New STM32 chip with larger memories

STMicroelectronics has just announced new members of the STM32F4 microcontroller family:

These chips are pin-compatible with those used in Cerberus, Mountaineer mainboards, etc., but have up to 2 MB Flash and 256 KB RAM.

I am very happy that we bet on STM32 at the time for our NETMF port (or to be honest, a major customer did, and we just rode along)…

Cuno

This is fantastic! Now if we get parts with SDRAM interface then that would be amazing :slight_smile: We heard few things from ST guys but not sure we can share it here.

Yes you can :wink:

Do it !

256KB of RAM is effectively more than 192KB, but how can it compete with the 16MB available on the chipworkx ?..

New Mountaineer board on the way???

Cuno,

did you note that (for the first time, as far as I know) press release says “… .accelerate project completion by programming with high-level languages such as Java™, Microsoft® .Net or uClinux™…”?

Quoth the press release: [em]STM32F437IIH6 2MB Flash, 256KB RAM, Crypto/Hash processor in UFBGA176 package at $9.50 for 1000 units/year resale price.[/em]

I’d say, that’s how it can compete with the ChipworkX (which is $116.64 per for 250+). Plus:
[ul]4 KB + 80 Byte backup SRAM
Communication interfaces: 4x USART, 4x UART, 6x SPI, 3x I2C with digital filters, 2x CAN, SDIO, 2x USB OTG
Dedicated audio PLL and two full-duplex I2S channels
Ethernet 10/100 MAC with IEEE 1588 v2 support
2x 12-bit DAC, 3x 12-bit ADC, up to 17 16/32-bit timers[/ul]

If you do not have megabytes of RAM then you will never have anything complete as far as graphics and networking.

Of course; they’re targeted at completely different sorts of projects. I was simply pointing out that SDRAM isn’t the only thing one might want to compare :wink:

Yes :slight_smile:

@ godefroi -

I was effectively talking about the RAM, which is one of my achilles’heel at the moment, because as Gus said, I need some extra connectiviies that require more RAM !

A question I had: why not simply use SRAM compatible with the FSMC on the STM32? It certainly supports it, and as I understand it, SRAM would be lower-power anyway? Is it that it’s simply more expensive, or is it slower, or…?

Cost. How much is 16mb SRAM? :slight_smile:

@ Gus

As far as I can see, this type : http://fr.mouser.com/ProductDetail/ISSI/IS61WV51216BLL-10TLI/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMt9mBA6nIyysNDIWyoPFz2R8R9BYyUf3r8%3D

…is about 10 to 15 € for 8MB, which is not so much in fact…?

Any interest to create a brother of the G120 Module, with a Cortex and 8MB of RAM…:-))))))))

That’s 8 mbits, meaning, 1 megabyte. I found a 16 megabyte (64mbit) memory for $60. Seems significantly more expensive. Is it faster and lower power?

8mbit SRAM starts at around $6 on DigiKey, maybe $3-$4 in the quantities that GHI would probably purchase. Seems like a fully-capable STM32 would be possible, but you’d need more space to fit multiple memory chips.

Do not forget STM chips do not have TFT display interface (yet)

You’re right,

Made a mistake between Mb and MB. So, the RAM available on the G120 module, and exend to 16MB is available here, and cost also around 5 € per unit.

The only thing I’m not sure is if it also deals with FSMC interface or not…

The FSMC will only drive SRAM/PSRAM/FLASH, not SDRAM.

Gus, I’ve seen you say before that the STM32 won’t drive TFT displays, but ST has a whole demonstration board for doing exactly that:

http://www.st.com/internet/com/TECHNICAL_RESOURCES/TECHNICAL_LITERATURE/USER_MANUAL/CD00267862.pdf

It uses the FSMC to drive SRAM which acts as the refresh RAM. It might not be ideal, but it’s at least theoretically possible…

Also, PSRAM seems to be significantly cheaper than actual SRAM, might that be an option?

Yes those are small displays with parallel interface, not TFT interface. They are very bad to handle and so you won’t find a decent size display to work with STM.

One they use is like the one we had last year on panda, fez touch.

It is low resolution (QVGA), but it clearly is TFT: