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Toshiba announced that it has developed a new high-end processor core based on its "Media embedded Processor" (MeP) architecture.

It's called the MeP-h1 and is the first configurable microprocessor to achieve a 1GHz clock speed. The MeP-h1 gives designers the flexibility to customize processors at the design stage, including the ability to change processor configurations and add custom instructions. According to a press release,

The performance of the new core was boosted by increasing the number of instruction execution pipeline stages to nine, from five in Toshiba's previous processor core. The new core is also optimized for design of high-performance customized processors by integration of a reorder buffer circuit that manages and shortens waiting cycles for user extension instructions.

The present implementation of the core was manufactured with 65nanometer (nm) process technology, and that too contributed to achieving the 1GHz clock speed. The new configurable processor core is designed with register transfer level description (RTL) and can be manufactured with other process technology, including 90nm technology.

The main features of MeP include:

- High-speed media processing (image and audio)

- Customizable configuration, including embedded-memory capacity

- Extensibility of hardware allowing easy addition of functions

Toshiba discussed the processor and its technology at the Hot Chips conference at Stanford University earlier this week.

Chris is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.