Return to the archive index

RE: ZF Microsystems MachZ

 From: "Mostrom, Edward" <>
>>>If everything needed is on the chip, why is the dev board $841?
>
>>I have the data book (500+ pages) on the MachZ.
>
>>The dev. board appears to be over priced to me too, but based upon how many
>>dev. boards they will ever sell and the fact that they include the break out
>>of all the buses (PCI/PC104/USB/IDE/ect...), 8 MB of memory, etc.. then it
>>is not that bad.
>
>I guess I don't understand.  If the chip provides basically a complete
>motherboard, it would seem to be cheaper to just build my own.  Maybe I
>am just a tad nieve; but if someone says that their chip provides USB,
>IDE, keyboard, mouse, ... then I would assume that I don't have to do
>anything other than drag the traces from those pins on the chip out to
>the header to connect my cable to.  Is that right or is there something
>I would have to do between the pins and the cable?
>
>I would assume that it is the same for the RAM and PCI bus... just drag
>traces from the DRAM controller to the DRAM socket and drag the PCI
>pins over to a Cirrus CL-GX5446 video chip.
>
>Am I missing something?  Please let me know before I just go out and
>build my own.

for onboard devices (memory, video chipset) it probably is that
simple.  get the databook. read it. look at sample implementations, if
they provide schematics.

For offboard devices (ps/2, usb, serial) there are fuses, filters, and
charge pumps that may be externally needed for the cpu, as these things
are generally not digital in nature, and mixing digital and anlog on a
single chip is tricky, although it is happening more and more.

Plus, things like usb and 10bt (rj45 jacks) are starting to have
filters built into the jacks themselves, so the size increase is
virtually invisible, as it's put into the existing footprint of the
device.

Like I said earlier, don't take our word for it, get the data book.
read it. it will answer most of your questions.

   - Kevin

--
Subcription/unsubscription/info requests: send e-mail with subject of
"subscribe", "unsubscribe", or "info" to 
Wear-Hard Mailing List Archive (searchable): http://wearables.blu.org

From Wear-Hard Mailing list Archive (WH)
Maintained by R. Paul McCarty

Archive created with babymail