ARC International Announces New Versions of the Configurable ARC(TM) 700 Core Family; New Core Releases Offer Significant Performance Improvements.

ELSTREE, England -- ARC International (LSE:ARK), the world leader in configurable CPU/DSP processor cores and application subsystems, today announced new releases of the patented ARC(TM) 700 processor core family, with significantly improved performance in both Dhrystone MIPS (DMIPS) and frequency. The improved ARC 700 processor family extends ARC's leadership position in delivering the industry's most efficient high performance cores in terms of DMIPS per silicon-die-area and DMIPS per power budget.

The newly released ARC 700 core family incorporates RTL improvements in the core's execution pipeline and other critical paths. The new cores also support high performance standard cell and memory libraries. They feature increases of up to 33 percent in processor clock frequency and up to 69 percent in Dhrystone MIPS, while retaining the smallest die area and lowest power in their performance classes.

The synthesizable ARC 750D core, ARC's high end processor in the 700 family, now offers a clock frequency of up to 533 MHz and a Dhrystone DMIPS performance of 813 on a 0.13um process.(1,2,3) This DMIPS score outperforms the competing ARM 1136J-S core while offering much lower die area and power consumption.(4)

Table 1
---------------------- ------------------ ------------------
                          ARC 750D(1)       ARM 1136J-S(4)
---------------------- ------------------ ------------------
Frequency (MHz)(2)             533                550
---------------------- ------------------ ------------------
DMIPS                          813                660
---------------------- ------------------ ------------------
Power (mW/MHz)(3)              0.16               0.60
---------------------- ------------------ ------------------
Area (mm sq.)(3)               1.23               2.85
---------------------- ------------------ ------------------

(1) This configuration of the ARC 750D core includes an MMU and
16K of I-cache and D-cache.  (2) Frequency numbers are quoted in a
0.13LV-OD technology.  (3) Power and area numbers do not include RAMs,
and are quoted in a 0.13G process.  (4) ARM numbers are based on
published data from www.arm.com.

"The new versions of the 700 core family offer our customers the ability to achieve even higher performance and lower power, all while continuing to deliver the benefits of configurability," said Derek Meyer, vice president of sales and marketing for ARC International. "ARC's engineering team has delivered a number of significant improvements to the 700 family. These improvements have produced outstanding new benchmarks in absolute performance while offering the most efficient cores in the industry."

Availability

The new versions of the ARC 700 core family will be available to new licensees at the end of August 2005. In addition, the new cores will be available as a maintenance release to all ARC 700 family licensees with current maintenance agreements for no additional charge.

The Configurable ARC 700 Core Family

The ARC 700 family of configurable cores uses a seven-stage pipeline to deliver 1.53 DMIPS/MHz performance. Each core has DSP capability as a standard feature with optional DSP functions in the form of the ARC XY Advanced DSP subsystem. RTOS and secure processing support is provided, as is the option for a Memory Management Unit (MMU). The 700 core family also makes an ideal platform for devices requiring embedded Linux.

About ARC International plc

ARC International is the world leader in low-power, high-performance 32-bit configurable CPU/DSP processor cores, subsystems, real-time operating systems and development tools for embedded system design. ARC's patented configurable CPU technology assists customers in the development of next-generation digital media, consumer and communications devices, resulting in lower cost, higher performance SoC products.

ARC International maintains a worldwide presence with corporate offices in San Jose, California, USA and Elstree, UK. The company has research and development offices located in England and the United States. For more information please visit the ARC website at www.ARC.com. ARC International is listed on the London Stock Exchange as ARC International plc (LSE:ARK).

ARC and the ARC logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of ARC International. All other brands or product names contained herein are the property of their respective owners. This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For factors that could cause actual results to differ, visit the company's Website as well as the listing particulars filed with the United Kingdom Listing Authority and the Registrar of Companies in England and Wales.