Using an FPGA to drive the 80386 CPU on a real motherboard

[Herbert Kleebauer]

On 16.04.2016 16:58, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:

On Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 3:15:38 PM UTC-4, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:

I have a desire to create an 80386 CPU in FPGA form, one which will plug in
to the 132-pin socket of existing 80386 motherboard as a replacement CPU.

Does anyone have one of these types boards on their shelf from back in
the day?

http://www.forcetechnologies.co.uk/news/replacement-for-intel-processors-in-high-reliability-long-life-systems
http://www.forcetechnologies.co.uk/downloads/x86-Processor-Recreation

But I doubt that a complete 386 will fit into a FPGA.

 

[Rick C. Hodgin]

On Saturday, April 9, 2016 at 9:10:09 PM UTC-4, rickman wrote:

On 4/9/2016 8:06 PM, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
On Saturday, April 9, 2016 at 10:42:27 AM UTC-4, rickman wrote:

It will never be possible to include an ARM ISA unless a license fee is
paid. I recall some years back a student produced an HDL version of an
ARM 7TDMI. ARM spoke to him and the core was withdrawn. He also got a
job with them. Win/win

It's why all patents and copyrights should be abolished, and the fruit of
man's ideas should be given to mankind, with the people then only being
paid for their labor, as the ideas and ingenuity they possess are gifts
from God, given not just for them to use to their profit, but as part of
that fabric of man God put here upon this world.

That is a very naive ideology. If you abolish patents and make all
ideas free, there is much less reason to invent.

In the society which exists today which is focused on money and hoarding
and personal gain at the expense of others' loss, yes. But don't you
see, Rick, that is not the way things are supposed to be. It's not the
way of the Lord. It's not the way His Kingdom operates. And it's not
the way mankind will operate forever after we leave this world.

The Lord' prayer also calls us to follow Him here in this world:

Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name.
THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as
we forgive our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
for Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, the Glory, forever.
Amen.

There's a tremendous message in that simple prayer. Even in its true
beginning do we see the unity of the separate many, unified in Him:

"Our Father,"

Cooperative. Together. Separate, but made one in Him.

It is the enemy of this world, Rick, who seeks to divide. God gives
freely to all people through all people. We are to use His gifts to
lift one another up, to uphold each other in our weaknesses, and to
seek from Him continually the strength we need, both individually, and
collectively.

We are God's people, and He will give us all we need. He sent His Son
to meet us at forgiveness, rather than judgment. We need Him, and He
comes to us freely. He will not only save us, but also guide us here
in this world, and in the world to come.

It is only THE ENEMY who would dare say otherwise.

Most people are
motivated by profit which patents potentially provide. I expect you are
going to talk about designing for the glory of God. However I would
point to the design you are doing and how it will benefit virtually no
one other than yourself. If ARM were devoted to the type of chips they
were designing in the 90's, would that be a good thing?

I cannot speak to what Miracles God will perform in this world, but I do
know that a life lived in service to Him in all of my endeavors is the
right way to walk. The Lord is more interested in our walk than in our
successes. "Do we do what we do for Him? Or for other reasons?" I am
doing what I'm doing for Him, to serve Him, to return to Him that which
He first blessed me with. And I am not in pursuit of money, but I am in
pursuit of teaching people about Him, that they too can do what I am
doing, and that this true and correct way to be in this universe is open
freely to all.

It is only THE ENEMY who would dare say otherwise. But I remind you,
and everyone else, that Satan is a defeated foe, as are all of his demon
imps. Not one of them will be redeemed. Not one of them will escape a
fiery end in Hell. And all who follow after his FALSE guidance will also
share his fate in Hell. It's why I teach people to seek the truth, and
to obey the Living God.

We should not oppress people, but work with them and encourage those who
have special and unique abilities, letting them thrive.

Patents are no more oppression than laws to prevent the theft of crops
you raise or goods you make.

God gives us the ability to own property.

That's why they call it Intellectual
Property.

