4 ms·

Apollo 68080: high performance 68k processor on FPGA

24 points by fanf2 2y ago

stefanpie 2y ago
Am I lost or are the cores not open source? I cannot find any Verilog, VHDL, or bundled IP blocks to downloaded. Very strange for what on the surface appears to be a hobby FPGA project.
- rasz 2y ago
  Thats Amiga scene baby, open source was always the exception.
Salmonfisher11 2y ago
I see - it already can reply with a 404!
- JPLeRouzic 2y ago
  http://www.apollo-core.com/index.htm?page=features http://www.apollo-core.com/index.htm?page=features
  - LargoLasskhyfv 2y ago
    http://www.apollo-core.com/index.htm?page=performance http://www.apollo-core.com/index.htm?page=performance seems more interesting. Even more interesting would be the comparison with that vs. most modern version of UAE running on some contemporary ARM, 'crappy' Intel N100, or Apple Mx-whatever. Ansonsten gilt: "Das Balkenspiel ist schlechter Stil!" Kapiert?
    - rasz 2y ago
      rpi is >10x faster
    - numpad0 2y ago
      FPGAs are massive meshes of 4-bit SRAMs mostly mimicking aluminium traces, they are minimum 4x or so worse than real chips made in the same process.
mrlonglong 2y ago
Is this truly a 64 bit processor?
- johnklos 2y ago
  No, it isn't 64 bit at all. It claims to have 64 bit vector extensions, but that's worlds different from being a 64 bit processor. It's mostly marketing fluff. The people who made Apollo claimed for ages that FPUs necessary, then finally provided an FPU. They want people to target their proprietary extensions, but they don't even offer an MMU and emphatically claim, just like with the FPU, that it's not necessary. They spin way too much. I can't take them seriously. There are plenty of other projects that are much more interesting, like: https://www.buffee.ca/back-to-fulltime/ https://www.buffee.ca/back-to-fulltime/ https://github.com/captain-amygdala/pistorm https://github.com/captain-amygdala/pistorm They allow for much more flexibility, the option to run on actual m68k motherboards and compatible extensions, such as an '060 emulation that includes support for instructions the '060 would otherwise need to emulate.
  - mrlonglong 2y ago
    It would be an interesting exercise to design a 64 bit processor that extends the 680x0 ISA and compare it against today's offerings in a similar node.

24 points by fanf2 2y ago

Am I lost or are the cores not open source? I cannot find any Verilog, VHDL, or bundled IP blocks to downloaded. Very strange for what on the surface appears to be a hobby FPGA project.

rasz 2y ago
Thats Amiga scene baby, open source was always the exception.

Salmonfisher11 2y ago

I see - it already can reply with a 404!

JPLeRouzic 2y ago
http://www.apollo-core.com/index.htm?page=features http://www.apollo-core.com/index.htm?page=features
- LargoLasskhyfv 2y ago
  http://www.apollo-core.com/index.htm?page=performance http://www.apollo-core.com/index.htm?page=performance seems more interesting. Even more interesting would be the comparison with that vs. most modern version of UAE running on some contemporary ARM, 'crappy' Intel N100, or Apple Mx-whatever. Ansonsten gilt: "Das Balkenspiel ist schlechter Stil!" Kapiert?
  - rasz 2y ago
    rpi is >10x faster
  - numpad0 2y ago
    FPGAs are massive meshes of 4-bit SRAMs mostly mimicking aluminium traces, they are minimum 4x or so worse than real chips made in the same process.

mrlonglong 2y ago

Is this truly a 64 bit processor?

johnklos 2y ago
No, it isn't 64 bit at all. It claims to have 64 bit vector extensions, but that's worlds different from being a 64 bit processor. It's mostly marketing fluff. The people who made Apollo claimed for ages that FPUs necessary, then finally provided an FPU. They want people to target their proprietary extensions, but they don't even offer an MMU and emphatically claim, just like with the FPU, that it's not necessary. They spin way too much. I can't take them seriously. There are plenty of other projects that are much more interesting, like: https://www.buffee.ca/back-to-fulltime/ https://www.buffee.ca/back-to-fulltime/ https://github.com/captain-amygdala/pistorm https://github.com/captain-amygdala/pistorm They allow for much more flexibility, the option to run on actual m68k motherboards and compatible extensions, such as an '060 emulation that includes support for instructions the '060 would otherwise need to emulate.
- mrlonglong 2y ago
  It would be an interesting exercise to design a 64 bit processor that extends the 680x0 ISA and compare it against today's offerings in a similar node.