ATmega168 vs ATmega328

Forum 2005-2010 (read only) General Frequently-Asked Questions
1

Hello, I have a Arduino Duemilanove with the ATmega168 chip - is there any reason for me not to upgrade it to the ATmega328 chip? I use the Arduino Duemilanove to develope small program for the m168, then install them in other PCB boards I etch. Right now I'm building a laminator temperature control circuit using the m168 chip.

The m168 does everything I need now, but as my knowledge grows, I would like to think I might need the extra of the m328 chip - and since they are about the same price - would it not make sense for me to buy the m328 rather than a m168 as I purchase new chips?

Thanks to all for any info and guidance.

Ken H>

2

Yes I can't see anything wrong with that way of thinking. I could get the 168 quite a bit cheaper and so I reserve the 328 chips for the bigger projects. Bt if they are the same price (or close) then go for it.

3

thank you for the input Mike - I look at DigiKey & Mouser (my usual sources) either chip is $4 to $4.50 each.

Is there a source for the chips in the 1 to 5 count range with better prices shipped?

Thanks again for the input. I was getting ready to order a couple of chips and got to thinking about the m328.

Ken H.

4

digikey is going to be hard to beat on price, but you can get them at places like seeedstudios (http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/) with the bootloader already burned on it

the ones from digikey are totally blank, and require a programmer of some sort

5

Thanks for the concern Osgeld, I use the bootloader for developement with the Arduino board, but once I've got everything working as I want, I use a programmer to just burn the hex file bypassing the bootloader.

I just looked at the seeedstudio site and their m168 is less with bootloader burned in that Digikey is for a blank kit - depending on shipping costs of course.

Ken H>