3 ms·

This is ARM's definite response to RISC-V. As people develop their FPGA products, they will have to decide what their long term target is. If the intent is to

This is ARM's definite response to RISC-V. As people develop their FPGA products, they will have to decide what their long term target is. If the intent is to eventually turn the code into an ASIC, RISC-V maybe the economically more sensible solution since there is no licensing costs there. However they will have to be patient with the toolchain. If the idea if the code will only be a pet project, wouldn't benefit from RISC's customization abilities, or long term is expected to use an ARM core, this is definitely the right pick. The ARM toolchain being more mature is a draw for many hardware developers. I'm definitely very interested in trying a project with either RISC-V or ARM.

Zenst 8y ago
Equally by offering this for Xilinx, it makes them more palatable over Altera offerings (owned by Intel). So a very tactile move on many levels. But as an end user, I like competition like this, as long as there is competition tomorrow.
- nerpderp83 8y ago
  There are lots of other FPGAs that are still available for RISC-V to target that are precluded from this announcement. ARM used to sue anyone trying to make an ARM clone and now this. Great news for RISC-V. At least one if not two low end FPGA manufacturers will be shipping a fabric with hard blocks supporting RISC-V.
- JoachimS 8y ago
  The release of the M1 is not just for Xilinx. ARM is releasing the M1 for Xilinx, Altera, Actel FPGAs. These are firm (i.e. technology mapped) cores adapted for each FPGA family. Here for example is the documentation for the Altera version. Note that it sports the Altera Avalon bus interface which would not be used in a Xilinx design. https://developer.arm.com/docs/dui0395/latest/introduction/about-the-processor https://developer.arm.com/docs/dui0395/latest/introduction/a... And here is the announcement/information about the M1 core for Actel/Microsemi FPGAs: https://soc.microsemi.com/products/ip/search/detail.aspx?id=652 https://soc.microsemi.com/products/ip/search/detail.aspx?id=...
  - JoachimS 8y ago
    This article from EE Times lists all FPGA vendors as well as EDA vendors supporting the M1 cores: https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1303843 https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1303843

Zenst 8y ago

Equally by offering this for Xilinx, it makes them more palatable over Altera offerings (owned by Intel). So a very tactile move on many levels. But as an end user, I like competition like this, as long as there is competition tomorrow.

nerpderp83 8y ago
There are lots of other FPGAs that are still available for RISC-V to target that are precluded from this announcement. ARM used to sue anyone trying to make an ARM clone and now this. Great news for RISC-V. At least one if not two low end FPGA manufacturers will be shipping a fabric with hard blocks supporting RISC-V.
JoachimS 8y ago
The release of the M1 is not just for Xilinx. ARM is releasing the M1 for Xilinx, Altera, Actel FPGAs. These are firm (i.e. technology mapped) cores adapted for each FPGA family. Here for example is the documentation for the Altera version. Note that it sports the Altera Avalon bus interface which would not be used in a Xilinx design. https://developer.arm.com/docs/dui0395/latest/introduction/about-the-processor https://developer.arm.com/docs/dui0395/latest/introduction/a... And here is the announcement/information about the M1 core for Actel/Microsemi FPGAs: https://soc.microsemi.com/products/ip/search/detail.aspx?id=652 https://soc.microsemi.com/products/ip/search/detail.aspx?id=...
- JoachimS 8y ago
  This article from EE Times lists all FPGA vendors as well as EDA vendors supporting the M1 cores: https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1303843 https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1303843