Atmega naming scheme (324p vs 328p)
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I am looking into AVR chips (big fan) for a personal project. I need capabilities similar to Arduino Uno, so I recently compared Atmega 328p and Atmega 324p.
To my surprise the 324p has significantly more features and on-board hardware than the 328p. To me, higher model number == more powerful/more features product, so discovering this slightly confusing me.
Could anyone explain to me why Atmel chose such weird convention for naming their chips? I know this is not a big deal, but for the future reference I would like to know how to choose AVR MCU's for my needs properly (their buyers guide is not very helpful).
edit: the 328p consumes twice less amount of power, so is it all down to smaller, less power hungry product?
microcontroller avr atmega
edited Aug 13 at 15:11
Nick Alexeev♦
31.6k1060161
asked Aug 11 at 13:18
Hypomania
30910
 |Â
show 4 more comments
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
I am looking into AVR chips (big fan) for a personal project. I need capabilities similar to Arduino Uno, so I recently compared Atmega 328p and Atmega 324p.
To my surprise the 324p has significantly more features and on-board hardware than the 328p. To me, higher model number == more powerful/more features product, so discovering this slightly confusing me.
Could anyone explain to me why Atmel chose such weird convention for naming their chips? I know this is not a big deal, but for the future reference I would like to know how to choose AVR MCU's for my needs properly (their buyers guide is not very helpful).
edit: the 328p consumes twice less amount of power, so is it all down to smaller, less power hungry product?
microcontroller avr atmega
edited Aug 13 at 15:11
Nick Alexeev♦
31.6k1060161
asked Aug 11 at 13:18
Hypomania
30910
1
How to choose ICs? Read the data sheet, compare the features, don't compare the part numbers. VTC as my opinion is just as good as the next person's about why they chose particular part numbers.
– Neil_UK
Aug 11 at 13:34
@Neil_UK thanks for that, I am used to commercial CPU and GPU marketing where higher number is always better :)
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 13:43
1
There is always a tradeoff... I'd pay special attention to tolerances and accuracy specifications, especially surrounding clocks and voltages. I was looking at the differences between the PIC10F200 and the ATTiny9. The ATTiny9 seemed better in every respect AND was cheaper, until i found out that the ATTiny9 clock calibration is +/- 10% while the PIC10F200 is +/- 2%.
– gregb212
Aug 11 at 13:56
@gregb212 thank you, I will double check the tolerances!
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 14:06
1
Atmel/microchip have a parametric search tool for selecting parts. That is the 'proper' way to select parts rather than inferring anything from the part numbers. The SAMs and competing products like the STM32s have incomprehensible part numbering.
– whatsisname
Aug 11 at 16:44
 |Â
show 4 more comments
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
I am looking into AVR chips (big fan) for a personal project. I need capabilities similar to Arduino Uno, so I recently compared Atmega 328p and Atmega 324p.
To my surprise the 324p has significantly more features and on-board hardware than the 328p. To me, higher model number == more powerful/more features product, so discovering this slightly confusing me.
Could anyone explain to me why Atmel chose such weird convention for naming their chips? I know this is not a big deal, but for the future reference I would like to know how to choose AVR MCU's for my needs properly (their buyers guide is not very helpful).
edit: the 328p consumes twice less amount of power, so is it all down to smaller, less power hungry product?
microcontroller avr atmega
edited Aug 13 at 15:11
Nick Alexeev♦
31.6k1060161
asked Aug 11 at 13:18
Hypomania
30910
I am looking into AVR chips (big fan) for a personal project. I need capabilities similar to Arduino Uno, so I recently compared Atmega 328p and Atmega 324p.
To my surprise the 324p has significantly more features and on-board hardware than the 328p. To me, higher model number == more powerful/more features product, so discovering this slightly confusing me.
Could anyone explain to me why Atmel chose such weird convention for naming their chips? I know this is not a big deal, but for the future reference I would like to know how to choose AVR MCU's for my needs properly (their buyers guide is not very helpful).
edit: the 328p consumes twice less amount of power, so is it all down to smaller, less power hungry product?
microcontroller avr atmega
microcontroller avr atmega
edited Aug 13 at 15:11
Nick Alexeev♦
31.6k1060161
asked Aug 11 at 13:18
Hypomania
30910
edited Aug 13 at 15:11
Nick Alexeev♦
31.6k1060161
asked Aug 11 at 13:18
Hypomania
30910
edited Aug 13 at 15:11
Nick Alexeev♦
31.6k1060161
edited Aug 13 at 15:11
Nick Alexeev♦
31.6k1060161
edited Aug 13 at 15:11
Nick Alexeev♦
31.6k1060161
31.6k1060161
asked Aug 11 at 13:18
Hypomania
30910
asked Aug 11 at 13:18
Hypomania
30910
asked Aug 11 at 13:18
Hypomania
30910
30910
1
How to choose ICs? Read the data sheet, compare the features, don't compare the part numbers. VTC as my opinion is just as good as the next person's about why they chose particular part numbers.
