Get into a Xilinx FPGA for Under $90

Get into a Xilinx FPGA for Under $90
by Luke Miller on 12-27-2013 at 6:30 pm

Jump into Xilinx Programmable Logic today! I wanted to encourage my dear readers if you have not tried using an Xilinx FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or even CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device) then it is worth your time to begin your evaluation. Maybe you got one for Christmas? If not, it is easier than you think to start… Read More


Xilinx Pulls Back the 20nm UltraScale Curtain

Xilinx Pulls Back the 20nm UltraScale Curtain
by Luke Miller on 12-12-2013 at 10:00 am

This week Xilinx has announced that “The Xilinx 20nm All Programmable UltraScale™ portfolio is now available with detailed device tables, product documentation, design tools and methodology support.”

Do you know what 20nm is? It’s small, tiny. Think about it this way, as I just learned today that one nanometer is about as long… Read More


Xilinx’s Vivado HLS Will Float Your FPGA

Xilinx’s Vivado HLS Will Float Your FPGA
by Luke Miller on 09-23-2013 at 8:30 pm

Very rarely does the FPGA designer, especially with respect to RADAR, think of the FPGA as a floating point processor. Just to be sure I asked my 6 year old and she agreed. But you know what, the Xilinx FPGAs float. Go try it, order some up and fill up the tub.

Anyways I purpose a duel to the avid VHDL coder. I want you to design me a Sine(x) … Read More


FPGAs The Life Savers

FPGAs The Life Savers
by Luke Miller on 08-27-2013 at 1:00 pm

Silicon dominates our lives, CPU’s, GPU’s are in the limelight but the unsung hero is the FPGA. They simply do the work where other silicon dare not tread, as they are unfit for the task. Never send a boy to do a man’s job.

For a moment, if we can, just for a few minutes perhaps we can break away from the social media bubble… Read More


Coke vs. Pepsi; Xilinx vs. Altera

Coke vs. Pepsi; Xilinx vs. Altera
by Luke Miller on 08-02-2013 at 10:00 am

I have many thoughts on this topic, so forgive the word salad that may ensue. I have been thinking about Coca-Cola lately, partly because I bought an old coke machine (I’m one of those guys… pray for my wife). I am amazed that Coke which was founded in 1886, still has a secret recipe. I like that, but boy every time the web reveals the coke… Read More


Xilinx picks another winner…

Xilinx picks another winner…
by Luke Miller on 07-31-2013 at 7:00 pm

Just as important as block RAMs, IO and DSP48’s is what interconnect or fabric is going to be used when considering SoC FPGA designs. I think Xilinx has found the winning combination. What is paramount to the new SoC FPGA methodologies is not only the challenge of moving huge amounts of data around; we are now to consider data… Read More


The FPGA Blob is Coming…

The FPGA Blob is Coming…
by Luke Miller on 07-24-2013 at 5:00 pm

I never understood when I was a kid how ‘the Blob’ could actually catch someone but it sure did. It caught the unsuspecting, the off guard. I mean you’d have time for a soda and shower if you saw it on your road. And no, your manager is not the Blob; don’t think like that, it’s always his boss. The blob comes to consume the worker who was unaware… Read More


Remember FPGA Memory

Remember FPGA Memory
by Luke Miller on 06-25-2013 at 3:10 pm

We must admit the excitement of the FinFETs and all that coupled with the enormous amount of DSPs and BRAMs in the FPGA world is very cool. They even have ARMs, and I highly recommend that they get Legs then they can run around and everything and fit in with the rest of us. Perhaps the Feds can grant them immigration status and they could… Read More


GPU vs. FPGA

GPU vs. FPGA
by Luke Miller on 06-09-2013 at 9:00 pm

I just don’t understand it? My kids love surprises but I have yet to find management that does, go figure but boy during a review they can really spring them on ya! What surprises me is the absurdness of my title, GPU vs. FPGA. FPGAs are not GPUs and likewise but none the less there is the push to make a fit where nature does not allow. I liken… Read More


Are there enough FPGA tools?

Are there enough FPGA tools?
by Luke Miller on 05-09-2013 at 9:00 pm

Sometimes I send my boy to grab me a tool and hours later he comes back with the wrong one. The patient man that I am, I calmly explain what I mean and then the world is right once more. Believe that do ya?

As you know the world is flooded with tools, tools and more tools. We all have our ruts and favorite flows and such but given the huge FPGA … Read More