CH32H417: WCH's Dual-Core 400MHz RISC-V MCU with USB 3.0 5Gbps
WCH's first V5F-class flagship. A heterogeneous RISC-V dual core (V5F 400MHz + V3F) with built-in 5Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 1 PHY, 100M Ethernet PHY, Type-C/PD, dual high-speed ADCs, and 6.83 CoreMark/MHz.
Overview
The CH32H417 is WCH's highest-performance RISC-V microcontroller and the company's first chip built on the new QingKe V5F core. It pairs a 400 MHz RISC-V V5F application core with a smaller RISC-V V3F communication core, integrating a 5 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 1 PHY, USB 2.0 High-Speed PHY, 10/100M Ethernet PHY, and Type-C/PD PHY on a single die. With measured USB 3.0 throughput of 450 MB/s — close to the theoretical limit — the CH32H417 targets high-speed data acquisition, industrial machine vision, USB 3.0 peripheral controllers, and embedded video processing.
Key Specifications
| Big Core | QingKe V5F (RV32IMAFC) @ 400 MHz |
| Little Core | QingKe V3F (RV32IMAC) for communication |
| CoreMark / MHz | 6.83 (V5F) |
| Flash | 512 KB zero-wait-state code area |
| SRAM | Large on-chip SRAM (refer to datasheet) |
| USB 3.2 Gen 1 | 5 Gbps with built-in PHY (measured 450 MB/s) |
| USB 2.0 HS | 480 Mbps with built-in PHY (Host + Device) |
| Ethernet | 10/100M MAC + built-in PHY |
| Type-C / PD | Built-in Type-C/PD controller and PHY (PDUSB) |
| High-Speed Serial | SerDes transceiver, UHSIF (500 MB/s parallel port) |
| Display | LTDC (TFT-LCD controller), DVP camera input |
| Storage | SDIO / SD / eMMC controller, 2x QuadSPI |
| ADCs | 2x 12-bit 5 Msps ADCs + 1x 10-bit 20 Msps HSADC |
| DAC / OPA / CMP | 2 DAC, 3 OPA, 1 voltage comparator |
| Serial | 8x USART, 2x I2S, 2x QuadSPI, I3C, CAN, GPHA, PIOC |
| Security | AES / SM4 hardware crypto, RNG |
| Package | QFN128 (full-featured), QFN88 |
QingKe V5F: WCH's Newest Application Core
The V5F is the top of WCH's QingKe RISC-V family. At 400 MHz with 6.83 CoreMark/MHz, it sits well above the V4F used in the CH32V307/317/303 series (~3.5 CoreMark/MHz at 144 MHz) and the V3V used in the CH32V407/467 (~4.11 CoreMark/MHz at 200 MHz). The V5F adds:
- Deeper pipeline and wider issue for higher per-clock throughput
- Improved branch prediction and cache subsystem
- Single-precision FPU with hardware divide
- Tight integration with the V3F companion core over an on-chip bus
Unlike the CH32V407's V3V, the V5F does not include the RVV vector extension — the focus of the H417 is on high-speed serial, display, and general-purpose compute rather than DSP.
Why Heterogeneous Dual-Core?
The V5F (big) + V3F (little) split is a classic big.LITTLE pattern adapted for MCUs:
- V5F (400 MHz): Application-level compute — image processing, video pipeline, file system, UI, AI inference pre/post-processing
- V3F: Communication and protocol handling — USB stack, Ethernet TCP/IP, CAN, peripheral servicing
By offloading the always-on protocol stack to the V3F, the V5F is freed to deliver sustained application throughput without being interrupted by USB or Ethernet interrupts. In a USB 3.0 mass-storage or UVC camera design, this dual-core split is the difference between a smooth pipeline and a stuttering one.
USB 3.2 Gen 1 — 5 Gbps with Built-in PHY
Most MCUs require an external ULPI or PCIe-based PHY to reach 5 Gbps USB. The CH32H417 integrates the SuperSpeed PHY on-chip, so you only need a USB-C connector, ESD protection, and a few passives. WCH has measured real-world throughput of 450 MB/s — within 12% of the 500 MB/s theoretical maximum.