– Neil_UK
Aug 11 at 13:34
@Neil_UK thanks for that, I am used to commercial CPU and GPU marketing where higher number is always better :)
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 13:43
1
There is always a tradeoff... I'd pay special attention to tolerances and accuracy specifications, especially surrounding clocks and voltages. I was looking at the differences between the PIC10F200 and the ATTiny9. The ATTiny9 seemed better in every respect AND was cheaper, until i found out that the ATTiny9 clock calibration is +/- 10% while the PIC10F200 is +/- 2%.
– gregb212
Aug 11 at 13:56
@gregb212 thank you, I will double check the tolerances!
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 14:06
1
Atmel/microchip have a parametric search tool for selecting parts. That is the 'proper' way to select parts rather than inferring anything from the part numbers. The SAMs and competing products like the STM32s have incomprehensible part numbering.
– whatsisname
Aug 11 at 16:44
 |Â
show 4 more comments
1
How to choose ICs? Read the data sheet, compare the features, don't compare the part numbers. VTC as my opinion is just as good as the next person's about why they chose particular part numbers.
– Neil_UK
Aug 11 at 13:34
@Neil_UK thanks for that, I am used to commercial CPU and GPU marketing where higher number is always better :)
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 13:43
1
There is always a tradeoff... I'd pay special attention to tolerances and accuracy specifications, especially surrounding clocks and voltages. I was looking at the differences between the PIC10F200 and the ATTiny9. The ATTiny9 seemed better in every respect AND was cheaper, until i found out that the ATTiny9 clock calibration is +/- 10% while the PIC10F200 is +/- 2%.
– gregb212
Aug 11 at 13:56
@gregb212 thank you, I will double check the tolerances!
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 14:06
1
Atmel/microchip have a parametric search tool for selecting parts. That is the 'proper' way to select parts rather than inferring anything from the part numbers. The SAMs and competing products like the STM32s have incomprehensible part numbering.
– whatsisname
Aug 11 at 16:44
1
1
How to choose ICs? Read the data sheet, compare the features, don't compare the part numbers. VTC as my opinion is just as good as the next person's about why they chose particular part numbers.
– Neil_UK
Aug 11 at 13:34
How to choose ICs? Read the data sheet, compare the features, don't compare the part numbers. VTC as my opinion is just as good as the next person's about why they chose particular part numbers.
– Neil_UK
Aug 11 at 13:34
@Neil_UK thanks for that, I am used to commercial CPU and GPU marketing where higher number is always better :)
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 13:43
@Neil_UK thanks for that, I am used to commercial CPU and GPU marketing where higher number is always better :)
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 13:43
1
1
There is always a tradeoff... I'd pay special attention to tolerances and accuracy specifications, especially surrounding clocks and voltages. I was looking at the differences between the PIC10F200 and the ATTiny9. The ATTiny9 seemed better in every respect AND was cheaper, until i found out that the ATTiny9 clock calibration is +/- 10% while the PIC10F200 is +/- 2%.
– gregb212
Aug 11 at 13:56
There is always a tradeoff... I'd pay special attention to tolerances and accuracy specifications, especially surrounding clocks and voltages. I was looking at the differences between the PIC10F200 and the ATTiny9. The ATTiny9 seemed better in every respect AND was cheaper, until i found out that the ATTiny9 clock calibration is +/- 10% while the PIC10F200 is +/- 2%.
– gregb212
Aug 11 at 13:56
@gregb212 thank you, I will double check the tolerances!
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 14:06
@gregb212 thank you, I will double check the tolerances!
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 14:06
1
1
Atmel/microchip have a parametric search tool for selecting parts. That is the 'proper' way to select parts rather than inferring anything from the part numbers. The SAMs and competing products like the STM32s have incomprehensible part numbering.
– whatsisname
Aug 11 at 16:44
Atmel/microchip have a parametric search tool for selecting parts. That is the 'proper' way to select parts rather than inferring anything from the part numbers. The SAMs and competing products like the STM32s have incomprehensible part numbering.
