sergei@sel.hep.upenn.edu (Sergei Borodin) (04/25/91)
Article 20627 of sci.electronics: Path: netnews.upenn.edu!widener!iggy.GW.Vitalink.COM!pacbell.com!mips!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!cbnewsj!asd From: asd@cbnewsj.att.com (Adam S. Denton) Newsgroups: sci.electronics Subject: Re: microprocessor wanted Message-ID: <1991Apr24.174217.14901@cbnewsj.att.com> Date: 24 Apr 91 17:42:17 GMT References: <119279@unix.cis.pitt.edu> <1991Apr24.154831.9757@zoo.toronto.edu> Organization: AT&T Lines: 23 >In article <119279@unix.cis.pitt.edu> fmgst@unix.cis.pitt.edu (Filip Gieszczykiewicz) writes: >> o BUILT-IN floating processor (that's the problem) >> o CHEAP (under $40) >I would hazard you'll never get it in one chip that cheap until >ten years from now. :-). However, if you are diligent, you can >get by with two chips. Motorola used to make >a "floating point ROM" - I believe MC6839 - which interfaced with >the 6800 family. Basically, it was floating point emulation in >ROM, already coded and debugged for you. You can get the source >from their BBS too. Then you wouldn't have to code up floating point >(which sounds about as exhilarating as watching paint dry :-). >Although it'll take more chips, you'll have more spendable dollars too... >6800s are cheep cheep cheep. And you can burn some EPROMs with code from >the BBS. If you're truly a nut, you could run all the 6800s off of one >EPROM simultaneously -- sorta a SIMD architecture...naaaa, wouldn't work.... What about transputers chip T800 from Inmos - with on-chip FPP i believe no more than $100. But it can be easily connected to similar transputer and system become multiprocessor. Also simplest possible interface to memory reduces cost of the whole system. So if you calculate price/performance ratio transputer system will win. Sergei Borodin. sergei@upenn5.hep.upenn.edu