Possible idea surrounding x16 and x8 discussion
Posted: Mon Oct 18, 2021 1:43 pm
On 10/18/2021 at 4:51 AM, Tatwi said:
@AndyMt Perhaps when using an X8 that is limited to 512K of banked "high ram" as it's ONLY functional difference from a full sized X16, ...
Is "limited to 512K banked High RAM as the only functional difference" an "X8" in any useful sense of the term? I suspect not ... that sounds like a design option for an X16e.
The X16p has from 512KB-2MB High RAM, depending on how many of the High RAM sockets are populated ... while the original "X8" basically splits the 128KB internal SPRAM in the Vera FPGA into 64KB for the system and 64KB for the Video RAM. It HAS no HighRAM, it has no VIAs, it has no OPM sound chip, and it has half the "Vera Video" RAM that Vera has.
The point of the design is that it gets a workable 65C02 V2 Basic system with Vera-system video that fits the constraints of the Vera FPGA chip, which is where the under $50 price point (if electronics logistics gets back to something like normal) comes from. If you want to generalize on "X8", it would be some kind of more or less compatible system with most of the system fitting within a single relatively inexpensive FPGA.