New FPGA Board from Antonio Villena

[PeterJ]

[Chris23235]

This is interesting, the Artix 7 is also the FPGA used by the KS2 ZX Next, correct? I wonder in what price range the device will fall. Currently the ZX Uno is available for less then 100€ making it a FPGA device cheaper then a Pi 4 (because the Pi 4 prices are still sky high).

[PeterJ]

@Chris23235,

I'm hoping it will be something with a bit more beef and more video options like the ZXDOS+ LX25 was:

viewtopic.php?t=3635

We will just have to wait and see. You are right about the prices of the Pi4. I'm tempted to wait for the Pi5 now.

[PeterJ]

I had this update from Antonio:

The FPGA board is pin compatible with ZXDOS+, so I plan to sell only FPGA boards at low price to ZXDOS+ owners. It will have same ZXDOS+ VGA/Scart video and also DisplayPort.

[Pegaz]

Some additional information.
The basic model with the A35T chip should cost 150 eur with case.
It will have 2MB of 16bit, 1Mx16 SRAM, 32MB of SDRAM, 32MB of flash and
35k cells.
It will support Display Port + VGA output and I2S audio.
Versions with 64MB on the A100T and A200T are also planned, which will of course be more expensive.
Basically this will be an excellent alternative to the Mister/Mist/Sidi boards, fully capable of supporting practically all 8/16bit platforms (Amiga, ST, QL included) as well as Spectrum Next and will retain compatibility with the original ZX-Uno.
If everything goes well, the first units could be on sale in the next few months.

[PeterJ]

Thanks @Pegaz, that's really useful. Looking forward to it being released.

Was that from Twitter?

[Pegaz]

Thanks @Pegaz, that's really useful. Looking forward to it being released.

Was that from Twitter?

No, these are parts of correspondence from the ZX-Uno Telegram channel.

[clebin]

This is interesting, the Artix 7 is also the FPGA used by the KS2 ZX Next, correct? I wonder in what price range the device will fall. Currently the ZX Uno is available for less then 100€ making it a FPGA device cheaper then a Pi 4 (because the Pi 4 prices are still sky high).

Both using Artix-7, but looking at the model number on the chip, this (XC7A35T) is roughly twice as big as the Next's (XC7A15T). See comparison: https://www.xilinx.com/products/silicon ... oductTable

Interesting to see how the space compares with something like the MiST:

ZX Next rev.2: 16k logic gates
MiST: 24k
ZXTRES: 32k
Mister: 110k

The MiST has cores for Amiga 68000, Archimedes, PC 286, Genesis, SNES but from I understand those 16bit consoles push it right to the limit (no SNES Super FX carts for example). I wonder how far this could be pushed - Sharp X68000, NeoGeo even?

I hope it has proper DB9 ports, a decent case and wifi. Those are a must for me.

[Pegaz]

I hope it has proper DB9 ports, a decent case and wifi. Those are a must for me.

As far I know, it will have all that.

[desUBIKado]

What do we know about the ZX-Tres? [ESP]

http://retrowiki.es/viewtopic.php?f=119&t=200039375

[SamC]

I had this update from Antonio: The FPGA board is pin compatible with ZXDOS+, so I plan to sell only FPGA boards at low price to ZXDOS+ owners.

As the saying goes: We are not rich enough to buy cheap things (again and again).

I recommend getting at least a board with Artix 7 XC7A100T. This allows to reach more peripherals such as all presented on the expansion board for the Sizif512. Or we could get a FPGA core of the eLeMeNt ZX. There is no separate CPU chip in the description, so a virtual Z80 will take up space in the FPGA core (?). There will be less space for Speccy expansions....

Suggestions for improvements:
- merged digital video and digital audio output (one connector, one cable)
- second SD slot (only game consoles are sold with one slot)
- two USB slots

[desUBIKado]

Or we could get a FPGA core of the eLeMeNt ZX. There is no separate CPU chip in the description, so a virtual Z80 will take up space in the FPGA core (?). There will be less space for Speccy expansions....

Today ElementZX project is closed source

- merged digital video and digital audio output (one connector, one cable)

DisplayPort will output video and sound at the same time

- two USB slots

It will be necessary to use a USB hub

[PeterJ]

[desUBIKado]

Last day to order with discount

[clebin]

Interesting board. The high-end ZX-Tres++ (ZX-Tres +2, surely? ) has more than double the specs of a Mister.

