I've changed "What is OGD1", the resolution in the features question,
"who designed", "what's this about preorders"... I think that's it.
** What is OGD1?
OGD1 is a high-end FPGA prototyping kit and hardware engineering platform,
equipped with the peripherals needed to develop and test computer graphics
architectures. Because of the generalized nature of its core, OGD1 is very
versatile and can be used for a wide variety of purposes requiring a
large FPGA, PCI, fast memory, and user I/O. It is designed to be used by
students learning FPGA programming, engineers needing a development platform
or product base, hobbyists that want to hack their own hardware designs,
users who want to the benefits of open hardware, and user who need
custom peripheral devices.
OGD1 is what we call "Open Hardware" or "Free-Design Hardware",
meaning that the design schematics, FPGA logic, and other details are
available under Free Software licensing.
** What can I do with OGD1?
Many users are interested in OGD1 as a platform for developing custom
logic for their own uses or to collaborate on community development
efforts on open hardware.
Some users are hardware designers that wish to use OGD1 as the basis for
an end product. Developers can repackage and resell OGD1 with custom
logic (and other modifications) for products that do not have the volume
to justify a custom chip or which benefit from the features of OGD1.
Volume discounts and free development support are available.
Users of OGD1 can also benefit from the community of other OGD1 users
who develop and distribute "pre-compiled" logic for OGD1. This applies
also to users who do not necessarily want to learn logic design themselves
but want to avail themselves of logic designs they can download for free.
While OGD1, like a graphics card, features DVI transmitters and a PCI
connector, there are many other uses for which OGD1's large FPGA and RAM are
ideal. It features user I/O connectors, 256 MiB of RAM, and an additional
power connector. OGD1 can be used to off-load computation or build custom
peripherals, inside or outside of a PC.
** What is the motivation behind OGD1?
We believe in the principles of Free Software. One of the major
challenges for Free Software is finding compatible hardware. The Open
Graphics Project (OGP) was started in response to poor support from
graphics vendors. OGD1 was originally designed as a platform to
develop new graphics hardware, but an Open Hardware community has
rallied around it as a basis for the development of new hardware
products developed primarily to support Free Software.
Just as the GPL guarantees certain software freedoms to use, study,
modify, and share software, we also believe that similar freedoms can
be had to some degree for hardware. This is why OGD1's design details
are openly published.
For Traversal Technology, the Open Hardware Foundation, and the OGP,
OGD1 also serves as a fund-raiser. To bootstrap our other open
hardware efforts, we need a source of revenue. That revenue will be
directly invested into more open hardware products.
** Why do we need OGD1 and the OGP now that ATI is finally releasing
programming documentation for their GPUs?
We applaud ATI for doing the right thing and making available their
GPU documentation for use by Free Software developers. ATI may have
an impact on our narrow focus on graphics (although there are still
graphics niches where we fit in), but they in no way impact our
broader goals of enabling hardware hacking and bringing open hardware
to the people.
The OGP is set apart from other hardware vendors by striving to release
documentation and source code for everything possible.
Some vendors may provide
enough information to developers to write Free Software drivers for an
x86 PC. But many lock up secrets in their boot firmware, making it
difficult or impossible to work with other architectures like SPARC
or PowerPC. Plus,
there will always be secrets of the inner-workings of the hardware that
they will never reveal, making it challenging to add features they didn't
expect you to add or work around undocumented hardware bugs.
Open hardware projects like the OGP ensure that no one is left without
the ability to make the hardware they purchased work whenever,
wherever, however they want it to.
** What are the key features of OGD1?
Xilinx(R) Spartian™-3 XC3S4000 FPGA
Lattice™ XP10 FPGA
64-bit PCI-X (133MHz) card edge (compatible with 32-bit 33Mhz PCI)
256 MiB of DDR400 memory
66 user I/O signals on a 92-pin Hirose connector
68 user I/O signals for an available 100-pin IDC connector
Video head 0: Dual-link DVI-D port (digital only, up to [EMAIL PROTECTED])
Video head 1: Dual-link DVI-I port (digital and analog)
Digital up to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
330MHz RGB/VGA triple DAC (analog up to [EMAIL PROTECTED])
S-video port (analog TV-out, PAL, NTSC, SECAM, etc.)
** Who designed OGD1?
The founder of the OGP, Timothy Miller, and his partners at Traversal,
Andy Fong and Howard Parkin, have in excess of a combined 30 years of
hardware (PCB, ASIC, FPGA) design experience. In particular, they
have experience developing graphics hardware used in air traffic
control and military installations. OGD1 was designed based on that
experience, with high standards for reliability, signal integrity, and
component selection.
Many other contributors to the OGP also have extensive hardware design
experience. We would like to thank them for lending us their time
to carefully examine OGD1's schematics and help us look for mistakes.
Our experience has shown that many eyeballs do indeed make all bugs
shallow.
** Why is OGD1 so expensive?
OGD1 is actually very competitively priced compared to FPGA kits with
similar capabilities and capacity. For very small FPGA projects, OGD1
may be over-kill. But for larger projects, OGD1 is a must and a
bargain.
** Are discounts available?
Yes. Please contact the Open Hardware Foundation (OHF) at
"http://www.openhardwarefoundation.org"; to inquire. The OHF is
responsible for all decisions regarding OGD1 discount offers. $1000
and $700 price points are available, offered primarily to those who
have contributed or wish to contribute to the OGP.