– whatsisname
Aug 11 at 16:44
 |Â
show 4 more comments
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
up vote
6
down vote
accepted
The numbers of Atmega devices follow a quite simple basic scheme. Let's take the Atmega644PA-AU as an example.
- "64" The first digits always mark the size of the Flash in Kibibyte
- "4" The last digit marks the series of chips. Within a series they are often pin-compatible and share a similar set of features. Some prominent series are:
- 'no digit' - these are the first generation chips
- '8' - a series from 4 to 32 kiB Flash, all in the same housing. More or less an improved version of the original chips
- '4' similar to '8', but in larger packages with more pins (~40 instead of ~30)
- '5' similar to '4', but with more timers and PWM channels
- '0','1' rather old family with large packages (60 - 100 pins)
- '9' with integrated LCD controller
- 'U2', 'U4' are the two sizes of USB-enabled controllers
- '08', '09' newest family with additional configurable logic
- 'PA':
- 'A' and 'B' are newer revisions, usually without major changes.(*)
- 'P' is 'pico-power' - chips with very deep sleep modes and quite low power consumption, ideal for battery-powered applications
- 'L' and 'V' are sampled for lower voltage operation at slower clock speeds (old series only, newer have this 'built-in').
- '-AU' The letters after the dash mark the kind of packaging - LGA, DIP, QFN...
The even smaller Attiny controllers follow a similar scheme, but have more and smaller families with more specialized sets of features. There are a few Atmega that don't follow this scheme, e.g. 3250, but these are minor exceptions.
(*) Notable exception is the 324PB which has less features than the 324PA which has more peripherals compared to the 324PA, but is not listed correctly in the Reference Guide.
In summary: You can learn quite a lot about the device from its number, but for details and precise numbers you always have to look into the datasheet.
Microchip offers a handy Quick Reference Guide where families of chips are grouped - but be careful, some entries are wrong (e.g. 324PB).
answered Aug 11 at 14:35
asdfex
1,292510
An extremely useful answer, thank you!
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 16:34
How did you figure out 324PB has less features than 324PA? I am comparing the datasheets and PB seems to win in every aspect, even though PA is 3x more expensive, weird!
– Hypomania
Aug 13 at 8:54
@Hypomania Thanks for pointing this out, The entry in the Quick Reference Guide is wrong.
– asdfex
Aug 13 at 9:46
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
6
down vote
accepted
The numbers of Atmega devices follow a quite simple basic scheme. Let's take the Atmega644PA-AU as an example.
- "64" The first digits always mark the size of the Flash in Kibibyte
- "4" The last digit marks the series of chips. Within a series they are often pin-compatible and share a similar set of features. Some prominent series are:
- 'no digit' - these are the first generation chips
- '8' - a series from 4 to 32 kiB Flash, all in the same housing. More or less an improved version of the original chips
- '4' similar to '8', but in larger packages with more pins (~40 instead of ~30)
- '5' similar to '4', but with more timers and PWM channels
- '0','1' rather old family with large packages (60 - 100 pins)
- '9' with integrated LCD controller
- 'U2', 'U4' are the two sizes of USB-enabled controllers
- '08', '09' newest family with additional configurable logic
- 'PA':
- 'A' and 'B' are newer revisions, usually without major changes.(*)
- 'P' is 'pico-power' - chips with very deep sleep modes and quite low power consumption, ideal for battery-powered applications
- 'L' and 'V' are sampled for lower voltage operation at slower clock speeds (old series only, newer have this 'built-in').
- '-AU' The letters after the dash mark the kind of packaging - LGA, DIP, QFN...
The even smaller Attiny controllers follow a similar scheme, but have more and smaller families with more specialized sets of features. There are a few Atmega that don't follow this scheme, e.g. 3250, but these are minor exceptions.
(*) Notable exception is the 324PB which has less features than the 324PA which has more peripherals compared to the 324PA, but is not listed correctly in the Reference Guide.
In summary: You can learn quite a lot about the device from its number, but for details and precise numbers you always have to look into the datasheet.
Microchip offers a handy Quick Reference Guide where families of chips are grouped - but be careful, some entries are wrong (e.g. 324PB).
answered Aug 11 at 14:35
asdfex
1,292510
An extremely useful answer, thank you!
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 16:34
How did you figure out 324PB has less features than 324PA? I am comparing the datasheets and PB seems to win in every aspect, even though PA is 3x more expensive, weird!
– Hypomania
Aug 13 at 8:54
@Hypomania Thanks for pointing this out, The entry in the Quick Reference Guide is wrong.
