MPC8540PX833LC - PowerQUICC III 833MHz Host Processor | NXP
MPN: MPC8540PX833LC ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $175 | $175.00 |
| 10 | $165 | $1,650.00 |
| 100 | $155 | $15,500.00 |
| 500 | $148 | $74,000.00 |
| 1,000 | $140 | $140,000.00 |
MPC8540PX833LC Overview
A microprocessor (MPU) is the central processing unit of an embedded system, executing operating-system and protocol-stack code that coordinates peripherals, memory, and off-chip I/O. The MPC8540 belongs to the PowerQUICC III family, descended from Freescale's MPC8xx and MPC82xx PowerQUICC lines; it sits in the hierarchy: MPU -> embedded processor -> integrated host processor -> PowerPC architecture -> PowerQUICC family. This product type is typically used where a system-on-chip integrates both computation and the communications peripherals needed for line cards, routers, and storage controllers, reducing board area and BOM versus a discrete CPU-plus-bridge design.
Key features include the PowerPC e500 core with dual-issue execution, integrated DDR/DDR2 memory controller with ECC support, four GigaEthernet MACs (two SGMII/SerDes capable), a TCP/IP acceleration engine (CCE), and PCI/PCI-X bridge. The device also integrates local bus and serial RapidIO interfaces for high-speed interconnect to FPGAs or companion processors in modular designs.
Process technology is 0.13 um CMOS with a core voltage near 1.2 V and I/O at 2.5 V / 3.3 V, achieving 833 MHz operation at moderate power. Security and reliability features include parity on internal buses and ECC on external memory, supporting carrier-grade uptime requirements.
Typical applications include enterprise routers and switches, wireless base-station baseband and control cards, network-attached storage (NAS) controllers, industrial control planes, and telecom line cards. The 783-ball FCBGA provides high pincount for parallel memory and multi-GbE SerDes interfaces.
Designers should plan thermal management for the FCBGA from the start; the package has limited heat-spreader compatibility. JTAG/cOP supports boundary-scan bring-up and the on-chip CCE can offload 100 Mbps-class encryption tasks, but background processing and DMA tuning still require driver-level configuration.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, same-package drop-in alternatives, and field design notes not consolidated in the manufacturer datasheet. Prices are listed as of 2026-10-16.
Drop-in alternatives for MPC8540PX833LC — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
Variants in this series
Same-series models that are drop-in compatible with MPC8540PX833LC (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Ethernet Controllers, Memory Controller, Mounting Type, Package, Processor Type.
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No drop-in alternatives available for this product.
Request AlternativesMPC8540PX833LC Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Manufacturer | NXP Semiconductors (originally Freescale) |
| Product Family | PowerQUICC III |
| Processor Type | MPC85xx PowerQUICC III, 32-bit |
| Core Architecture | PowerPC e500 |
| Core Count | 1 |
| Operating Frequency | 833 MHz |
| Core Voltage | 1.2 V |
| I/O Voltage | 2.5 V / 3.3 V |
| Package | 783-FCPBGA (29x29 mm) |
| Process Technology | 0.13 um CMOS |
| Memory Controller | DDR/DDR2 with ECC |
| Ethernet MACs | 4 Gigabit (incl. SGMII) |
| PCI Interface | PCI / PCI-X |
| Acceleration Engine | Communications Engine (CCE) |
| Lead-Free Status | Contains Lead |
MPC8540PX833LC 783-fcpbga (29x29 mm) Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for MPC8540PX833LC (783-fcpbga (29x29 mm) package). This digital IC includes GPIO, communication interfaces (UART, SPI, I2C), and power pins. Refer to the manufacturer datasheet for alternate pin functions and configuration options. Essential for embedded system design and PCB layout.
No detailed pinout data available for MPC8540PX833LC.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
MPC8540PX833LC is suitable for 7 applications: Enterprise Router Control Plane, Wireless Base Station Baseband Card, Network-Attached Storage (NAS) Controller, Industrial Control Plane and Gateways, Telecom Line Card, Voice over IP (VoIP) Media Gateway, Printer and Imaging Controller Board.
