getting armed (was: Re: Raspberry pi )

[Michael Zacherl.]

On 11.1.2012, at 19:31 , Tony Hardie-Bick wrote:

> On 11/01/12 16:28, Joost Schuttelaar wrote:
>> Exciting :)
>> 
>> http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/509
>> 
> 
> yep :) they're using the right CPU...
> 
> "ARM1176JZFS, with floating point, running at 700Mhz"


I'm trying to find out more about ARM CPUs specifically about performance for sound processing.
I noticed Paul M. just got himself a beaglebone, which uses a Cortex A8  (A3359) processor.
The beagleboard uses an A8 as well but clocked at 1GHz. 
This one is the DM3730CBP which TI bundled with a TMS320C64 DSP on the chip.
I just started to learn about ARM architecture, e.g. read that ARM just sell licenses of their design and manufacturers (a long list) 
package them with whatever they think `the market` needs.
But I actually can't see what advantage a Cortex has over an ARM11 chip, if so.

Saying that I also started to wonder what's the hype about the Raspberry pi - is it just the price?
As I understand the ARM design (ARM11 in this case) has been supplemented with a floating point unit.
Of course the beagle board is much more expensive but isn't it also more powerful?
Then again, could be the DSP and other extra hardware be easily utilised?
From distant view I'd see the R-pi is more generic and chances to get software running are good,
while some functionality on more specialised boards (e.g. beagleboard) need to be supported by the underlaying OS.
I'm getting dizzy ...
Michael.


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