Cheap-o MiSTer clones have arrived

[dreadnought]

Seems the first 99USD MiSTer "clones" have already appeared (and promptly disappeared).

https://www.aliexpress.com/i/1005007...apt=4itemAdapt

They have one with baked in 128 RAM too though, at 129 USD https://t.co/G3ClbQe4yE It's not compatible with official daughter boards, but they say they will produce their own.

What does it mean for Amiga fans? Well, now you can have an HDMI-capable FPGA board for under 150 USD, and it handles Amiga A500 / A1200 core with extremely high accuracy. I think A500 is cycle accurate (or thereabouts). A1200 isn't - it's somewhat faster than the real thing, but still pretty much spot on (you can use RTG as well).


Plus, of course, it covers most of the old microcomputers and consoles up to PSX/Saturn/N64 level.

Seriously recommended as an extremely capable emulation box. And if you're a CRT fan, it's the best solution out there.

[alexh]

Originally Posted by dreadnought

I think A500 is cycle accurate (or thereabouts).

Hi compatibility yes, but cycle accurate? Extremely unlikely as it is based on MiniMig which is so different under the hood than a real Amiga in terms of buses and clocks and cycles.

[dreadnought]

Yeah, I don't know that 100%, hence "thereabouts". It can be a tricky thing to ask about.

[Anubis]

Not sure that I would jump on that wagon, at least not yet. I don't think we need clone of MiSTer FPGA, we need future one with faster CPU and more memory that is capable to mimic Sega DC, GC and Pentium PCs. One with possible eMMC instead of sd micro card.

[dreadnought]

Originally Posted by Anubis

I don't think we need clone of MiSTer FPGA

The full-stack MiSTer, which is still the most promoted one (even though it's a bit silly) will set you off north of 500 USD. Even a basic one, similar to this board + RAM would be > 300 USD.

So, bringing the price to this level, approachable for mass consumer is quite a breakthrough. Of course, if you already have a MiSTer this news might leave you cold, but tbh I feel an itch to get one even though I have 2 already.

Originally Posted by Anubis

we need future one with faster CPU and more memory that is capable to mimic Sega DC, GC and Pentium PCs. One with possible eMMC instead of sd micro card.

Sure, that would be nice, but one thing does not exclude the other. Besides, an appearance of a suitable board would be just a first step, somebody would have to write these rather complex cores too. That's why Mars FPGA seems a bit of hot air tbh, even aside from its very high price.


Terasic's also prepping a new board (DE-25) but I doubt it'll be a cheap affair.

[robinsonb5]

Originally Posted by alexh

Hi compatibility yes, but cycle accurate? Extremely unlikely as it is based on MiniMig which is so different under the hood than a real Amiga in terms of buses and clocks and cycles.

Yeah, I think the cycle-accuracy claims with MiniMig on MiSTer come from it having two CPU cores - the FX68 CPU core for 68000 emulation, which is cycle accurate, as well as the TG68 for 68020 emulation, which isn't.

As you say, the chipset's not cycle accurate but with a few exceptions (in particular, the way scroll registers are handled) it mostly does the right things at the right time now.

[Anubis]

Originally Posted by dreadnought

The full-stack MiSTer, which is still the most promoted one (even though it's a bit silly) will set you off north of 500 USD. