STM32F7 vs STM32H7: Which is Better for a New VoIP/Ethernet Project?

[Artron]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to develop a VoIP/IP intercom application using FreeRTOS, LwIP, SIP, RTP, UDP/TCP, and an audio codec (SAI/I2S). I'm trying to decide between the STM32F7 and STM32H7 series (e.g., STM32F769I-DISCO vs STM32H750B-DK).

From real-world experience, what are the main differences between the F7 and H7 beyond the datasheet specifications? Is the H7 worth choosing for a new networking/audio project, or is the F7 sufficient? Are there any practical drawbacks of the H7, such as cache or DMA complexity?

I'd appreciate any recommendations or experiences from developers who have worked with both series.

[mƎALLEm]

Hello ​@Artron and welcome to the ST community,

H7 has higher performance then F7: max clock frequency (480MHz vs 216Mhz) , more internal RAM. H7 has more scattered architecture (3 bus matrices, each bus matrix has at least one RAM).

Both have the same core Cortex-M7 with cache (instruction and data) with the same size. So they share the same software development challenges regarding the cache: cache coherency etc ..

H7 has more advanced DMA called MDMA and DMA mux. 

H7 is more or less complex as development platform than F7. But with more features and more performance.

Don’t forget to refer to their errata sheets as some erratas may not fit your application.

Hope that helps.

These application notes may give you a raw idea about their architectures/complexity:

AN4667 “STM32F7 Series system architecture and performance”

AN4891 “STM32H72x, STM32H73x, and single-core STM32H74x/75x system architecture and performance”

→ Look at the AN4891 section “2.6 Main architecture differences between STM32F7 series and, STM32H72x, STM32H73x, STM32H74x, and STM32H75x devices”:

STM32H7 has more advanced Ethernet peripherals vs F7. Need to check the “Ethernet (ETH): media access control (MAC) with DMA controller” section in each related reference manual: RM0433 / RM0410

Hope that helps.