Intellectual property is an invented term by man. It does not exist
anywhere in God's Kingdom. God told us that we would labor by the
sweat of our brow until we return to the Earth. Nowhere did He say
He would gift us with an invention for which we could attain monopoly
rights then living off the labor of others. That teaching came from
the enemy of God, and is a teaching from Hell, not Heaven.

Perhaps you are a pure socialist who believes no one should own
property, that it should belong to everyone.

I am a follower of Jesus Christ. I desire to make the lives of those
around me better through the unique and special talents and abilities
God gifted me with, and I teach all other people to use the unique and
special talents and abilities God gifted them with to do the same.

God is not as the enemy would teach you, Rick. He is not the God of
the lies that enemy teaches. He is everything you have ever thought
could be, and more, in all areas of rightness and truth.

Seek to know Him for yourself, and do it today, for none of us are
promised tomorrow. And just as I need Him, and my wife and son need
Him, and the people I know need Him, you also need Him, to forgive
your sin, and set you free from judgment, meeting you instead at the
point of forgiveness.

Jesus Christ is life. He forgives sin. He discharges debtors. He
sets the captives free. He is love, and truth, and His Love is more
powerful than your sin, or the enemy's draw upon you. If you set your
sights on the truth, and press for it, you will find it. His Promise.

-----
Love, Rick. Love shares. Love gives. Love likes to see another's
growth. That is the world of God, and of Jesus Christ. The enemy's
world is that of hate, of self, of hoarding and not sharing. See the
difference for yourself, that even though the enemy is here in this
world, it still remains always the wrong way to be. God's ways are
always right, even if it seems at times there is no headway being made.

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

 

[Rick C. Hodgin]

On Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 8:02:29 AM UTC-4, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:

Love, Rick. Love shares. Love gives. Love likes to see another's
growth. That is the world of God, and of Jesus Christ. The enemy's
world is that of hate, of self, of hoarding and not sharing. See the
difference for yourself, that even though the enemy is here in this
world, it still remains always the wrong way to be. God's ways are
always right, even if it seems at times there is no headway being made.

So that you don't think Christians are all stuffy, here's a Christian
comedian:

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kR_XG1DnDs
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4S_WnDSzpY

I'd never paid much attention to him in the past, but in the past few
days I've watched some of his stuff. He's quite funny even in his
singing skits:

Jesus on the Mainline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l1W8_VXgs4
Cool Water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjcoLcRdXXM
I'm Gonna Keep On: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xc9RnyJNa0
Over the Moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv1YAAymtGg

He's really had me laughing at times.

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

 

[Rick C. Hodgin]

On Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 11:18:14 AM UTC-4, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:

On Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 8:02:29 AM UTC-4, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
Love, Rick. Love shares. Love gives. Love likes to see another's
growth. That is the world of God, and of Jesus Christ. The enemy's
world is that of hate, of self, of hoarding and not sharing. See the
difference for yourself, that even though the enemy is here in this
world, it still remains always the wrong way to be. God's ways are
always right, even if it seems at times there is no headway being made.

So that you don't think Christians are all stuffy, here's a Christian
comedian:

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kR_XG1DnDs
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4S_WnDSzpY

I'd never paid much attention to him in the past, but in the past few
days I've watched some of his stuff. He's quite funny even in his
singing skits:

Jesus on the Mainline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l1W8_VXgs4
Cool Water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjcoLcRdXXM
I'm Gonna Keep On: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xc9RnyJNa0
Over the Moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv1YAAymtGg

He's really had me laughing at times.

And this song exemplifies the walk of a Christian in this world:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wZaItExbKk

"Step into the water,
Wade out a little bit deeper,
Wet your feet in the water of His Love..."

Jesus will receive all who come to Him. Every sin in your past will be
forgiven, and you will enter into eternal life.

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

 

[Rick C. Hodgin]

On Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 12:25:14 PM UTC-4, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:

On Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 11:18:14 AM UTC-4, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
On Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 8:02:29 AM UTC-4, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
Love, Rick. Love shares. Love gives. Love likes to see another's
growth. That is the world of God, and of Jesus Christ. The enemy's
world is that of hate, of self, of hoarding and not sharing. See the
difference for yourself, that even though the enemy is here in this
world, it still remains always the wrong way to be. God's ways are
always right, even if it seems at times there is no headway being made.

