In this paper, we describe resourceefficient hardware architectures for softwaredefined radio （SDR） frontends. These architectures are made efficient by using a polyphase channelizer that performs arbitrary sample rate changes, frequency selection, and bandwidth control. We discuss area, time, and power optimization for field programmable gate array （FPGA） based architectures in an Mpath polyphase filter bank with modified Npath polyphase filter. Such systems allow resampling by arbitrary ratios while simultaneously performing baseband aliasing from center frequencies at Nyquist zones that are not multiples of the output sample rate. A nonmaximally decimated polyphase filter bank, where the number of data loads is not equal to the number of M subfilters, processes M subfilters in a time period that is either less than or greater than the Mdataload ＇ s time period. We present a loadprocess architecture （LPA） and a runtime architecture （RA） （based on serial polyphase structure） which have different scheduling. In LPA, Nsubfilters are loaded, and then M subfilters are processed at a clock rate that is a multiple of the input data rate. This is necessary to meet the output time constraint of the down-sampled data. In RA, Msubfilters processes are efficiently scheduled within Ndataload time while simultaneously loading N subfilters. This requires reduced clock rates compared with LPA, and potentially less power is consumed. A polyphase filter bank that uses different resampling factors for maximally decimated, underdecimated, overdecimated, and combined upand downsampled scenarios is used as a case study, and an analysis of area, time, and power for their FPGA architectures is given. For resourceoptimized SDR frontends, RA is superior for reducing operating clock rates and dynamic power consumption. RA is also superior for reducing area resources, except when indices are prestored in LUTs.