[sdiy] Xilinx 3E board comments

[James Patchell]

If you use Webpack, you can design digital hardware to your hearts 
content...and you can use the PicoBlaze micro controller softcore.  If you 
want to use something more sophisticated, like the MicroBlaze (32 bit 
RISC), you need to purchase the EDK software.  I have interfaced the 
ATMega128 up to Spartan 3 FPGA's as well, and this works out quite well.  I 
have an ATMega128 connected to an XC3S200...for a motion controller 
design...and that works out quite nice.  For that one, it turned out to be 
cheaper to do that rather than use the MicroBlaze, and I didn't need the 
power of the MicroBlaze.  There are many options...I used the ATMega128 and 
interfaced the external bus right to the spartan...and used the extra RAM 
inside the device as memory for the ATMega128...I ended up with something 
like 24K or ram for the AVR.  All pretty cool...

But for me...the MicroBlaze looks like the future.

At 09:00 AM 6/9/2006 +0100, Paul Maddox wrote:
>james,
>
>>Yes, for $150 you get everything you need to do FPGA designs...the free 
>>software will allow you to use schematic, VHDL and Verilog all in the 
>>same design...which is very nice.
>
>so, you don't need the 'EDK' software?
>I mean, the one that requires an annual fee for the license?
>
>you can *JUST* use the webpack software?
>
>Paul

         -Jim
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