– asdfex
Aug 13 at 9:46
add a comment |Â
up vote
6
down vote
accepted
The numbers of Atmega devices follow a quite simple basic scheme. Let's take the Atmega644PA-AU as an example.
- "64" The first digits always mark the size of the Flash in Kibibyte
- "4" The last digit marks the series of chips. Within a series they are often pin-compatible and share a similar set of features. Some prominent series are:
- 'no digit' - these are the first generation chips
- '8' - a series from 4 to 32 kiB Flash, all in the same housing. More or less an improved version of the original chips
- '4' similar to '8', but in larger packages with more pins (~40 instead of ~30)
- '5' similar to '4', but with more timers and PWM channels
- '0','1' rather old family with large packages (60 - 100 pins)
- '9' with integrated LCD controller
- 'U2', 'U4' are the two sizes of USB-enabled controllers
- '08', '09' newest family with additional configurable logic
- 'PA':
- 'A' and 'B' are newer revisions, usually without major changes.(*)
- 'P' is 'pico-power' - chips with very deep sleep modes and quite low power consumption, ideal for battery-powered applications
- 'L' and 'V' are sampled for lower voltage operation at slower clock speeds (old series only, newer have this 'built-in').
- '-AU' The letters after the dash mark the kind of packaging - LGA, DIP, QFN...
The even smaller Attiny controllers follow a similar scheme, but have more and smaller families with more specialized sets of features. There are a few Atmega that don't follow this scheme, e.g. 3250, but these are minor exceptions.
(*) Notable exception is the 324PB which has less features than the 324PA which has more peripherals compared to the 324PA, but is not listed correctly in the Reference Guide.
In summary: You can learn quite a lot about the device from its number, but for details and precise numbers you always have to look into the datasheet.
Microchip offers a handy Quick Reference Guide where families of chips are grouped - but be careful, some entries are wrong (e.g. 324PB).
answered Aug 11 at 14:35
asdfex
1,292510
An extremely useful answer, thank you!
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 16:34
How did you figure out 324PB has less features than 324PA? I am comparing the datasheets and PB seems to win in every aspect, even though PA is 3x more expensive, weird!
– Hypomania
Aug 13 at 8:54
@Hypomania Thanks for pointing this out, The entry in the Quick Reference Guide is wrong.
– asdfex
Aug 13 at 9:46
add a comment |Â
up vote
6
down vote
accepted
up vote
6
down vote
accepted
The numbers of Atmega devices follow a quite simple basic scheme. Let's take the Atmega644PA-AU as an example.
- "64" The first digits always mark the size of the Flash in Kibibyte
- "4" The last digit marks the series of chips. Within a series they are often pin-compatible and share a similar set of features. Some prominent series are:
- 'no digit' - these are the first generation chips
- '8' - a series from 4 to 32 kiB Flash, all in the same housing. More or less an improved version of the original chips
- '4' similar to '8', but in larger packages with more pins (~40 instead of ~30)
- '5' similar to '4', but with more timers and PWM channels
- '0','1' rather old family with large packages (60 - 100 pins)
- '9' with integrated LCD controller
- 'U2', 'U4' are the two sizes of USB-enabled controllers
- '08', '09' newest family with additional configurable logic
- 'PA':
- 'A' and 'B' are newer revisions, usually without major changes.(*)
- 'P' is 'pico-power' - chips with very deep sleep modes and quite low power consumption, ideal for battery-powered applications
- 'L' and 'V' are sampled for lower voltage operation at slower clock speeds (old series only, newer have this 'built-in').
- '-AU' The letters after the dash mark the kind of packaging - LGA, DIP, QFN...
The even smaller Attiny controllers follow a similar scheme, but have more and smaller families with more specialized sets of features. There are a few Atmega that don't follow this scheme, e.g. 3250, but these are minor exceptions.
(*) Notable exception is the 324PB which has less features than the 324PA which has more peripherals compared to the 324PA, but is not listed correctly in the Reference Guide.
In summary: You can learn quite a lot about the device from its number, but for details and precise numbers you always have to look into the datasheet.
Microchip offers a handy Quick Reference Guide where families of chips are grouped - but be careful, some entries are wrong (e.g. 324PB).
answered Aug 11 at 14:35
asdfex
1,292510
The numbers of Atmega devices follow a quite simple basic scheme. Let's take the Atmega644PA-AU as an example.
