Andes Technology Corporation announced general availability of the high-performance AndesCore? AX65 out-of-order superscalar multicore processor IP. The AX65 is the first of the high-performance out-of-order AX60 series.

Equipped with 13-stage pipeline, 4-wide decode, 8-wide out-of-order execution, AX65 targets the Linux application processor sockets of computing, networking, and high-end controllers. It also received "Best IP/Processor of the Year" Award from EE Times Asia last December. Andes has been very successful on the embedded controllers and high-performance AI vector processors.

As RISC-V ecosystem for Linux is getting matured, the demand for high-performance RISC-V processors for general-purpose applications rises. Andes takes this opportunity to introduce the AX65 to complete its comprehensive CPU lineup, spanning from low-power embedded solutions to high-end Out-of-Order processors. Customers who develop complex SOC can now use AX65 as the primary Linux application processor, the AX45MPV/NX27V for the vector/DSP processing and the N25/N225 processors as the resource and power manager.

Leveraging the entire range of CPUs in the AndesCore?? families enables customers to streamline their development process, benefit from integrated support, and significantly reduce development cost. The AX65 operates at speeds exceeding 2.0GHz on a 12nm process, boasting a SpecInt2006 score of 8.25 per GHz -- outperforming the Cortex A75 with an efficient memory hierarchy.

It also supports up to 8-core cache coherence with maximum 8MB shared cache. The AX65 is fully compliant with the RISC-V RVA22 profile, ensuring compatibility with operating systems and software within the RISC-V ecosystem. On the security side, AX65 supports Enhanced PMP (ePMP) for further securing memory accesses, and K (scalar cryptography) extension for accelerating AES and SHA crypto operations.

For running Linux OS, the AX65 supports VIPT L1 instruction cache, SV48 virtual address space, and 2-level TLB with simultaneous hardware page walkers. It also incorporates branch prediction mechanism with TAGE-L algorithm, return address stack and 2-level branch target buffer. The AX65 can be used as an application processor in networking applications like Wi-Fi, 5Gnr, and O-RAN, as well as in edge computing and industrial PCs.

Furthermore, it is well-suited for serving as the primary controller processor in embedded applications.