Xilinx S3DSP + EDK Board, too good to be true?

Hi All,
I was looking at the Xilinx website today and saw the new Spartan 3
DSP EDK board.

It seems like a pretty good deal, as the board by itself is 295, the
usb JTAG cable is 199 and the EDK, well, I couldn't work out how much
that normally costs ($130?!?) , but still thats at least $100 off the
price assuming the EDK is free, which is extremely tempting.

Am I missing something. Or is this just a good initial offering to get
me "hooked"

Thanks

Joel

joel.pigdon@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi All,
> I was looking at the Xilinx website today and saw the new Spartan 3
> DSP EDK board.

> It seems like a pretty good deal, as the board by itself is 295, the
> usb JTAG cable is 199 and the EDK, well, I couldn't work out how much
> that normally costs ($130?!?) , but still thats at least $100 off the
> price assuming the EDK is free, which is extremely tempting.

> Am I missing something. Or is this just a good initial offering to get
> me "hooked"

It's a good deal. But beware, it has DDR2 ram, were I didn't find free ip to 
run Mico32...
-- 
Uwe Bonnes                bon@elektron.ikp.physik.tu-darmstadt.de

Institut fuer Kernphysik  Schlossgartenstrasse 9  64289 Darmstadt
--------- Tel. 06151 162516 -------- Fax. 06151 164321 ----------

On 14 Mrz., 13:34, Uwe Bonnes <b...@hertz.ikp.physik.tu-darmstadt.de>
wrote:
> joel.pig...@gmail.com wrote:
> > Hi All,
> > I was looking at the Xilinx website today and saw the new Spartan 3
> > DSP EDK board.
> > It seems like a pretty good deal, as the board by itself is 295, the
> > usb JTAG cable is 199 and the EDK, well, I couldn't work out how much
> > that normally costs ($130?!?) , but still thats at least $100 off the
> > price assuming the EDK is free, which is extremely tempting.
> > Am I missing something. Or is this just a good initial offering to get
> > me "hooked"
>
> It's a good deal. But beware, it has DDR2 ram, were I didn't find free ip to
> run Mico32...
> --
> Uwe Bonnes                b...@elektron.ikp.physik.tu-darmstadt.de
>
> Institut fuer Kernphysik  Schlossgartenstrasse 9  64289 Darmstadt
> --------- Tel. 06151 162516 -------- Fax. 06151 164321 ----------

Uwe there is no free DDR2 for mico32.
yet.

Xilinx EDK based designs are most likely to be only ones that uses the
DDR2.
from that point of view some older S3 boards with SDRAM or DDR are
better
as there are more choices


Antti

On Mar 14, 2:50=A0am, joel.pig...@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi All,
> I was looking at the Xilinx website today and saw the new Spartan 3
> DSP EDK board.
>
> It seems like a pretty good deal, as the board by itself is 295, the
> usb JTAG cable is 199 and the EDK, well, I couldn't work out how much
> that normally costs ($130?!?) , but still thats at least $100 off the
> price assuming the EDK is free, which is extremely tempting.
>
> Am I missing something. Or is this just a good initial offering to get
> me "hooked"
>
> Thanks
>
> Joel

Where do you get the idea EDK is free or available for a very low
price?

John_H <newsgroup@johnhandwork.com> wrote:
...

> Where do you get the idea EDK is free or available for a very low
> price?

https://roulette.das-labor.org/bzrtrac/browser/fpga/soc-lm32/soc-lm32

-- 
Uwe Bonnes                bon@elektron.ikp.physik.tu-darmstadt.de

Institut fuer Kernphysik  Schlossgartenstrasse 9  64289 Darmstadt
--------- Tel. 06151 162516 -------- Fax. 06151 164321 ----------

On Mar 14, 9:59=A0am, Uwe Bonnes <b...@hertz.ikp.physik.tu-darmstadt.de>
wrote:
> John_H <newsgr...@johnhandwork.com> wrote:
>
> ...
>
> > Where do you get the idea EDK is free or available for a very low
> > price?
>
> https://roulette.das-labor.org/bzrtrac/browser/fpga/soc-lm32/soc-lm32
>
> --
> Uwe Bonnes =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0b...@elektron.ikp.physik.tu-darm=
stadt.de
>
> Institut fuer Kernphysik =A0Schlossgartenstrasse 9 =A064289 Darmstadt
> --------- Tel. 06151 162516 -------- Fax. 06151 164321 ----------


I'm at a directory listing.  Nothing obvious there.  A search for edk
comes up with no matches.