- "64" The first digits always mark the size of the Flash in Kibibyte
- "4" The last digit marks the series of chips. Within a series they are often pin-compatible and share a similar set of features. Some prominent series are:
- 'no digit' - these are the first generation chips
- '8' - a series from 4 to 32 kiB Flash, all in the same housing. More or less an improved version of the original chips
- '4' similar to '8', but in larger packages with more pins (~40 instead of ~30)
- '5' similar to '4', but with more timers and PWM channels
- '0','1' rather old family with large packages (60 - 100 pins)
- '9' with integrated LCD controller
- 'U2', 'U4' are the two sizes of USB-enabled controllers
- '08', '09' newest family with additional configurable logic
- 'PA':
- 'A' and 'B' are newer revisions, usually without major changes.(*)
- 'P' is 'pico-power' - chips with very deep sleep modes and quite low power consumption, ideal for battery-powered applications
- 'L' and 'V' are sampled for lower voltage operation at slower clock speeds (old series only, newer have this 'built-in').
- '-AU' The letters after the dash mark the kind of packaging - LGA, DIP, QFN...
The even smaller Attiny controllers follow a similar scheme, but have more and smaller families with more specialized sets of features. There are a few Atmega that don't follow this scheme, e.g. 3250, but these are minor exceptions.
(*) Notable exception is the 324PB which has less features than the 324PA which has more peripherals compared to the 324PA, but is not listed correctly in the Reference Guide.
In summary: You can learn quite a lot about the device from its number, but for details and precise numbers you always have to look into the datasheet.
Microchip offers a handy Quick Reference Guide where families of chips are grouped - but be careful, some entries are wrong (e.g. 324PB).
answered Aug 11 at 14:35
asdfex
1,292510
edited Aug 13 at 9:26
answered Aug 11 at 14:35
asdfex
1,292510
answered Aug 11 at 14:35
asdfex
1,292510
answered Aug 11 at 14:35
asdfex
1,292510
1,292510
An extremely useful answer, thank you!
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 16:34
How did you figure out 324PB has less features than 324PA? I am comparing the datasheets and PB seems to win in every aspect, even though PA is 3x more expensive, weird!
– Hypomania
Aug 13 at 8:54
@Hypomania Thanks for pointing this out, The entry in the Quick Reference Guide is wrong.
– asdfex
Aug 13 at 9:46
add a comment |Â
An extremely useful answer, thank you!
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 16:34
How did you figure out 324PB has less features than 324PA? I am comparing the datasheets and PB seems to win in every aspect, even though PA is 3x more expensive, weird!
– Hypomania
Aug 13 at 8:54
@Hypomania Thanks for pointing this out, The entry in the Quick Reference Guide is wrong.
– asdfex
Aug 13 at 9:46
An extremely useful answer, thank you!
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 16:34
An extremely useful answer, thank you!
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 16:34
How did you figure out 324PB has less features than 324PA? I am comparing the datasheets and PB seems to win in every aspect, even though PA is 3x more expensive, weird!
– Hypomania
Aug 13 at 8:54
How did you figure out 324PB has less features than 324PA? I am comparing the datasheets and PB seems to win in every aspect, even though PA is 3x more expensive, weird!
– Hypomania
Aug 13 at 8:54
@Hypomania Thanks for pointing this out, The entry in the Quick Reference Guide is wrong.
– asdfex
Aug 13 at 9:46
@Hypomania Thanks for pointing this out, The entry in the Quick Reference Guide is wrong.
– asdfex
Aug 13 at 9:46
add a comment |Â
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1
How to choose ICs? Read the data sheet, compare the features, don't compare the part numbers. VTC as my opinion is just as good as the next person's about why they chose particular part numbers.
– Neil_UK
Aug 11 at 13:34
@Neil_UK thanks for that, I am used to commercial CPU and GPU marketing where higher number is always better :)
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 13:43
1
There is always a tradeoff... I'd pay special attention to tolerances and accuracy specifications, especially surrounding clocks and voltages. I was looking at the differences between the PIC10F200 and the ATTiny9. The ATTiny9 seemed better in every respect AND was cheaper, until i found out that the ATTiny9 clock calibration is +/- 10% while the PIC10F200 is +/- 2%.
– gregb212
Aug 11 at 13:56
@gregb212 thank you, I will double check the tolerances!
– Hypomania
Aug 11 at 14:06
1
Atmel/microchip have a parametric search tool for selecting parts. That is the 'proper' way to select parts rather than inferring anything from the part numbers. The SAMs and competing products like the STM32s have incomprehensible part numbering.
– whatsisname
Aug 11 at 16:44