# Texas Instruments MSP430

5 Hacker News commenters recommended Texas Instruments MSP430 and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Low-power microcontroller people use for battery-powered projects, praised for efficiency and performance. Critics note TI discontinues specific models, and some find them pricey.

## Why people recommend it

- Very low power draw (2 comments): "An MSP430 of any vintage could run for years on a battery bank." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47106181)) "Good chip, good times. Insanely low power draw!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46961830))

## What people warn about

- Wish it were cheaper (1 comments): "I just wish they were cheaper" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46171817))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [ESP32](https://hackerapproved.com/p/esp32.md): 190 recommend
- [Arduino boards](https://hackerapproved.com/p/arduino.md): 81 recommend
- [Raspberry Pi Pico](https://hackerapproved.com/p/raspberry-pi-pico.md): 72 recommend
- [Raspberry Pi RP2040](https://hackerapproved.com/p/rp2040.md): 29 recommend
- [ESP32-S3](https://hackerapproved.com/p/esp32-s3.md): 26 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Texas+Instruments+MSP430+FRAM+microcontroller&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://www.ti.com/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Texas Instruments MSP430", https://hackerapproved.com/p/msp430/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).