So that you don't think Christians are all stuffy, here's a Christian
comedian:

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kR_XG1DnDs
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4S_WnDSzpY

I'd never paid much attention to him in the past, but in the past few
days I've watched some of his stuff. He's quite funny even in his
singing skits:

Jesus on the Mainline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l1W8_VXgs4
Cool Water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjcoLcRdXXM
I'm Gonna Keep On: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xc9RnyJNa0
Over the Moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv1YAAymtGg

He's really had me laughing at times.

And this song exemplifies the walk of a Christian in this world:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wZaItExbKk

"Step into the water,
Wade out a little bit deeper,
Wet your feet in the water of His Love..."

Jesus will receive all who come to Him. Every sin in your past will be
forgiven, and you will enter into eternal life.

This message is not for the strong, those who are self-made men. It's for
the broken, the broken-hearted, the down-trodden, those who suffer guilt
and shame for what they've done. It's for men and women like me, who are
weak, who have sinned, who are the filthy wretches:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aWIQFogJAc

He exchanges our filth for His spotlessness. Our shame for His glory.
Our judgment and condemnation for His Kingdom.

Jesus saves our eternal souls, and gives us new life.

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

 

[Rick C. Hodgin]

rickman wrote:
> [snip]

Watch the videos, Rick.

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

 

[rickman]

On 4/21/2016 12:25 PM, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:

On Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 11:18:14 AM UTC-4, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
On Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 8:02:29 AM UTC-4, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
Love, Rick. Love shares. Love gives. Love likes to see another's
growth. That is the world of God, and of Jesus Christ. The enemy's
world is that of hate, of self, of hoarding and not sharing. See the
difference for yourself, that even though the enemy is here in this
world, it still remains always the wrong way to be. God's ways are
always right, even if it seems at times there is no headway being made.

So that you don't think Christians are all stuffy, here's a Christian
comedian:

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kR_XG1DnDs
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4S_WnDSzpY

I'd never paid much attention to him in the past, but in the past few
days I've watched some of his stuff. He's quite funny even in his
singing skits:

Jesus on the Mainline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l1W8_VXgs4
Cool Water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjcoLcRdXXM
I'm Gonna Keep On: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xc9RnyJNa0
Over the Moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv1YAAymtGg

He's really had me laughing at times.

And this song exemplifies the walk of a Christian in this world:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wZaItExbKk

"Step into the water,
Wade out a little bit deeper,
Wet your feet in the water of His Love..."

Jesus will receive all who come to Him. Every sin in your past will be
forgiven, and you will enter into eternal life.

You've posted four times in reply to my post, so I guess I should answer
you.

"Wet your feet in the water of His Love", but just remember each year a
number of people drown during baptisms... so trust in the Lord, but
wear a life preserver.

Then there is the old joke about the religious man who wouldn't let
rescuers help him saying he trusted in the Lord and would be saved. The
punch line is the Lord telling him, "I sent you a canoe, a boat and a
helicopter. But you never got in.”

I don't know why you are a "filthy wretch", but none of that explains
why you think designing a board based around an obsolete technology is a
tribute to the Lord. Get in the helicopter and be rescued by working in
modern technology.

--

Rick

 

[Rick C. Hodgin]

On Saturday, April 16, 2016 at 11:31:21 AM UTC-4, Herbert Kleebauer wrote:

On 16.04.2016 16:58, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
On Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 3:15:38 PM UTC-4, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
I have a desire to create an 80386 CPU in FPGA form, one which will plug in
to the 132-pin socket of existing 80386 motherboard as a replacement CPU.
Does anyone have one of these types boards on their shelf from back in
the day?

http://www.forcetechnologies.co.uk/news/replacement-for-intel-processors-in-high-reliability-long-life-systems
http://www.forcetechnologies.co.uk/downloads/x86-Processor-Recreation

I have been in contact with Amanda from their sales department. They are
unwilling to sell me a single board with hardware interface because I am
not a company, and do not / will not have volume throughput. However, I
have also found out they sell a Soft x86 IP Core which is for Altera FPGAs,
so I am finding out if they will sell me a copy of that core or not, and
how much it costs.

