Re: DSP in PC
I haven't heard of AC97.
On the subject of DSPs and PCs:
On the one hand I'm skeptical of the role a DSP may play in a PC. As I see it, these days a typical PC contains the following IC subsystems:
CPU subsystem
RAM subsystem
MB "chipset" (which integrates several functions, including storage interface subsystem, RAM interface, and cache interface)
MB BIOS
Video subsystem(s) (possibly includes MPEG DSP)
Audio subsystem
LAN subsystem
Comm subsystem (which may include a modem DSP)
There have been several attempts both in the past and ongoing to bring two or more of these functions together into one package. The only example I can think of off the cuff is Chromatic's Mpact product which purportedly combines most video and audio functionality into one chip. As far as I am aware this product has met with limited success. The various subsystems in a PC are heavily standardized and will resist architectural change, IMHO. Thus, no big winning scenario for DSP into the PC.
Going the other way, can a PC's CPU subsume more and more functionality of the external subsystems? The Cyrix MediaGX (one of the worst named products in the history of CPUs, from a company which has demonstrated exceptional acumen at picking stupid names) and the US Robotics Winmodem come to mind as examples. The MediaGX apparently integrates some of the video/audio functionality into the CPU, while the Winmodem -- and a Motorola product as well, if memory serves -- is a "software" modem meaning much of the DSP work is done by the CPU. The "MMX" instruction set augmentation in the Pentium itself is, I suppose, part of the expansion of CPU responsibility.
God bless,
PX |
