The DE1 SoC only has 1GB of DRAM on it and it's a dual core A9 (that does matter, because the A7 and A9 are different architectures). It's a 32-bit CPU though, so the max address space is 4GB, with a maximum of 1GB mappable to DRAM (the other 3GB are mapped to the FPGA and to I/O). You should have mentioned the Max10 boards as well - those are great low cost options for beginners. As for CPLDs... I would not recommend those for beginners, and I would avoid them for tinkering. The only reason to get a CPLD dev board is if you have an actual application that needs a CPLD and you need to prototype the circuit before you spin up the PCB. In many cases though, prototyping with a FPGA you have laying around would be sufficient (unless you're worried about timings, in which case you need the actual CPLD). Demonstration with a CPLD is fine, but if not stressed, I would be worried that someone might buy a CPLD board not knowing the limitations, and end up with a paperweight. Furthermore, as I recall, most CPLDs are flash programmed, meaning you can only write a bitstream to them so many times before they can no longer retain the bits. The Max10 is similar, except you can load a bitstream via JTAG into SRAM rather than the flash for prototyping.
That's cool. I have the Terasic DE10 and I've just ordered 2 Tang-Nanos from Aliexpress and and IceStick from Digi-Key. Would like to see how they perform in comparison to Intel. Anyway, I'm just a beginner (uni student), so I'll join along the ride! Looking forward for more content :)
The DE10 is a really cool board. I had a look at the Tang Nanos and iCEstick and they look quite interesting too. I think that is a great collection for getting into FPGA development!
The DE1 SoC only has 1GB of DRAM on it and it's a dual core A9 (that does matter, because the A7 and A9 are different architectures). It's a 32-bit CPU though, so the max address space is 4GB, with a maximum of 1GB mappable to DRAM (the other 3GB are mapped to the FPGA and to I/O).
You should have mentioned the Max10 boards as well - those are great low cost options for beginners.
As for CPLDs... I would not recommend those for beginners, and I would avoid them for tinkering. The only reason to get a CPLD dev board is if you have an actual application that needs a CPLD and you need to prototype the circuit before you spin up the PCB. In many cases though, prototyping with a FPGA you have laying around would be sufficient (unless you're worried about timings, in which case you need the actual CPLD). Demonstration with a CPLD is fine, but if not stressed, I would be worried that someone might buy a CPLD board not knowing the limitations, and end up with a paperweight. Furthermore, as I recall, most CPLDs are flash programmed, meaning you can only write a bitstream to them so many times before they can no longer retain the bits. The Max10 is similar, except you can load a bitstream via JTAG into SRAM rather than the flash for prototyping.
Thanks for the corrections and clarifications! 🙂
That's cool.
I have the Terasic DE10 and I've just ordered 2 Tang-Nanos from Aliexpress and and IceStick from Digi-Key.
Would like to see how they perform in comparison to Intel.
Anyway, I'm just a beginner (uni student), so I'll join along the ride!
Looking forward for more content :)
The DE10 is a really cool board. I had a look at the Tang Nanos and iCEstick and they look quite interesting too. I think that is a great collection for getting into FPGA development!
Hello! is the Tang nanos worth to purchase? i'm a bit hesitant because I don't know if they are good, and i need a good FPGA for my degree project :s