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Retro-Computing with FPGAs
zoid.com writes "I ran across a couple of really interesting projects using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) processors. First is the C-ONE project that is a reconfigurable computer. The default mode is a C64 compatible one, but the machine just boots the FPGA from an IDE device at
power on, so it could theoretically be pretty much anything. The second one is the FPGA Arcade. This site is about recreating gaming hardware from the past in modern programmable devices. They currently have Pacman, Space Invaders and Galaxian implemented in FPGAs."
How is this different from what MAME does?
That's nice...but, this will not be very useful compared to todays apps and emulators...now if they could get the hardware down to size, this would be a great PDA...
Looking at the pictures & specs, it requires an ATX case & power supply...
And it's listed at ~$200 for just the board...there isn't even a real SID chip in there...you have to add your own SID chips to get the "authentic experience"...by comparison, the same $200 should get you an AMD-based motherboard+cpu+ram combo in the 2-2.5 GHz range...which should be more than enough power to run any 6502 emulator...
What's worse is listed at the end of this page...
** Floppy/IDE Interface
In the initial release these interfaces will not have any support software (with the exception of 1581 emulation), it is hoped that with the ease of interfacing to the floppy and IDE drives a more 'software oriented individual' will develop the necessary support software for these devices.
Translation: You'll only be able to use the 3.5 floppy drive emulation...and we couldn't get anything else to work with it...we hope you can write the software...
I'll wait for the next generation...or maybe the generation after that...