Power Comparison of i.MX Devices (i.MX27 versus i.MX53 versus i.MX6SL)

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Power Comparison of i.MX Devices (i.MX27 versus i.MX53 versus i.MX6SL)

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nathanpalmer
Contributor IV

I am considering transitioning an existing design from the i.MX27 to the i.MX53 or i.MX6SL.   I am trying to understand what the impact to system power will be if I do this.  I found some App Notes that give some power estimates for the iMX53 and the iMX6S (Not Lite) but they show the iMX6S using more power than the iMX53.  I know that it is two different designs so it is not a fair comparison, but I am trying to find data for a fair comparison.

I know that the power consumption will depend on several factors (OS/Usage, DDR RAM type/size, Layout, etc.) but all else being equal, how does the i.MX6SL compare to the i.MX53 in terms of power consumption?  I'm looking for a general comparison, but numbers would be great.

Thanks!

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AnsonHuang
NXP Employee
NXP Employee

Hi, Nathan

     OK, I got your point, see below my answer based by best knowledge about i.MX6SL chip's power:

- System Idle Mode (WFI, system doing NOTHING)

Anson: As far as I know, the i.MX6SL's power can be as low as <15mW, but the latency of exiting from idle may take longer, I didn't remember the detail time, but it may be ~1mS, not sure whether you care about this exit latency.

- System Active (Short (20ms), Periodic bursts of intensive integer based DSP processing)

Anson: I think the best way for you is get a i.MX6SL board and to some power measurement, or contact FEAs to see whether they have those power data for you.

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AnsonHuang
NXP Employee
NXP Employee

Hi, Nathan

     Like you said, it is not a fair comparison between i.MX53 and i.MX6SL, first one is cortex-A8 and second one is cortex-A9, and the power system design is totally different. From the power number we got in some dedicated test case for i.MX6SL(e-reader platform), under some important test cases, it is more power save than i.MX50 which is also cortex-A8 and also a product dedicated for e-reader.

     But I think it is still not fair enough to compare power consumption between i.MX53 and i.MX6SL, unless you list those test cases you care about, there are too much difference between these two chips. Such as i.MX6SL did NOT have VPU, but i.MX53 has, GPU is different etc.. For i.MX6SL's power consumption, there should be also power application notes, you can contact FAEs if you can not find it from freescale website, but I think those use cases in power application notes are mainly for e-reader.

     So, I think you may need to list the test cases you care about first. Then try to get the power data to do the comparison.

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nathanpalmer
Contributor IV

Thanks for the response, Yongcai.

I did find the Power AN for the iMX6SL, AN4580.  It has some good information inside about power consumption, but is very limited in scope. 

I understand your comment that the chips are very different, but I think they are different in ways that don't matter to me.  I am only migrating from the iMX27 because it is being phased out, I don't need more processing power or features than the iMX27 (except lower power). 

The only test cases that I am interested in are:

- System Idle Mode (WFI, system doing NOTHING)

- System Active (Short (20ms), Periodic bursts of intensive integer based DSP processing)

The main goals are: LOWEST POWER, and using a continued SUPPORTED CHIP

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AnsonHuang
NXP Employee
NXP Employee

Hi, Nathan

     OK, I got your point, see below my answer based by best knowledge about i.MX6SL chip's power:

- System Idle Mode (WFI, system doing NOTHING)

Anson: As far as I know, the i.MX6SL's power can be as low as <15mW, but the latency of exiting from idle may take longer, I didn't remember the detail time, but it may be ~1mS, not sure whether you care about this exit latency.

- System Active (Short (20ms), Periodic bursts of intensive integer based DSP processing)

Anson: I think the best way for you is get a i.MX6SL board and to some power measurement, or contact FEAs to see whether they have those power data for you.

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