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Message
From: Mikhail Matusov<misoma@r...>
Date: Tue Dec 30 15:34:33 CET 2003
Subject: [oc] Newbie FPGA question
Hi Fabrizio,> I would like
> to have an idea of the budget required to test my own
> projects on FPGA.
The costs to try things shouldn't be very high.
> 1) how much does (approx) the "FPGA programmer" cost?
$50-70 or less if you wish to build it yourself
> 2) what is its aspect? is it "huge" or just like an
> external modem with one socket?
It is a small device that connects to one of the computer ports (can be
serial, parallel, USB, etc.).
> 3) how much does the single programmable unit cost?
Anywhere from $10 to $1000. For the size of your project it would probably
be realistic to get something below $100.
> 4) are the units programmable more than once?
As many times as you wish. They are usually SRAM based and have to be loaded
each time they powered up.
> 5) from this user perspective, is there any difference
> between an FPGA and a PLD?
I think PLD is a more general term. If you mean CPLD's, they have different
architecture, they are programmed with fuses (either reversible or not).
They are not big enough to to be used for CPU projects, they usually don't
have block memories, etc. I would say that CPLD's are good for glue logic,
but not for any kind of SOC project.
> 6) do I need a strong competence in analog electronics
> to build up the development board
Not really.
> or is there any
> standard board I can use with default allocation
> of the pins (e.g. to access the onboard memory)?
You can certainly buy a ready to use FPGA board. There are plenty available.
/Mikhail
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