On Fri, 9 Feb 2001 15:05:27 -0500, you wrote:

>It all boils down to money.  It costs them the same amount of money to
>create a device with few peripherals as it does to create on with a =
dozen
>peripherals.  They can charge more for the one with a dozen peripherals,
>unless it's their only offering.  So they have to at least offer and
>create both chips so they can profit from the markup of the second one.
Not entirely true. There are 2 basic cost issues in making chips :=20
More peripherals =3D more die area  =3D fewer die per wafer =3D more cost
per die.
The only exception to this is where the design is pad-limited, i.e.
the die size required for the bond pads is such that more stuff can be
added to the die without increasing the size. This is why you don't
often see very simple chips with lots of pins.=20

More peripherals =3D more test time =3D lower throughput =3D more cost =
per
die.
In some cases, testing can be the most expensive step in production.=20
=20

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