Enterprise Router Control Plane
The MPC8540PX833LC suits enterprise router control-plane processors by combining a PowerPC e500 core at 833 MHz with quad Gigabit Ethernet MACs and a Communications Engine (CCE) for protocol acceleration. The 833 MHz performance headroom keeps routing tables in cache and handles BGP/OSPF packet bursts, while the integrated DDR/DDR2 controller with ECC protects forwarding tables from soft errors. Per the Freescale PowerQUICC III brief, this part is intended for routers that aggregate multiple GbE links without requiring an external NP. Placed on a line card, the MPC8540PX833LC scales from edge routers to enterprise aggregation switches where deterministic performance and four Ethernet ports are needed in a single chip.
Recommended
Wireless Base Station Baseband Card
In wireless base-station baseband cards, the MPC8540PX833LC handles Layer 2/3 processing, timing, and OAM while keeping tight power budgets. The PowerPC e500 at 833 MHz provides the deterministic throughput required for protocol-stack termination and backhaul aggregation. The 783-FCPBGA exposes SerDes lanes that connect directly to SGMII PHYs and to FPGA co-processors for PHY-layer DSP, allowing designers to reuse the same platform from 3G to LTE FDD/TDD with firmware swaps. ECC on the DDR2 memory bus is essential for carrier-grade uptime as required by telecom operators, and the MPC8540's PCI-X port offers a path to legacy digital-radio cards.
Recommended
Network-Attached Storage (NAS) Controller
The MPC8540PX833LC is well-suited to NAS controllers where the PowerPC e500 coordinates RAID, iSCSI, NFS, and SMB stacks. The DDR2 controller with ECC ensures memory integrity under multi-protocol load, while the PCI-X interface connects to SAS/SATA controller chips for disk aggregation. The integrated CCE can accelerate checksum and AES offload, reducing host CPU overhead for high-throughput file operations. Power dissipation of the FCBGA is dominated by core current at 1.2 V; a 4-layer PCB with inner power planes keeps thermal performance acceptable in 1U rack enclosures.
Recommended
Industrial Control Plane and Gateways
Industrial gateways benefit from the MPC8540PX833LC's combination of deterministic PowerPC processing and Quad Ethernet switching, which can bridge factory-floor protocols (PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP) to enterprise networks. The PCI-X port allows expansion through FPGA cards for industrial bus connectivity, while the integrated CCE secures production data with hardware-accelerated IPsec/TLS. Operating-system support is mature (VxWorks, Linux with BSP), accelerating time-to-market for industrial OEM designs and replacing legacy MPC82xx designs with the same Freescale/NXP ecosystem.
Recommended
Telecom Line Card
Telecom line cards in carrier-grade systems rely on the MPC8540PX833LC for ATM/PWE/Ethernet interworking with deterministic performance. The four Gigabit Ethernet MACs, two routed through SerDes for SGMII fiber uplinks, deliver the bandwidth density demanded by metro aggregation; the local bus supports glueless glue-logic to TDM framers. The integrated DDR2 controller with ECC is essential for compliance with NEBS standards on memory integrity. JTAG/cOP allows manufacturing-level boundary scan and on-chip debug for the 783-FCPBGA assembly, simplifying production test and field diagnostics.
Recommended
Voice over IP (VoIP) Media Gateway
In VoIP media gateways, the MPC8540PX833LC provides the packet processing throughput and signal-handling capability needed for TDM-to-IP conversion. The CCE accelerates RTP jitter buffer operations and IPsec SRTP encryption simultaneously, offloading what would otherwise require a dedicated DSP. The PowerPC e500 with MMU supports a real-time OS or Linux with PREEMPT_RT, giving developers flexibility for high-availability gateways. The PCI-X expansion slot supports DSP cards for legacy vocoder support, while the integrated GMII interfaces allow redundant Ethernet uplinks to PBX systems.
Recommended
Printer and Imaging Controller Board
High-end multifunction printers and production imaging systems use the MPC8540PX833LC as their scanner/print-pipeline controller, where the PowerPC e500 coordinates scan-to-email, format conversion, and RIP pipelines. The PCI-X interface connects to engine boards and FPGA image processors, while the integrated Ethernet ports support Gigabit connectivity for office deployment. DDR2 memory with ECC ensures image data integrity under high-duty-cycle operation. The same FCBGA family footprint used by other PowerQUICC III parts lets the OEM reuse PCB layout across multiple product SKUs.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for MPC8540PX833LC — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | MPC8540PXAQFC | MPC8540PX833LB | MPC8541VTAPF | MPC8543VTAQG | MPC8555EVTAPF | MPC8548EVJAUJD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 783-FCPBGA (29x29) | 783-FCPBGA (29x29) - same | 783-FCPBGA (29x29) - same | 783-FCPBGA (29x29) - same | 783-FCPBGA (29x29) - same | 783-FCPBGA (29x29) - same | 783-FCPBGA (29x29) - same |
| Brand | NXP Semiconductors | NXP Semiconductors | NXP Semiconductors | NXP Semiconductors | NXP Semiconductors | NXP Semiconductors | NXP Semiconductors |
| Core Architecture | PowerPC e500 | PowerPC e500 | PowerPC e500 | PowerPC e500 | PowerPC e500 | PowerPC e500 | PowerPC e500 (enhanced) |
| Process Technology | 0.13 um CMOS | 0.13 um CMOS | 0.13 um CMOS | 0.13 um CMOS | 0.13 um CMOS | 0.13 um CMOS | 90 nm CMOS |
| Memory Controller | DDR/DDR2 with ECC | DDR/DDR2 with ECC | DDR/DDR2 with ECC | DDR/DDR2 with ECC | DDR/DDR2 with ECC | DDR/DDR2 with ECC | DDR2/DDR3 with ECC |
| Ethernet MACs | 4x Gigabit (2 SGMII SerDes) | 4x Gigabit (2 SGMII) | 4x Gigabit (2 SGMII) | 4x Gigabit (enhanced) | 4x Gigabit (QoS-enhanced) | 4x Gigabit + cPCI | Enhanced fabric SerDes |
| PCI / Local Bus | PCI / PCI-X + Local Bus | PCI / PCI-X + Local Bus | PCI / PCI-X + Local Bus | PCI / PCI-X + Local Bus | PCI / PCI-X + Local Bus | PCI / PCI-X + Local Bus | PCI-X + Serial RapidIO |
Key Differentiators
- Same FCBGA footprint across multiple PowerQUICC III speeds (vs MPC8540PXAQFC and MPC8540PX833LB)
- Integrated quad GbE with SerDes (vs MPC8548EVJAUJD)
- Communications Engine (CCE) acceleration (vs MPC8555VTAPF)
Design Notes
Estimated: at 1.2 V core and 833 MHz, the FCBGA consumes on the order of 5-8 W typical. Designers should attach a heatsink compatible with 29x29 mm FCBGA land pattern; thermal simulations should assume junction-to-ambient 31.4 C/W or larger without airflow. Adequate copper area under the package and inner power planes are required. Severity: recommended.
Use 50 ohm controlled-impedance routing for all SerDes and SGMII lanes, and keep DDR2 trace lengths matched within +/-25 mils on the address/command group per NXP MPC8540 Design Checklist. Reference NXP AN2922 and AN3221 (DDR2 design and SerDes layout) when laying out the PCB. Severity: recommended.
Do not confuse the MPC8540 (PowerQUICC III) with the MPC8536 (also PowerQUICC III but different SerDes/fabric). Verify against NXP's part-number decoder before laying out. Also verify errata: eTSEC and PCI-X errata exist for early silicon revisions that may require software workarounds. Severity: critical.
Compliance Information
Lead-Free Status: 'Contains Lead' per DigiChip parts data (MPC8540PX833LC variant). RoHS, REACH, and halogen-free data not found in provided distributor snippets - check NXP Longevity program documentation for RoHS-compliant ordering suffix.