Typical USB 3.0 applications on the H417 include:
- USB 3.0 mass storage (UASP) — external SSDs and NVMe enclosures
- USB Video Class (UVC) 4K cameras
- USB Audio Class (UAC 2.0) at high sample rates
- USB-to-Ethernet / USB-to-SATA bridge dongles
- USB 3.0 logic analyzers and data acquisition front-ends
Type-C / PDUSB — Power + Data on One Pin
PDUSB is WCH's combined USB + Type-C Power Delivery interface. The H417 supports USB Host, USB Device, and PD source/sink roles natively, so a single Type-C port can carry both high-speed data and up to 100 W of negotiated power. This eliminates the separate power jack on many designs and enables USB-PD-powered devices.
High-Speed Analog: Dual 5 Msps + 20 Msps ADC
For data acquisition and motor control, the H417 packs a serious analog front end:
- 2x 12-bit ADCs at 5 Msps each (general-purpose)
- 1x 10-bit HSADC at 20 Msps (oscilloscope, RF sampling, high-speed sensing)
- 2x 12-bit DACs
- 3x operational amplifiers
- 1x voltage comparator
Combined with DVP camera input and the parallel UHSIF (500 MB/s) port, the H417 can act as the front-end for industrial vision pipelines, multi-channel oscilloscopes, and ultrasound / lidar pre-processing.
Display Pipeline
The on-chip LTDC (LCD-TFT Display Controller) supports direct drive of parallel RGB panels up to WXGA resolution, while DVP captures incoming camera data. This makes the H417 suitable for:
- Industrial HMI panels with live camera preview
- Portable ultrasound or endoscope controllers
- USB capture cards (HDMI-to-USB or DVP-to-USB)
- Smart retail signage with face detection
Development Environment
- IDE: MounRiver Studio (MRS) — Eclipse-based, free, includes toolchain and project templates
- Debugger: WCH-LinkE (one debugger covers all CH32V/CH32H/CH32L series)
- SDK: Peripheral library + HAL + USB 3.0 stack + FreeRTOS templates
- Examples: USB 3.0 mass storage, USB Video Class, Ethernet + lwIP, DVP capture, LTDC GUI, PD source/sink
H417 vs CH32V407 vs CH32H417's Position
| Feature | CH32V407 | CH32H417 |
|---|---|---|
| Core | V3V @ 200 MHz | V5F @ 400 MHz + V3F dual-core |
| CoreMark/MHz | 4.11 | 6.83 |
| USB | 2x USB 2.0 HS (480 Mbps) | 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) + 1x USB 2.0 HS |
| Ethernet | 10/100M PHY | 10/100M PHY |
| Type-C / PD | No | Yes (PDUSB) |
| ADC | 2x 12-bit | 2x 12-bit 5 Msps + 1x 10-bit 20 Msps |
| Display | LTDC + DVP | LTDC + DVP + UHSIF 500 MB/s |
| Vector (RVV) | Yes (V3V) | No (V5F application core) |
| Crypto | AES | AES + SM4 |
Use the CH32V407 when you need vector DSP and dual USB 2.0 HS on a single chip. Use the CH32H417 when you need raw bandwidth — USB 3.0, faster cores, and high-speed analog.
Application Examples
USB 3.0 NVMe SSD Enclosure
The H417 can act as a USB-to-NVMe bridge controller. The V3F handles the USB 3.0 mass-storage class and UASP protocol; the V5F manages the NVMe command set and wear-leveling glue logic. A typical design needs only the H417, a USB-C connector, and a PCIe-to-NVMe adapter — about 5 components total.
Industrial USB Camera
Connect a DVP image sensor to the H417, run image processing (auto-exposure, denoise, JPEG encode) on the V5F, and stream UVC over USB 3.0. The V3F handles USB protocol so the V5F can spend 100% of its cycles on pixel processing.
Portable Oscilloscope / Data Logger
Sample four channels at 20 Msps through the HSADC, store to SD via SDIO, and stream live captures to a host PC over USB 3.0 — all on a single chip.
Limitations
The H417 is not a vector DSP chip. If your workload is heavy on SIMD-style numeric code (radar, audio FFT, ML inference on quantized models), look at the CH32V407/467 with RVV, or step up to the SpacemiT K1/K3 SoCs. The H417's strengths are serial bandwidth, display, and general-purpose compute — not vector math.