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Merely Confusedpage  1 2 
Marcel Verdaasdonk
Netherlands

Posts 3975
11 Dec 2011 18:42


Peter no offense, but " -NatAmi does have 2 Amiga IDE busses, one with CF socket."
is something completely different then what i understood from the block diagram released by Thomas.

CLICK HERE 
The diagram, as drawn shows it's rather different it's Gayle over PCI.

Perhaps i missunderstood the whole idea of backwards compatibility here.

Deep Sub Micron
Germany
(MX-Board Owner)
Posts 567
11 Dec 2011 21:35


Maybe it is confusing that with Gayle is meant a CPLD doing similar functionality as Amiga Gayle. The two IDE buses in the block diagram are kind of independent. The Gayle CPLD is is on the MX board and connected to PCI. So as far as I can see, Peter's statement and the block diagram are consistent.

Thomas Hirsch
Germany
(MX-Board Owner)
Posts 647
11 Dec 2011 21:46


Maybe there is a misunderstanding here. But I do not see where Peters statement contradicts the drawing.

As I see the drawing there are two IDE ports. Depending on configuration one can be master, the other slave. They are attached to the "PCI Gayle", a name I chose since this CPLDs functionality is quite similar to the original Galye.

Can you please suggest what I could do more precisely... It seems that since I know the concept the drawing is obvious to me - but not to people I want explain the system to.

Marcel Verdaasdonk
Netherlands

Posts 3975
11 Dec 2011 23:29


A diagram can only tell so much.

Thomas if it only provides IDE it is missing a lot of what Gayle did.(this isn't meant negative)

Let's keep it to west side or amiga compatible IDE controller.
Unless it also supports PCMCIA cards and other goodies. ;)

Okay i'll list what should be improved if the diagram should be revised.

OPA, I can deduct something like operational amplifier out that others might not.
TX, transmit?

1. add a small list with a short explanation for yourself and other developers, what each block does this can also prevent and solve missunderstandings like this, legenda to the colour code. (IMHO, Documentation is a very important part, but please do not deviate from the project because i am a document fanatic)
2. don't leave room for asumptions, especialy when you expect that third party developers might interface to that specific part.

things you did right in the diagram.
1. you noted the number of pins for the header, specified connectors. (although, LAN does not specify the RJ45 connector, PCI 5V or 3.3V ?)
2. clear layout, this means the overal overview is great.
3. colour coded.

I cannot stress the point enough how important good documentation is.


Lorenzo Lorenko
Italy

Posts 63
15 Dec 2011 12:51


Sorry for the ignorance, but the daughter card is needed or the FPGA emulates the processor in this case a 68060?



Marcel Verdaasdonk
Netherlands

Posts 3975
15 Dec 2011 13:01


Lorenzo the Natami doesn't emulate any piece of Amiga hardware.
It as close to real hardware as is affordable at this point.(real hardware being ASIC, IMHO)

The CPU card is a contingency as far as i can tell, or for those who absolutely require a MMU.
As soon as the team is content with the N68050 it will be placed in the main FPGA making the daughter board redundant. (and the system as a whole cheaper.)


Jakob Eriksson
Sweden
(Moderator)
Posts 1097
15 Dec 2011 14:08


lorenzo lorenko wrote:

    Sorry for the ignorance, but the daughter card is needed or the FPGA emulates the processor in this case a 68060?
     
     
   

   
    The FPGA will implement a 680x0. Not exactly any particular model, but quite fast and quite like a 68060. We call it a 68050. 
   
    Some argue that the word "emulate" is not correct, because it is often used to to mean software emulation. "Independent implementation" of the 68000 instruction set is perhaps better to say.
   
    As pointed out above, the 68050 implementation is not yet complete nor fully integrated with the Natami chipset, so in the meantime the 68060 daughtercard is needed to run.

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