How Microsoft built CPUs 100x faster than Intel's

[Jamie McKane]

How Microsoft built CPUs 100x faster than Intel's

Microsoft's new technology is a game changer.

[murfle]

So, keyboards, mice and controllers aside, is Microsoft really getting into the hardware business? Should we start calling them Microhard?

[mottamort]

Faster than Intels what...?

[DieGrootHammer]

Faster than Intels what...?

[PsychoFish]

Faster than Intels what...?

Clue is in the 4th word of the title

[mottamort]

Clue is in the 4th word of the title

[Samaya]

Something I don't get... If FPGA's have been around for more than 2 decades why is it suddenly new technology? Unless they talking about a new algorythm which is just new software which is written in either VHDL or Verilog which is more than 2 decades old... It took them 4 years of research to figure out that doing a single task in an FPGA is faster than doing that same task on a CPU. I think I have found where "Microsoft time" has been put to practical use...

Some Engineers in SA have been using ARM 9 softcores in their FPGA designs for a while now. And I have heard of ARM 15 softcores going into FPGA's now as well. NASA uses FPGA's in their little remote control cars on mars. I used an FPGA to switch on a LED - hardcore I tell you

[Avatar]

I used an FPGA to switch on a LED - hardcore I tell you

This is actually the most interesting thing I've found in this article and thread, because I've tried to find out how to get, program, and effectively use an FPGA at hobbyist level with little success. Mind you, this was before the rise in popularity of the Arduino and Raspberry Pi's.

Do you have a guide or tut or something handy? Or is it not worth the effort, now that we have Arduino's?

[Samaya]

This is actually the most interesting thing I've found in this article and thread, because I've tried to find out how to get, program, and effectively use an FPGA at hobbyist level with little success. Mind you, this was before the rise in popularity of the Arduino and Raspberry Pi's.

Do you have a guide or tut or something handy? Or is it not worth the effort, now that we have Arduino's?

There are some good free books on VHDL on the internets.

If you just want to control something (like your garage door) at home the Arduino is cheaper and easier. If you want to get serious about precision control of that something then go FPGA. I have a Altera kit at home that I have been playing on to switch leds but it is just so I can learn VHDL. I am going to use FPGA's in future so I need it for work. For home I would stick with arduino and C the FPGA is complicated and usually also a BGA package which just complicates things further - unnecesarry complications. Added to that possibly multiple powersupply voltages and offboard flash to boot the fpga at start up...

[Avatar]

There are some good free books on VHDL on the internets.

Thanks for the info. I'll look for some books on VHDL.

If you just want to control something (like your garage door) at home the Arduino is cheaper and easier. If you want to get serious about precision control of that something then go FPGA.

How different would an FPGA be from an Arduino with proper feedback (like a positional sensor on the garage door example) and a software PID controller?

For home I would stick with arduino and C the FPGA is complicated and usually also a BGA package which just complicates things further - unnecesarry complications. Added to that possibly multiple powersupply voltages and offboard flash to boot the fpga at start up...

Extra acronyms always means extra complications! And considering that I now have to go look up what BGA stands for, I'm sure it's complications that I can do without!

Thanks again for the info.