Comparing Fixed- and Floating-Point DSPs

SPRY061 System developers, especially those who are new to digital signal processors (DSPs), are sometimes uncertain whether they need to use fixedor floating-point DSPs for their systems. Both fixedand floating-point DSPs are designed to perform the highspeed computations that underlie real-time signal processing. Both feature system-ona-chip (SOC) integration with on-chip memory and a variety of high-speed peripherals to ensure fast throughput and design flexibility. Tradeoffs of cost and ease of use often heavily influenced the fixedor floating-point decision in the past. Today, though, selecting either type of DSP depends mainly on whether the added computational capabilities of the floating-point format are required by the application.