Now, off to pray...

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

 

[Rick C. Hodgin]

On Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 8:03:29 PM UTC-4, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:

On Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 12:25:14 PM UTC-4, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
On Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 11:18:14 AM UTC-4, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
On Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 8:02:29 AM UTC-4, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
Love, Rick. Love shares. Love gives. Love likes to see another's
growth. That is the world of God, and of Jesus Christ. The enemy's
world is that of hate, of self, of hoarding and not sharing. See the
difference for yourself, that even though the enemy is here in this
world, it still remains always the wrong way to be. God's ways are
always right, even if it seems at times there is no headway being made.

So that you don't think Christians are all stuffy, here's a Christian
comedian:

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kR_XG1DnDs
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4S_WnDSzpY

I'd never paid much attention to him in the past, but in the past few
days I've watched some of his stuff. He's quite funny even in his
singing skits:

Jesus on the Mainline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l1W8_VXgs4
Cool Water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjcoLcRdXXM
I'm Gonna Keep On: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xc9RnyJNa0
Over the Moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv1YAAymtGg

He's really had me laughing at times.

And this song exemplifies the walk of a Christian in this world:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wZaItExbKk

"Step into the water,
Wade out a little bit deeper,
Wet your feet in the water of His Love..."

Jesus will receive all who come to Him. Every sin in your past will be
forgiven, and you will enter into eternal life.

This message is not for the strong, those who are self-made men. It's for
the broken, the broken-hearted, the down-trodden, those who suffer guilt
and shame for what they've done. It's for men and women like me, who are
weak, who have sinned, who are the filthy wretches:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aWIQFogJAc

He exchanges our filth for His spotlessness. Our shame for His glory.
Our judgment and condemnation for His Kingdom.

Jesus saves our eternal souls, and gives us new life.

Here is a song outlining His role: Alpha and Omega (beginning and ending)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-_frJSq0bY

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

 

[Rick C. Hodgin]

On Tuesday, April 26, 2016 at 12:56:41 PM UTC-4, Herbert Kleebauer wrote:

On 26.04.2016 16:11, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:

http://www.forcetechnologies.co.uk/downloads/x86-Processor-Recreation

I have been in contact with Amanda from their sales department. They are
unwilling to sell me a single board with hardware interface because I am
not a company, and do not / will not have volume throughput.

Why don't you tell them that you maybe will order 10k boards, but
first you need a free demo board.

Now, off to pray...

That doesn't help. Don't pray but lie if you want a board.

It would be easy. But, it's not the call of God. It is the call of the
enemy tempting people away from God for the immediate thing. It's how
sin works (immediate satiation, gratification, without regard to what
the act means in the grander picture).

If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. If not, then I'm content to do a
ground-up authoring of the entire ISA.

I'm only interested in having the existing ISA for a baseline, and to
then test out extensions including a 40-bit extension, and the use of
John Gustafson's unums instead of IEEE-754 floating point formats.

It may require a ground-up authoring anyway.

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

 

[Herbert Kleebauer]

On 26.04.2016 16:11, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:

http://www.forcetechnologies.co.uk/downloads/x86-Processor-Recreation

I have been in contact with Amanda from their sales department. They are
unwilling to sell me a single board with hardware interface because I am
not a company, and do not / will not have volume throughput.

Why don't you tell them that you maybe will order 10k boards, but
first you need a free demo board.

> Now, off to pray...

That doesn't help. Don't pray but lie if you want a board.

 

[Aleksandar Kuktin]

Sorry for the long latency guys, I don't have much time in the day for
myself, so Usenet often suffers.

On Sat, 09 Apr 2016 10:42:23 -0400, rickman wrote:

On 4/9/2016 6:00 AM, Aleksandar Kuktin wrote:
On Wed, 06 Apr 2016 13:38:19 -0700, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:

I designed and implemented a 16-bit soft CPU from scratch, and I can
tell you it's seriously difficult to make it work. Right now, I'm
hacking a 32-
bit CPU (aeMB, to be very specific) and interfacing it to a SoC I plan
to publish eventually and again, it's seriously difficult to make it
work.

