> Are there no 32-bit CPUs with a simple architecture and easy programming model? There really aren't. You could consider Arm (maybe with the simplified but 16

> Are there no 32-bit CPUs with a simple architecture and easy programming model? There really aren't. You could consider Arm (maybe with the simplified but 16-bit "thumb" instruction set), or MIPS, or RISC-V. Between all of those, it's rare to find bare CPUs; usually you get them in a system-on-a-chip, with things like DDR memory and other sophisticated peripherals built-in. You need complicated drivers and a bootloader, maybe even with signed payloads. Nothing as architecturally simple as wiring the address and data lines of a CPU into the address and data lines of some RAM or 7800 logic directly wired into a keyboard. In principle those devices could exist, but as a hobbyist you can only really get your hands on hardware with that kind of conceptual simplicity by either programming it into an FPGA, or by using hardware that dates back to when that approach to computer design was cutting-edge. edit: you could maybe consider some kinds of microcontrollers? The Parallax Propeller comes to mind.