Additionally, bulk discounts are available. Contact us for more
information if you are interested.
** What kind of warranty do you offer for OGD1?
Traversal Technology offers a 1 year warranty with the full retail
price. Discounts come with shortened warranty periods. Although
modifications to OGD1 are generally encouraged, we do not take
responsibility for damage caused by those modifications; we will
selectively offer repair but not replacement services for modified
boards.
** What's this about a pre-order? Why don't you have any in stock?
Hardware fabrication is expensive and is especially expensive for
small quantities. As such, we need to place a minimum order for 100
boards. When we have 100 pre-orders, we will be able to have the OGD1
boards built. Your credit card will not be charged until your OGD1
board is tested and shipped. Note that to combat fraudulent orders,
we may find it necessary to place holds (not charges) on credit cards
just before we place our order with the fabricator; this is to ensure
that we have truly met the the minimum number of orders.
OGD1 is the first real hardware to be designed and produced by the
OGP, and the large up-front fabrication costs are being handled by a
very small number of people. To offset our risk, we require that a
minimum number of pre-orders be placed before we spend such a large
amount of our own money.
To encourage people to place pre-orders, we are offering a $100
discount and free accessories for the first 100 pre-orders.
Note: For those who do not wish to use a credit card, please contact
us to arrange alternate means of payment.
** Can I get a demo/sample of OGD1 before I buy?
Generally speaking, no, because we do not have a stock. However, for
parties interested in bulk orders, we may be willing to lend you one
of our one-off prototypes that we have used to verify the OGD1 design.
** If I buy an OGD1 board and plug it into my PC, will it work as a
graphic card?
A prototype of OGD1 was demonstrated at the 2007 O'Reilly Open Source
Conference. The entire presentation, using Ubuntu Linux, KDE, and
OpenOffice.org, was given using the OGD1 card connected to the projector.
Unfortunately, we are not able to share some parts of the logic and
driver we used to give the presentation. Fully Free versions of these
pieces are, however, nearing completion.
The Open Graphics Project (OGP)
has developed a library of controllers for PCI, memory, video, a
number of minor components, and the logic to bolt them all together.
These are available for free download. Most of these controllers have
individually been tested (some at OSCON), and we invite contributors
to help finish the work.
** The specs say that the PCI connector is PCI-X 64-bit, 133MHz. Will
that work in my regular PC?
PCI-X is backward compatible with your 32-bit 33MHz PCI slots, and
OGD1 has been tested with several PC motherboards. Note that some PC
motherboards may position components so that they interfere with the
"extended" part of the PCI card edge for some slots.
OGD1 is 6.875in long and 4.2in wide (17.46cm x 10.67cm). Some small
form-factor systems do not provide enough room in one or both dimensions.
** Will you be producing a PCI Express version of OGD1?
While most graphics cards now fit in PCI Express slots, PCI is more
popular with users of FPGA kits. We have identified the parts
necessary to support PCI Express, so if there is demand, we can build
them. In the mean time, we need to sell the PCI version OGD1 to
bootstrap our efforts.
** What software will I need to develop logic for OGD1?
For simulation, we primarily use Icarus Verilog. Icarus is Free
Software and is also available pre-packaged in Debian and RPM formats.
Check it out at "http://www.icarus.com/eda/verilog/";.
For the Xilinx FPGA, you need a version of ISE that supports the
3S4000 chip. The most recent versions of the WebPack do not. So you
either need to get a commercial license, or you can add a service pack
to the ISE WebPack version 6.3i. See
"http://wiki.opengraphics.org/tiki-index.php?page=OGPN10#Programming_the_ODG1_graphics_development_board";
for details. ISE 6.3i can be run under WINE.
For the Lattice XP10, ispLEVER is a "free" download. Start at
"http://www.latticesemi.com/products/designsoftware/isplever/ispleverstarter/index.cfm";.
** How do I load logic into the FPGAs?
For programming the XP10, you'll need a Lattice programming cable
(provided free with the first 100 pre-orders). You'll also need
programming software, which you can get from
"http://www.latticesemi.com/products/designsoftware/ispvmsystem/index.cfm";.
The XP10 is a flash-based device, so it remembers its programming
across power cycles.
For the 3S4000, there are three options. One is to program it
directly while live. This can be done using the Lattice programming
cable and the Lattice programming software via few tricks. The
remaining two options require logic support in the XP10. Logic is
available from the OGP that will read an SPI PROM and program the
3S4000 at power-up. Using that same logic along with our PCI
controller, you can program the 3S4000 (or the PROM) directly over the
PCI bus. This PCI controller and loader should be finished and
pre-programmed into the XP10 at the time OGD1 ships.
** What kind of graphics performance can I expect from OGD1?
There is currently no GPU available for OGD1, although we do have a
specification for one. OGD1 is not actually intended for
high-performance graphics applications, although having FPGAs, it is
suitable for hardware implementations of the kinds of computations you
might perform using GPGPU. We should also shortly have available
logic for OGD1 that will allow it to behave as framebuffer graphics
device with no acceleration. Shortly following that, we will support
VGA emulation so that OGD1 can be used as the boot console in an x86
PC.
--
Timothy Normand Miller
http://www.cse.ohio-state.edu/~millerti
Open Graphics Project
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