I'm surprised that you say it is hard to make it work. Do you mean it
is hard to build all the infrastructure? I have designed my own CPUs
before and found that part easy. It is creating the software support
that is hard, or at least a lot of work. I use Forth which helps make
things easier.

I find difficulty in producing a design that is simultaneously low-
latency, high speed and feature-full. To obtain low latency, you really
can't use registers as much as you would like, and instead have to shift
a lot of the logic into gates (pure asynchronous logic). However, if you
do that, you quickly add up a too long chain of gates that can not be run
at high clock rates. Finally, if you get both of these, you probably
won't have enough wiggle room left over for features.

Right now, with what I'm currently working on, I have a blessing in that
I don't have to run the circuit very fast so I can get away with three-
gate deep logic, maybe even four gate deep. But if I were going for break-
neck speeds, I would be constrained to logic two LUT4 gates deep. Only so
many features can be crammed into a design made with that.

If you add a bit to the word or address size, you are not just doubling
the CPUs capabilities, you are also doubling the number, size and scope
of problems you have to deal with.

??? My CPU design did not specify the data size, only the instruction
size. I didn't have a problem adjusting the data size to suit my
application.

I suppose you can parameterize the data size, and later change the
definition of the parameter to suit.

The problem - for me - is the underlying result which still needs to fit
in the real world. This may have something to do with the way I cram as
much "stuff" into a chip as I can. It was only here that I learned you
should consider your chip "full" when it start reaching 80% utilization.
For me, over 95% is common.

Adding a single bit to a round number can throw the synthesis results way
out of optimum. Adding one more can make the gate chain too long to fit
into a clock cycle. Changing the clock period can be impossible because
the design could have several other interlocking clocks. And on and on.

For example - I discovered that the synthesis tool I used (Lattices
synthesizer) would produce a sub-optimal result if a unit - say a module
- had even a single odd-sized register. Changing the register sizes to
even numbers makes synthesis much better, even if it does throw away a
bit.

Does simulation count?

Yes. Also in emulation, as by a real FPGA product, but one which does
not plug into a socket, but is its own entire creation. Here's an
Aleksander who created a 486 SX CPU (it has not integrated FPU):

https://github.com/alfikpl/ao486

Verily, I shall review this. I'm starting to get the impression that
all the stuff I'm making on my own has already been solved, but hasn't
been advertised. I'm working on my dream computer, but these solved
systems constantly keep popping up. Maybe all of it has already been
solved?

Exactly what is your dream computer?

A device whose design can fit in my head, that is transparent and
serviceable on all levels, free(-as-in-freedom), secure and usable for
real-world tasks. I should probably put "usable" at the top of the
list.

Right now, that would mean a FPGA-implemented FOSH SoC that is self-
contained. That means, which can regenerate the images and binaries of
itself, by itself (so you don't need a second computer for that).

 

[rickman]

On 5/1/2016 2:24 PM, Aleksandar Kuktin wrote:

Sorry for the long latency guys, I don't have much time in the day for
myself, so Usenet often suffers.

On Sat, 09 Apr 2016 10:42:23 -0400, rickman wrote:

On 4/9/2016 6:00 AM, Aleksandar Kuktin wrote:
On Wed, 06 Apr 2016 13:38:19 -0700, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:

I designed and implemented a 16-bit soft CPU from scratch, and I can
tell you it's seriously difficult to make it work. Right now, I'm
hacking a 32-
bit CPU (aeMB, to be very specific) and interfacing it to a SoC I plan
to publish eventually and again, it's seriously difficult to make it
work.

I'm surprised that you say it is hard to make it work. Do you mean it
is hard to build all the infrastructure? I have designed my own CPUs
before and found that part easy. It is creating the software support
that is hard, or at least a lot of work. I use Forth which helps make
things easier.