Was there a specific location within that directory configuration
where you get the idea EDK is free or available for a very low price?

- John_H

John_H <newsgroup@johnhandwork.com> wrote:
> > https://roulette.das-labor.org/bzrtrac/browser/fpga/soc-lm32/soc-lm32

> I'm at a directory listing.  Nothing obvious there.  A search for edk
> comes up with no matches.

> Was there a specific location within that directory configuration
> where you get the idea EDK is free or available for a very low price?

Sorry, there is no Xilinx EDK at that location. But there is a port of
Lattice Mico32 to Xilinx and files to test it. If you want to experiment
with softcores, its a great and cheap way. So it's an E_mbedded D_evelopment
K_it, but not Xilinx "EDK".
-- 
Uwe Bonnes                bon@elektron.ikp.physik.tu-darmstadt.de

Institut fuer Kernphysik  Schlossgartenstrasse 9  64289 Darmstadt
--------- Tel. 06151 162516 -------- Fax. 06151 164321 ----------

Antti <Antti.Lukats@googlemail.com> wrote:
...
> Uwe there is no free DDR2 for mico32.
> yet.

Does this "yet" have any meaning?
-- 
Uwe Bonnes                bon@elektron.ikp.physik.tu-darmstadt.de

Institut fuer Kernphysik  Schlossgartenstrasse 9  64289 Darmstadt
--------- Tel. 06151 162516 -------- Fax. 06151 164321 ----------

On 14 Mrz., 19:19, Uwe Bonnes <b...@hertz.ikp.physik.tu-darmstadt.de>
wrote:
> Antti <Antti.Luk...@googlemail.com> wrote:
>
> ...
>
> > Uwe there is no free DDR2 for mico32.
> > yet.
>
> Does this "yet" have any meaning?
> --
> Uwe Bonnes                b...@elektron.ikp.physik.tu-darmstadt.de
>
> Institut fuer Kernphysik  Schlossgartenstrasse 9  64289 Darmstadt
> --------- Tel. 06151 162516 -------- Fax. 06151 164321 ----------

sorry, I meant= not yet.
and nothing known if ever, but..
well I  assume it would not be so complicated to convert the MIG
generated monster to the WB bus and connect to your beloved mico32
as it hasnt been done, then it means nobody cared todo it, thats all

Antti

Joel,

Your analysis of the kit is accurate -- board, usb JTAG cable, and
full seat of Xilinx Platform Studio (XPS for short and also referred
to as Xilinx EDK) are included.  See http://www.xilinx.com/products/devkits/DO-SD1800A-EDK-DK-UNI-G.htm.
The list price for XPS is $495; when bundled with a kit is typically
$130.  So, you are getting a $295 + $199 + $130 value for $395.

One catch is that this is a limited time offer after which the kit
pricing goes up to $595.  And, of course the intention is to get you
hooked.

For those wondering about DDR2 support, Xilinx provides the MIG DDR2
controller in Verilog or VHDL for free.  MIG is in CoreGEN which is
part of ISE WebPack or Foundation.  Note that support for the 1800A
part on this board is included in WebPack, which is free
(www.xilinx.com/webpack).

When using MicroBlaze in XPS, the MPMC core is used and is included
with XPS.  Example designs for MIG and MPMC are available from Xilinx
and/or Avnet.  The BlueCat Linux design makes use of MPMC and the
DDR2.  Many of the current Avnet Speedways use this board's DDR2
(www.em.avnet.com/xilinxspeedway) and Avnet also has additional
designs for this board posted here (www.em.avnet.com/spartan3a-dsp).

The board is also expandable through EXP modules (www.em.avnet.com/
exp), a SystemACE controller add-on (www.em.avnet.com/systemace),  and
Digilent 6-pin ports (http://www.digilentinc.com/Products/Catalog.cfm?
Nav1=Products&Nav2=Peripheral&Cat=Peripheral).

I hope the information is helpful.
Bryan

joel.pig...@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi All,
> I was looking at the Xilinx website today and saw the new Spartan 3
> DSP EDK board.
>
> It seems like a pretty good deal, as the board by itself is 295, the
> usb JTAG cable is 199 and the EDK, well, I couldn't work out how much
> that normally costs ($130?!?) , but still thats at least $100 off the
> price assuming the EDK is free, which is extremely tempting.
>
> Am I missing something. Or is this just a good initial offering to get
> me "hooked"
>
> Thanks
>
> Joel