Revision as of 16:05, 11 April 2017

Godson 2
Godson 2
Developer	Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Loongson
Manufacturer	STMicroelectronics, SMICS
Type	Microprocessors
Introduction	2003 (announced) October 17, 2003 (launch)
Architecture	64-bit MIPS processors
ISA	MIPS64
µarch	GS464
Word size	64 bit 8 octets 16 nibbles
Process	180 nm 0.18 μm 1.8e-4 mm , 130 nm 0.13 μm 1.3e-4 mm , 90 nm 0.09 μm 9.0e-5 mm , 65 nm 0.065 μm 6.5e-5 mm
Technology	CMOS
Clock	250 MHz-1,000 MHz
Succession
←	→
Godson 1	Godson 3

Godson 2 (龍芯２) is a family of 64-bit MIPS low-power performance desktop processors developed by the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICT) in 2003. The Godson 2 processors are now developed by Loongson Technology (which was co-founded by ICT) and sold as low-power embedded and desktop processors. The Godson 2 is famous for being the first Chinese developed 64-bit microprocessors as well as the first Chinese processors to break the gigahertz frequency.

Overview

Main article: GS464 µarch

The Godson 2 family of microprocessors started out in 2002 by the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICT) after the successful design of the first Godson 1. The Godson 2 series is based on a more ambitious goal with high efficiency and high performance in mind. Godson 2 processors are designed as general purpose 64-bit MIPS64-like processors. At the time they were marketed as "MIPS-like" due to not having a proper license from MIPS Technologies. A number of patented instructions were also omitted from the ISA for this reason. In August 2011 Loongson Technology officially licensed the MIPS32 and MIPS64 architectures from MIPS Technologies allowing them to label the chips as "MIPS-compatible".

The first Godson 2, model 2B which was introduced in 2003, became China's first 64-bit microprocessor. This model was fabricated using 6-metal 0.18 µm process using CMOS technology.

The next few successors introduced incrementally better clock speeds (doubling with each model) along with a larger cache and improved branch predictors for triple the performance improvement each time. With the introduction of the 2E, ICT reached 1 GHz clock frequency. This was the first such achievement for an entirely Chinese-based design. Those models were all manufactured on SMICS's 0.18 µm process as well.

In October 2006, Loongson signed a strategic agreement with STMicroelectronics to fabricate the Godson chips. Later models started using ST's 90 nm process followed by 65 nm.

The introduction of the 2E brought about higher integration with the introduction of an on-die northbridge, incorporating a DDR1 memory controller. With the launch of the 2F in 2008, ICT improved their integrated memory controller capabilities and started integrating some components of the southbridge as well (HyperTransport, PCI/PCI-E).

In 2011 Loongson introduced their first complete system-on-chip, the 2H. The chip incorporated both the northbridge, southbridge (integrating things such as PCIe, SATA, and a USB controller), and a licensed low-power Vivante GC800 GPU. The 2H is based on Loongson's GS464V architecture which incorporates the MIPS SIMD extension. The 2G can serve as a standalone SoC powering low-power nettops and tablets or in slave mode, serving as a complete chipset solution to the more power Godson 3 series of processors.

Godson 2 processors can be found in many low end laptops and embedded hardware manufactured by Lemote Technology.

Members

Complexity