I find difficulty in producing a design that is simultaneously low-
latency, high speed and feature-full. To obtain low latency, you really
can't use registers as much as you would like, and instead have to shift
a lot of the logic into gates (pure asynchronous logic). However, if you
do that, you quickly add up a too long chain of gates that can not be run
at high clock rates. Finally, if you get both of these, you probably
won't have enough wiggle room left over for features.

Right now, with what I'm currently working on, I have a blessing in that
I don't have to run the circuit very fast so I can get away with three-
gate deep logic, maybe even four gate deep. But if I were going for break-
neck speeds, I would be constrained to logic two LUT4 gates deep. Only so
many features can be crammed into a design made with that.

Maybe I don't know what you mean by fast and not fast. Got some numbers?

If you add a bit to the word or address size, you are not just doubling
the CPUs capabilities, you are also doubling the number, size and scope
of problems you have to deal with.

??? My CPU design did not specify the data size, only the instruction
size. I didn't have a problem adjusting the data size to suit my
application.

I suppose you can parameterize the data size, and later change the
definition of the parameter to suit.

Not just parameters, but the instruction format doesn't care. Literals
are built up in 7 bit chunks from an 8 bit instruction or 8 bit chunks
with a 9 bit instruction since many FPGAs have memory and multipliers 9
bit wide multiples. The data path has no restrictions on width.

The problem - for me - is the underlying result which still needs to fit
in the real world. This may have something to do with the way I cram as
much "stuff" into a chip as I can. It was only here that I learned you
should consider your chip "full" when it start reaching 80% utilization.
For me, over 95% is common.

I'm not sure how that related to CPU designs. It has to be a very
complex CPU to not fit in any but the very smallest FPGAs. My CPU was
about 600 LUTs which is not uncommon for MISC.

Adding a single bit to a round number can throw the synthesis results way
out of optimum. Adding one more can make the gate chain too long to fit
into a clock cycle. Changing the clock period can be impossible because
the design could have several other interlocking clocks. And on and on.

Now you are way outside the issues of CPU design. Now you are in the
design of your application.

For example - I discovered that the synthesis tool I used (Lattices
synthesizer) would produce a sub-optimal result if a unit - say a module
- had even a single odd-sized register. Changing the register sizes to
even numbers makes synthesis much better, even if it does throw away a
bit.

What was suboptimal about a register? What sort of unit?

Does simulation count?

Yes. Also in emulation, as by a real FPGA product, but one which does
not plug into a socket, but is its own entire creation. Here's an
Aleksander who created a 486 SX CPU (it has not integrated FPU):

https://github.com/alfikpl/ao486

Verily, I shall review this. I'm starting to get the impression that
all the stuff I'm making on my own has already been solved, but hasn't
been advertised. I'm working on my dream computer, but these solved
systems constantly keep popping up. Maybe all of it has already been
solved?

Exactly what is your dream computer?

A device whose design can fit in my head, that is transparent and
serviceable on all levels, free(-as-in-freedom), secure and usable for
real-world tasks. I should probably put "usable" at the top of the
list.

Right now, that would mean a FPGA-implemented FOSH SoC that is self-
contained. That means, which can regenerate the images and binaries of
itself, by itself (so you don't need a second computer for that).

I thought there was already a CPU design like that. RISC-V Does that
not fit your description? Check out this page for ideas...

http://www.lowrisc.org/

--

Rick C

 

[Rick C. Hodgin]

Rick C. Hodgin wrote:

I have been in contact with Amanda from their sales department.
They are unwilling to sell me a single board with hardware
interface because I am not a company, and do not / will not
have volume throughput. However, I have also found out they
sell a Soft x86 IP Core which is for Altera FPGAs, so I am
finding out if they will sell me a copy of that core or not, and
how much it costs.

Now, off to pray...

Amanda contacted me today, and said the cost of obtaining their soft
x86 IP core, which is comprised of an Altera compatible project files,
and associated logic for the i386 CPU, would be $250,000 and up, and
would have a lead time of three to six months.

