kind of devices are these things going in? It matters if the rest of the components are $1, not so much of they're $10.
    - SAI_Peregrinus 9y ago
      A lot of the devices they're going in are at or below the $5 retail price. So the COGS has to be under $2 to make a reasonable profit. That doesn't leave much room to waste money on your BOM.
    - coupdejarnac 9y ago
      For very low quantities, the price difference won't matter much.. If you're selling hundreds of thousands or millions of something, suddenly that is real money that justifies the incremental increase of engineering effort to use a cheaper part.
    - jimmyswimmy 9y ago
      I used to sell parts to Compaq when they made their own server boards. Design manager was trying to iron millibucks out of the BOM cost. That's tenths of pennies. It matters even if you're charging $100. Those pennies add up when you're selling 10-100ku per month on multiple product lines.

foldr 9y ago

Modern ARM Cortex M0 MCUs are cheaper than AVRs, use less power, and have much better peripherals. The only reason to use an AVR MCU these days is if you (i) need to run it off a 5V rail or (ii) you prototyped your product with an Arduino.

kevin_thibedeau 9y ago
Cortex M has higher I/O latency.
- foldr 9y ago
  Are you referring to the fact that you can switch a GPIO port with a single instruction on an 8-bit micro? That's true, but you can usually run the ARMs at higher clock speeds.
SAI_Peregrinus 9y ago
Cheapest M0 on Digikey: https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/cypress-semiconductor-corp/CY8C4013SXI-400T/CY8C4013SXI-400T-ND/5113942 https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/cypress-semiconduc... Cheapest 8-bit AVR on Digikey: https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/microchip-technology/ATTINY5-MAHR/1611-ATTINY5-MAHRCT-ND/6833241 https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/microchip-technolo... 2.5x the price is not cheaper.
- foldr 9y ago
  Ok, yes, at the very very low end (that thing has 6 pins!) you might get an AVR for slightly cheaper. My point was that you typically get better price, power usage and performance from a Cortex M0. If you have $1 to spend, for example, there is rarely any advantage to going with AVR.
- losvedir 9y ago
  2.5x doesn't seem like a useful way of looking at it. It's $0.24 vs $0.49. What kind of devices are these things going in? It matters if the rest of the components are $1, not so much of they're $10.
  - SAI_Peregrinus 9y ago
    A lot of the devices they're going in are at or below the $5 retail price. So the COGS has to be under $2 to make a reasonable profit. That doesn't leave much room to waste money on your BOM.
  - coupdejarnac 9y ago
    For very low quantities, the price difference won't matter much.. If you're selling hundreds of thousands or millions of something, suddenly that is real money that justifies the incremental increase of engineering effort to use a cheaper part.
  - jimmyswimmy 9y ago
    I used to sell parts to Compaq when they made their own server boards. Design manager was trying to iron millibucks out of the BOM cost. That's tenths of pennies. It matters even if you're charging $100. Those pennies add up when you're selling 10-100ku per month on multiple product lines.