MiniMig with AGA

[Dr_Righteous]

One step closer to the allusive Amiga laptop.

...sans UAE that is.

[Dr_Righteous]

Those prices are insane! I realize the demand is low, but those prices don't exactly invite development either.

[Dr_Righteous]

I cant help but wonder, why does minimig use a 68000 cpu, rather than a coldfire with CK68KLib running in 68060 mode? Seems like a logical progression with AGA on the way.

[Dr_Righteous]

Um, y'all do know that the v3 and higher coldfire chips are faster and cheaper than all of those 68Ks, and can translate whichever core you want to use just by changing out the library you use in the boot ROM, right?

[Dr_Righteous]

@kolla - No, the original purpose of the minimig was an A4000 clone, but Dennis had to start somewhere. Besides I was responding to the 020 and 030 posts. A MCF5407CAI220 is about US$26, vs $40-65 for the 020 or 030.

@MskoDestny - ...and at 220MHz I seriously doubt those traps would slow it down enough to even notice. The remainder of the coldfire's core is still 68K instruction compatable. The benefit I see is being able to select the CPU you want to emulate for maximum compatability and performance. Hell, make it a menu in the boot ROM. Before you load the library, select the CPU for this session.

[Dr_Righteous]

Well that may or may not have been his original intentions. I'll conceed that point. But I DO clearly remember it was most people's intentions to take the concept well beyond A500.

Be it a v4 Coldfire or TG68 in a rubber burnin' FPGA, AGA is coming and we'll need more power than that 68000 in the v1.1.

[Dr_Righteous]

@MikeJ

What FPGA does it use? [edit]Nevermind, I found the answer... Spartan 3E[/edit]

And is the estimated pricing still the same?

[Dr_Righteous]

It sounds like we should have some kind of cross-project repository for all of this VHDL. A blending of technologies, sharing research and code. Pick your favorite FPGA kit, select the code pieces you want to use, put them together and run with it.

Exciting times!

[Dr_Righteous]

Can't guarantee the 060, but am adapting my minimig netbook now to hopefully get aga onboard now... gee thanks guys for moving the goal posts just when I had the pcb masks prepped...

There is a solution for that... Use a big honkin' FPGA. Future proof now! LOL!

[Dr_Righteous]

Speaking of the DE boards, has anyone successfully used the minimig core on the DE2-70? That sure is a heapin' helpin' of LEs, and I foresee a lot more code coming down the pipe.

[Dr_Righteous]

Do you have a reflow oven ?  The FPGA is BGA (Ball Grid), you cannot just take a fine pitch soldering iron to it.

Then again, people are fixing their video cards, when Dry joints appear on them under the BGA chips, plonk them in a Toaster Oven.

What's wrong with working the BGA on with a rework station? They're just US$99.

http://www.mcumall.com/comersus/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=4393

These guys rock! I just bought a USB PIC programmer from them.