Choosing a high performance soft core

[shaiko]

I'm evaluating various soft processor platforms for digital signal control applications.
The requirements are as follows:

1. Free (not nessacerily open source).
2. 32 bit architecture.
3. DSP capabilities with multipliers and FPU.
4. Multi core capability (with each core performing different tasks) - limitted only by the FPGA's density.
5. Good tools to work with.

I came up with the following options:

1. LEON 3/4
2. OPENRISC (1000/1200/2000)

With the listed requirements in mind - please leave your inputs regarging the soft cores I proposed. Also, if you know of any other options that may fit the bill - please advice...

 

[lucbra]

if you mean free as in 'no money' then you will need to revise your list.
No Emb MCU is free. I mean, you are developping code using tools (are they at limited cost), do you need a simulator/emulator? what's the cost of ownership? can you distribute in volume? How steep is the learning curve? Time spent to port the core to your architecture? etc, etc .

Sometimes it's better to pay something for the license and in return you'll get a full blown design environment.