I'm not sure if that opens up any new core possibilities though, as the leap in complexity from PS1/N64/Saturn to PS2/Dreamcast/GameCube/Xbox is so huge. The mid-range board could be a sweet spot if those mid-90s consoles will fit.

[SamC]

Today ElementZX project is closed source

I don't have an up-to-date official statement from the author, who some time ago promised that the finished MB03+ core would be open...
In my opinion, it is a great advantage of the eLeMeNt/MB platform that the author of the hardware is also the VHDL and firmware developer.

The eLeMeNt is demanding in that way it is ready to add additional peripherals (perhaps another sound chip if there is interest...) as a future FPGA capacity allows. I was disappointed with powerfull FPGA machines like the ZX-Dos+. I was hoping that the ZX-Dos+ would add more ZX-peripherals. But it didn't happen, and I recently read on telegram channels that the ZX-Uno specifications used in its cores are closed and will not be expanded. Better Artix boards are coming out now, so the situation may change.

I believe speccy-users don't buy a big Artix just to permanently switch between dozens of game console cores or various small ZX-cores of the old ZX-Uno. I hope that a wised VHDL developer will be found, and a lot of peripherals will be added into a new FPGA core (that's why I mentioned here the Sizif 512 and its expansion board... or TS-Conf and Baseconf/ATM3).

Finally, it is not a question of the whole eLeMeNt. It can be seen in its progref documentation that the whole hardware consists of parts, a number of peripherals that can be easily switched on and off via the ZXi standard - as if disconnecting and connecting interfaces. If interested in having the LnxCopy, just add the Ultimate memory paging (from a few hundred KB to XX MB). If you like the LnxCommander, just add a very simple HiRes Colour expansion with two ZX128-like 512*192 VRAMs. So there is no need to imitate the whole core with a triple (or x-) buffering and HDMI-like system, etc.

[clebin]

I believe speccy-users don't buy a big Artix just to permanently switch between dozens of game console cores or various small ZX-cores of the old ZX-Uno. I hope that a wised VHDL developer will be found, and a lot of peripherals will be added into a new FPGA core (that's why I mentioned here the Sizif 512 and its expansion board... or TS-Conf and Baseconf/ATM3).

Maybe I misunderstand you, but I'm not sure know why else you would pay for a big FPGA if not to switch between lots of cores. If all I wanted to do was Spectrum stuff, I'd probably choose an N-Go or maybe a Sizif...

[SamC]

Maybe I misunderstand you, but I'm not sure know why else you would pay for a big FPGA if not to switch between lots of cores. If all I wanted to do was Spectrum stuff, I'd probably choose an N-Go or maybe a Sizif...

N-Go is a SpecNext clone, right? It has a very small FPGA. The General Sound or the TSFM are peripherals that need a bigger FPGA.
The eLeMeNt has its own real CPU, so the Z80 does not occupy the FPGA, but the capacity is full anyway.
If you would like to run GS software, you should change the FPGA board.

With a large FPGA, other possibilities open up, e.g. not having to change cores for a different machines, but to switch all memory models and timings on-fly (in the SetUp or in the NMI menu without resetting a computer). Or you can implement a smart FAT-media-access, which would speed up the developments of the esxDOS. Future possibilities are numerous...

[PeterJ]

The ZXTRES (A35T, 32MB SDRAM, 2MB SRAM) is now listed on Antonio's website (although currently out of stock).

There will be two other versions with bigger FPGAs, ZXTRES+ with A100T and ZXTRES++ with A200T which will be launched on 15th September and 30th September respectively.

ZXTRES, ZXTRES+ and ZXTRES++ are the continuation of ZX-Uno a hardware and software project based on an FPGA board programmed to work like a ZX Spectrum computer, and created by the ZX-Uno team: Superfo, AVillena, McLeod, Quest and Hark0.

Over time, the project has been growing, and now it is possible to use different software configurations (cores), which work like different systems than the ZX Spectrum, and you can choose to start the ZXTRES with the desired configuration among all those available.

• 2 DB9 joystick ports compatible with Genesis
• PS/2 keyboard and mouse
• VGA video output, and optionally can be Scart with cable or adapter not included
• DisplayPort output, compatible with HDMI through active adapters
• EAR input
• 3.5mm jack audio output
• microSD card socket. microSD not included
• on/off switch
• Edge connector, compatible with spectrum
• JTAG connector

The list of cores implemented is available here. English and Spanish manuals are available here.

There are Spanish and English Telegram groups.

[Pegaz]

Looks like it's back in stock, currently one piece left:
https://antoniovillena.es/store/product/zxtres/