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Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU

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Rick C. Hodgin wrote on 11/10/2017 5:14 PM:
> On Friday, November 10, 2017 at 4:11:44 PM UTC-5, rickman wrote:
>> What is a 40 pin breakout port?
>> Are you talking about connectors on an FPGA board?
>
> The FPGA uses a high density 160-pin connection.  You can buy an
> add-on board which takes the high-density connection and breaks
> it out to 4x 40-pin connectors (like IDE cables).
>
>> Are you trying
>> to make a board that will plug into the existing socket
>> on a 386 motherboard?
>
> I'm trying to create a board an Am386 CPU will plug in to, which
> then makes my FPGA its motherboard.  I will be the north bridge
> (memory and high speed I/O like graphics) and south bridge (low
> speed I/O like keyboard, mouse, timer, etc).
>
>> We've had this conversation before.  Every project starts with goals (user
>> requirements in a formal analysis) which need to be translated to design
>> requirements and finally detailed as an implementation.  You tend to mix
>> those various levels without understanding you are doing that.
>
> I know what I want.  I tend to work in my head more than in formal
> writings.

If you want to work with people, they can't see what's in your head.  You 
need to write stuff down to get help.


>> What are your goals exactly?
>
> (1)  Get the board designed physically, and ordered or built.

You need to define the board a lot better.


> (2)  Assemble the board.
> (3)  Write the Verilog code to feed and respond to the CPU's needs.

That will require the FPGA either allow the CPU access to a memory device or 
some other way serve up data from RAM and/or ROM.  Do you know what you want 
for that?

What other types of I/O do you intend to provide?  Are you familiar with the 
entire interface of the 386 CPU?  You will need to know every detail.  To 
design the equivalent of a motherboard you would do well to find a 386 PC/AT 
technical reference manual or other schematic for a motherboard.  They used 
TTL logic and you can easily implement that in the FPGA.


> (4)  Write basic software to test and debug the design.
> (5)  Write real hardware for video, sound, network, keyboard, mouse,
>      etc., to create a little 80386-based system.

So you want a full computer in an FPGA other than the 386 CPU?  You will 
also need a BIOS which is not open source... unless someone has an open 
source BIOS... I don't recall hearing of one.

So where are the parts you need help with?

-- 

Rick C

Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms,
on the centerline of totality since 1998

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Thread

FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-11-10 07:35 -0800
  Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2017-11-10 14:46 -0500
    Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-11-10 12:19 -0800
      Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2017-11-10 16:11 -0500
        Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-11-10 14:14 -0800
          Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2017-11-10 18:31 -0500
            Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-11-10 15:59 -0800
              Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2017-11-10 22:15 -0500
                Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-11-10 20:16 -0800
                Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-11-11 10:43 -0800
      Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU lasselangwadtchristensen@gmail.com - 2017-11-10 13:15 -0800
        Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-11-10 14:02 -0800
          Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU lasselangwadtchristensen@gmail.com - 2017-11-13 08:28 -0800
            Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-11-13 08:49 -0800
              Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-11-13 09:33 -0800
              Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU lasselangwadtchristensen@gmail.com - 2017-11-13 11:47 -0800
                Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-11-13 11:54 -0800
                Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU lasselangwadtchristensen@gmail.com - 2017-11-13 12:06 -0800
                Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-11-13 12:15 -0800
                Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-12-21 01:33 -0800
                Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU Richard Damon <Richard@Damon-Family.org> - 2017-12-22 19:23 -0500
                Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-12-24 14:04 -0800
                Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-12-20 05:49 -0800
  Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-12-12 12:10 -0800
    Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-12-14 06:29 -0800
  Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-12-28 07:32 -0800
    Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-12-30 09:54 -0800
      Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU Richard Damon <Richard@Damon-Family.org> - 2017-12-30 15:18 -0500
        Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-12-31 00:20 -0800
          Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU Emilian Miron <emilian.miron@gmail.com> - 2017-12-31 07:20 -0800
            Re: FPGA motherboard for 80386 CPU "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2017-12-31 13:52 -0800

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