May 15th, 2017 at 1:02 AM
so minor setback, I've been really thinking this through and I've hit a bit of a snag, not one caused by available technology mind you, but instead one of my own ability.
looking at it further if I really wanted to do what I want right, I'm going to need to learn how to build my own system from scratch, Apple ][ style.
the case should be easy enough to make/get.
so here's where I'm thinking of going from here.
I can take two paths.
Path #1.
use a Pi III and build a working though crude and limited system which does some of what I really want it to.
Path #2.
This one's much harder, I would need to really up my understanding of integrated circuits and programming but it's indeed possible to build something from the ground up.
Furthermore if I can get some kind of DIY board going I may even open source it so others can follow in my footsteps and improve on the basic system I come up with.
for path #2 the direction I"m thinking is some form of ARM cpu, one ideally with the ability to accept external ram.
now most of my knowledge is for troubleshooting X86/X64 pc's so bear with me.
arm CPU's have a built in MMU or Memory management Unit, as do most CPU's these days.
however what I would need would be to have some kind of L4 or L5 cache ability using an external MMU connected to DIMM modules.
this would require a custom BIOS and or chipset software which is a hurdle in and of it's self.
I could still go the intel route but intel makes so little of it's processes available to the average consumer that ARM is an easier path right now.
because of this I'm probably going to go that route if I decide to take path #2.
the motherboard would be fairly simplistic, with a GPIO and Dedicated IO pin set on separate parts of the board.
the dedicated pins would work like most modern desktop motherboards (note, I'm talking about the pins that connect to the front panel and whatnot), and hook up the access ports, mouse/touch pad, and integrated keyboard.
I've also got some idea about GPU, I can take two paths on this, I can either use an ARM chipset with a built in GPU (most come with them these days I believe?) or I can see about integrating some kind of PCI-Express interface with a DIY south bridge of some kind.
suffice to say it's going to take a while.
anyway let me know your thoughts and where I should go from here.
Zalost, Out.
looking at it further if I really wanted to do what I want right, I'm going to need to learn how to build my own system from scratch, Apple ][ style.
the case should be easy enough to make/get.
so here's where I'm thinking of going from here.
I can take two paths.
Path #1.
use a Pi III and build a working though crude and limited system which does some of what I really want it to.
Path #2.
This one's much harder, I would need to really up my understanding of integrated circuits and programming but it's indeed possible to build something from the ground up.
Furthermore if I can get some kind of DIY board going I may even open source it so others can follow in my footsteps and improve on the basic system I come up with.
for path #2 the direction I"m thinking is some form of ARM cpu, one ideally with the ability to accept external ram.
now most of my knowledge is for troubleshooting X86/X64 pc's so bear with me.
arm CPU's have a built in MMU or Memory management Unit, as do most CPU's these days.
however what I would need would be to have some kind of L4 or L5 cache ability using an external MMU connected to DIMM modules.
this would require a custom BIOS and or chipset software which is a hurdle in and of it's self.
I could still go the intel route but intel makes so little of it's processes available to the average consumer that ARM is an easier path right now.
because of this I'm probably going to go that route if I decide to take path #2.
the motherboard would be fairly simplistic, with a GPIO and Dedicated IO pin set on separate parts of the board.
the dedicated pins would work like most modern desktop motherboards (note, I'm talking about the pins that connect to the front panel and whatnot), and hook up the access ports, mouse/touch pad, and integrated keyboard.
I've also got some idea about GPU, I can take two paths on this, I can either use an ARM chipset with a built in GPU (most come with them these days I believe?) or I can see about integrating some kind of PCI-Express interface with a DIY south bridge of some kind.
suffice to say it's going to take a while.
anyway let me know your thoughts and where I should go from here.
Zalost, Out.
