FPGA Replay Board

[mikej]

Although there is only one physical DRAM interface, the current core uses it as a single random access memory. As long as the address(es) are in a separate physical bank inside the memory it is possible to effectively do several reads at the same time. So, for the display controller it can bust read memory at the same time as the CPU without impacting its performance.

A clever memory controller will automatically open as many banks as possible at the same time, so by careful address mapping of chip / fast regions we could speed things up.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

How do I get on the list for a PS/2 capable version of replay + 060 daughterboard?

No way in hell do I want a version that requires a USB keyboard or USB mouse.  All my equipment is PS/2.  All my KVM switches are PS/2.  All my mice are PS/2.  All my keyboards are PS/2.  PS/2 works on everything in the universe.  USB does not.  No way in hell am I downgrading to USB keyboards or mice.  USB is for cameras and mp3 players and things that get disconnected and reconnected all the time.   For things that plug in and sit there, PS/2 is superior and is interrupt driven and doesn't waste any cpu power.

It's a build option. The USB is driven with a small dedicated microcontroller directly into the FPGA, so the system does not see a difference between the PS2 and USB devices.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

would this CPU work in my replay board when I get one?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MOTOROLA-RC-68060-50MHz-CPU-MMU-FPU-XC68060RC50A-01F43G-/321055249815?pt=UK_VintageComputing_RL&hash=item4ac0625597

I would like to get one before the rush.

50mhz is OK for me.

Thanks!

That's a really early mask. I can get these no problem in China at a pretty good price.
(I sent most of the last batch back though, so none at the moment)
/MikeJ

[mikej]

China stops completely for two weeks, so they are sitting waiting for assembly.
I have the complete usb adapter modules for testing though.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

@MikeJ:
TobiFlex in flesh and bone has fixed some TG68 bugs yesterday and now TG68 is compatible with certain games that crashed before. Maybe you should merge his changes with the new core. Relevant thread:

http://minimig.net/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=558

Got it.

[mikej]

No, there was to be a physical 68060 on a daughterboard.
Any ARM cpu on the board was for configuration loading/setup/whatever-else.

In theory you could run non-Natami configurations on the FPGA with their own softcores, or mount another type of CPU/FPGA on a custom daughterboard. Those were just ideas that were discussed on the forums though, not something Thomas ever showed interest in.

Andy

And this is exactly how the Replay works. The ARM controller configures the FPGA and handles the SD card in a (becoming) generic way. The CPU of your choice can be mounted on a daughterboard.

[mikej]

If I can find some, yes

[mikej]

Of course, existing board owners who have been waiting for the daughterboard will be first. I can't promise 060s at the moment though (well, I can but not the final mask set).
/MikeJ

[mikej]

I was quoted a price of 1015 Euros for a fully loaded Replay with all bells, whistles and gizmos and case and power supply and 64GB SDXC memory card.

I quickly agreed so I could get onto the Replay preorder list.

I figured it would be like $1200.00 which I happen to have in my bank account, just barely.

But when I later googled I found out that 1015 Euros = $1364.00

CRIKEY!

Now I think I understand why ppl buy their own cases and power supplies!

I can rob my grocery cash to pay the difference so I can still buy the Replay.  Since they won't let me buy it right this second I am thinking I should investigate cases and power supplies.

I just don't know anything about cases or power supplies.  What kind would I need to get?  Are they routinely sold cheaply at NewEgg?

Does it matter which one I get?  Any secret gotchas?

Is it important to buy a very super specific case so that the memory cards can be easily swapped?

I am thinking that if I did go ahead and buy my own case and powersupply that I could avoid a 25% tax to the King of Sweden and another 33% tax to the Exchange Rate Powers That Be.

I don't mind paying 58% tax to MikeJ, Yaqube or anyone who worked on Replay.  They deserve my $$$.   But I don't like to pay tax to governments that don't deserve it or to the Exchange Rate Gods.

What kind of cases and power supplies are you guys getting?

ChaosLord,
Who has quoted you this?
There is no pricing for the daughterboard yet. Please mail me privately.

If you are outside the EU then you will pay no VAT - although you may pay import duty.
The guide price for the main board (from me) is expected therefore to be 199EU (without comp/svhs) or 229-239EU with. Exact pricing is dependant on import duty and final manufacture cost, and may vary between runs with exchange rate.

I would make this 270 USD for the base board + shipping.
If the board is from one of my resellers, they then charge for integration, cases and support etc so the price will be higer.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

Your friend Laurent.  I thought he was like ur official preorder, sales, marketing type of person?
...
He said the price was an estimated 300 Euros for daughtercard with MMU+FPU but that it depended on a lot of things.  (I take this to mean it will end up being a higher price
...
But I am a little confused.  You are saying I can buy directly from you if I choose?  And that you only sell the bare boards?
.

Laurent is a reseller / system integrator.  
Yes, you can always buy the boards from me, but you need to put it together and I am rubbish at support - although the forums will help.

Ok, 300E for daughter card + CPU is reasonable, and as long as he said estimate that's fine. I don't know the price yet, it could well be lower.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

Looking at that same spec's page, I see:




Does this mean I can also get 15KHz analog RGB output via the DVI connector since it mentions Scart?

I use a Sony PVM with all my stuff and it would be great to also use it via 15k RGB with a FPGA Replay board. Or build a cable and use it with a Commodore 1084s and etc.

Yes - I use a DVI to VGA adapter on the board then a "standard" VGA to Scart.

[mikej]

If there are any compatibility problems, I will do my best to fix them.
When the new core is out there will probably be a whole load of initial issues, so we go into bug-squashing mode. I have a board with external 68K I can run to see if it's a problem with the CPU (I can actually run both CPUs and diff them in real time).

I can also probe and capture any internal state with the JTAG FPGA debugger, so as long as we can get a trigger condition, and can reproduce the fault, it's normally fairly easy to fix problems.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

Note it is around 28Mbit/sec from the SD card in SPI mode. Limitation is ARM and SD card max clock freq.
One reason we are looking an FPGA directly connected card on the daughterboard for bulk access.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

@cunnpole

This one is only $20.00 for 72 hours.  32GB of space.  Writes up to 35 MB/s and reads up to 50 MB/s

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178536&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL022113&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL022113-_-EMC-022113-Index-_-FlashMemory-_-20178536-L016B

20 bucks seems cheap enuff.

The ARM does not support UHS speed, so I would recommend getting a standard class10 card.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

@mikej, Does FPGA Arcade implement 4-bit parallel mode?

mmm, well one would need a license to implement. I have wired all the required pins up to the ARM. The ARM does not support 4-bit mode with it's SPI peripheral so you would have to use the GPIO pins and bit-bang it. With a tight loop it may well be faster, and is something for future experimentation.

This is why the SSC bus (high speed serial) is wired up to the FPGA as well as the SPI bus, and this can be clocked faster than the SPI bus. So, you would 4-bit copy from the SD card into ARM while DMAing the previous block out over the SSC bus.

/MikeJ

[mikej]

Sandisk 4G class IV at the moment I pick up in bulk from a lady in Shenzhen.
You get the choice of "fake" or "not-fake" when you buy them, so who knows what they really are Seem to work fine though.
/Mike