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[Reply #15 on:]

So,should i start looking at other micro controllers?

No, first you should put measurable numbers on what 'extensive' means. How much data has to move in volume in how much time, what are the latency time values you have to meet on servicing the tasks that have to respond to for input pin changes, etc.

Otherwise our suggestions are just guesses at what you may or may not require, as well as recommending some other controller type.

Lefty

[Reply #16 on:]

You can use dual ported RAM, they are pretty cheap these days and give you 1 or 2k of common memory. Look at the IDT71V30, CY7C131 etc. Can't get much faster than that.

Can you explain more what needs to be done, it's probable that a faster processor is the way to go really. Remember that the mythical ARM Arduino will be coming out before long (yeah right ), I'm currently working on an ARM Arduino and can advise on using the SAM3U if needed.

The SAM has about 96 IO lines depending on what combination of IO you need.

______
Rob

[Reply #17 on:]

I guess I'd like to have a better idea of what the needs are in the first place.

How much data has to be pushed? That in turn will determine how many cycles each Arduino will spend transmitting and receiving the stuff. 1Mbit/s over serial is easy to implement natively. That's a lot of data. Allegedly. I²C gets up to 100kB/s in fast mode. Sooner than later, you'd run out of RAM at these speeds... so a 'bigger' processor may be needed not because of the bus speeds but because the Arduinos are presently not blessed with a lot of RAM.

Very powerful alternatives that are attempting to marry a 32-bit microprocessor with shield compatibility and fairly successful IDE compatibility include the Maple system from LeafLabs or the Digilent Chipkit versions out there. Neither is a drop-in replacement, Arduino code may not work as well as intended but these are powerful chips...

[Reply #18 on:]

So,should i start looking at other micro controllers?

You would have the same questions there anyway. You need to quantify things. How much data? How much needs to be exchanged? How often? SPI is fastest and is done in hardware so, within reason, you can be doing other things.

[Reply #19 on:]

Well, i've decided to use the xmega128A1 ill keep u guys posted.

[Reply #20 on:]

I designed a two processor '1284 board not too long ago, haven't made one up tho.