I wanted to find out if you think this is a valid quote or not? (Given
the fact that open source x86 cores capable of booting Windows
exist):

https://github.com/alfikpl/ao486

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

 

[Rick C. Hodgin]

On Thursday, May 12, 2016 at 7:19:08 AM UTC-4, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:

Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
I have been in contact with Amanda from their sales department.
They are unwilling to sell me a single board with hardware
interface because I am not a company, and do not / will not
have volume throughput. However, I have also found out they
sell a Soft x86 IP Core which is for Altera FPGAs, so I am
finding out if they will sell me a copy of that core or not, and
how much it costs.

Now, off to pray...

Amanda contacted me today, and said the cost of obtaining their soft
x86 IP core, which is comprised of an Altera compatible project files,
and associated logic for the i386 CPU, would be $250,000 and up, and
would have a lead time of three to six months.

I wanted to find out if you think this is a valid quote or not? (Given
the fact that open source x86 cores capable of booting Windows
exist):

https://github.com/alfikpl/ao486

I had asked them in email if they'd ever designed an 80386 core or not,
and if the product had a proven track use record.

I received a reply from an application engineer at Force Technologies.
He reported they have not yet designed an 80386, but only an 80186 and
80286.

I have replied that I intend to write an 80386 compatible core using
my Logician tool, which will compile down to Verilog and can be used in
an Altera FPGA project file. I have offered to give them a free IP
license once it is completed so they can have the product, and possibly
pass along savings to other would-be customers.

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

 

[KJ]

On Thursday, May 12, 2016 at 7:19:08 AM UTC-4, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:

I wanted to find out if you think this is a valid quote or not?
I have no reason to doubt that it is a valid quote.

Kevin

 

[David Brown]

On 12/05/16 13:19, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:

Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
I have been in contact with Amanda from their sales department.
They are unwilling to sell me a single board with hardware
interface because I am not a company, and do not / will not
have volume throughput. However, I have also found out they
sell a Soft x86 IP Core which is for Altera FPGAs, so I am
finding out if they will sell me a copy of that core or not, and
how much it costs.

Now, off to pray...

Amanda contacted me today, and said the cost of obtaining their soft
x86 IP core, which is comprised of an Altera compatible project files,
and associated logic for the i386 CPU, would be $250,000 and up, and
would have a lead time of three to six months.

I wanted to find out if you think this is a valid quote or not? (Given
the fact that open source x86 cores capable of booting Windows
exist):

https://github.com/alfikpl/ao486

I have little experience with the price of FPGA IP cores, but given the
types of prices for commonly used but much simpler cores such as fast
memory controllers or Ethernet devices, this sounds like a bargain. We
are talking about a very complex core with a very small customer base to
spread development costs, customised for your use, with documentation,
support, testing, and everything else involved in a serious and
professional core.

The only surprising thing here is that they have given you permission to
publish this pricing information publicly on the net - usually these
sorts of things are confidential because they can vary significantly
between customers according to the exact requirements. If they wanted
their pricing to be public, they would have published figures on their
website.

 

[Rick C. Hodgin]

On Friday, May 13, 2016 at 3:16:58 AM UTC-4, David Brown wrote:
> [snip]

The type and manner of seeds we sow reap their harvest in due season, David.
I advise that you quickly change seeds.

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

 

[Rick C. Hodgin]

On Friday, May 13, 2016 at 8:42:44 AM UTC-4, David Brown wrote:
> [snip]

Have you read the New Testament as an adult? Have you considered the
possibility that you may be on the wrong path in life (not with your
career or worldly things, but with eternal things)?

There are some questions you need to ask yourself, and seek answers
on. If you're willing to do this, then you will inherently know what
I mean. But if you are unwilling, you will never understand anything
I write toward those ends.

-----
David, you're an extremely knowledgeable man. Don't miss out on this
teaching. Learn more than you know today. It will benefit all areas
of your life.

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

 

[Rick C. Hodgin]

On Friday, May 13, 2016 at 9:31:43 AM UTC-4, David Brown wrote:
> [snip]

I point you to the One who can guide you, David. His name is Jesus. He
can instruct you properly on the things you think you know today. I
challenge you to answer Him.

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin