Baikal CPU


Baikal CPU is a line of MIPS and ARM-based microprocessors developed by fabless design firm Baikal Electronics, a spin-off of the Russian supercomputer company T-Platforms.

Design

Judging by the information available from online sources Baikal Electronics have selected a different approach compared to other Russian microprocessor initiatives such as the Elbrus-2SM, Elbrus-8S by MCST, and the Multiclet line of chips. The design by Baikal Electronics is based on existing commercial IP Cores from Imagination Technologies and ARM Holdings, compared to the more innovative approach of Multiclet, and the Elbrus CPU which has a history dating back to the Elbrus supercomputers from the Soviet Union.

History

March, 2015, Synopsys Inc. announced that Baikal Electronics has selected Synopsys Solutions to accelerate design and verification of their advanced System on chips.
May, 2015, Baikal Electronics and Imagination Technologies announced that the first commercial Baikal microprocessor will be based on the MIPS Warrior P5600, and it will be called Baikal-T1. The first samples of the new CPU will be available starting from June, 2015.

Baikal-T1

The Baikal-T1 mainly targets applications for networking and industrial automation, with features such as hardware support for virtualization and a high performance 128-bit SIMD engine.
Produced2015
ProcessCMOS 28 nm
Clock rateup to 1,2 GHz
Cores2
Cache1 MB L2 cache
MemoryDDR3
Mass storageSATA, 6 Gbit/s
Connectivity
Package size25×25 mm
Power consumption5 W

Applications

March, 2016 it was announced on the Imagination Technologies blog that a desktop PC called the Tavolga Terminal, also known as the Meadowsweet Terminal PC is available to order from T-Platforms. The computer is based on the Baikal-T1 CPU, SM750 Graphics processing unit and the Debian GNU/Linux as the operating system.