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FPGA/ CPLD as a substitute for Microcontroller?

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RollingEEE

RollingEEE

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cpld dip

Hi,

I was just wondering, is it possible for a hobbyst to switch from microcontroller to FPGA / CPLD s. I am somewhat familiar with verilog and vhdl. Is there any FPGA/CPLD chip available in DIP package? And how easy is the programming software?
 

dip fpga

no buddy ,fpga are not as efficient and fast as microcntrollers ,it is ok to use them for testing purpose but for long term use you need controller
 
fpga dip

But I thought FPGAs are faster, they have concurrent processing, and can beat the sequential processing of microcontroller with parallel processing
 

dip cpld

I think FPGA is suitable for more complicated applications. Some application resides in the grey area between them and micros, in such a case u v to decide which technology to use.

About switching, it will not be complete switching as I said before different applications will need different technologies but it is very useful to learn FPGA (and very challenging to :D)

I used to work with Atmel's AVRs but switched to Xilinx FPGAs during my graduation project. You may consider getting a starter kit rather than seeking a DIP. I am not very sure but I don't think that FPGA is available as a DIP (any1 confirm plz)

FPGAs are nt exactly as micros,they arent programmed. They are connected to external PROM where your program is stored. Again, consider a kit. It will be very useful and u may get a decent one for 150~250 $

Best regards,
Mostafa Amer
 

    RollingEEE

    RollingEEE

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fpga dip package

Well that's a shame they don't have on board EEPROMs. A 40 PIN FPGA with quick loader and onboard EEPROM would be great.
 

xilinx cpld dip

You can get non-volatile FPGA (with integrated configuration flash) from Vendors as Lattice and Xilinx, also &#65ltera MAX II devices are a kind of small flash based FPGA. As said, none of them has a DIL package, you need an adapter to convert the footprint.

Generally, I would consider FPGA, when the application speed requirements can't be achieved by a processor. Although FPGA can replace hardware processors by soft cores, it may be easier to use a FPGA and hardware processor combination.
 

fpgas in a dip package

niks109 said:
no buddy ,fpga are not as efficient and fast as microcntrollers ,it is ok to use them for testing purpose but for long term use you need controller
Click to expand...

I think you have that a bit wrong. FPGA's are generally faster in terms of clock speeds, and also because of the inherent parallelism of their operation. Microcontrollers aren't parallel.
And FPGA's are more efficient, as they can be configured/optimised for a specific application, whereas a microcontroller is alwasy a general purpose cicuit. An ASIC is the most efficient, but is not reconfigurable.
 

    RollingEEE

    RollingEEE

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dip fbga

I know FPGAs are more sophisticated and faster. DSP filters are made with FPGAs. You can hardly imagine making a powerful DSP with a microcontroller. But without a DIP package it is very hard to be used by a hobbyst, especially without spending 50-100 dollars.
 

cpld in dip package

You can get something like a Spartan 3 starter kit for not too much money, it can be programmed with relative easy via the serial port of a PC. If you want to integrate an FPGA onto a bespoke PCB then you're lookin at a considerable cost because of the packages they come in (BGA's are common), and the complex routing associated with them, often requiring blind via's.
 


fpga dil

It depends on your project. You can find in DIP CPLDs (say, GAL22V10, etc.).
 

Just in case anyone stumbles upon this old thread looking for an FPGA DIP board, have a look here -> **broken link removed**
 

i have used these fpga with my senior's and we blow up that fpga, so be careful with the use the same.

- - - Updated - - -

gorski123 said:
**broken link removed**
Click to expand...

i think it looks good for u rollingEEE it got FPGA, an on-board FLASH module to store your configuration and a operation on 5-volt tolerant I/O.
 

Re: dip fpga

niks109 said:
no buddy ,fpga are not as efficient and fast as microcntrollers ,it is ok to use them for testing purpose but for long term use you need controller
Click to expand...

Well, that's 100% wrong. This is why you should not take anything you read on the internet as absolute truth.

FPGAs are MUCH faster than microcontrollers.

As others have suggested, you should probably look into getting an inexpensive development board. If you are just looking to learn FPGAs, there some pretty inexpensive boards available. If you have a specific application in mind, then you'll need to look a little deeper; you might have to get an FPGA board and add a daughter card to implement whatever other function(s) you need.
 

I should hope that the OP has decided between fpga or mcu by now. ;-)

Other than that, the "OMG!! th3 mcu is much faster than fpga" was funny. :p Playing with an stm32f4 right now, and that's reasonably fast as mcu's go ... but nowhere near as fast as the fpga I happen to be using right next to it (spartan-6). Main advantage of an mcu over fpga is the development time. Your typical design in fpga is going to take a LOT more work than your typical design in mcu.
 

Have you checked pricing on those zed boards? $299 academic / $395 the rest. Ouchie! I'd love to play around with one of those, but currently can't justify the cost. :p
 
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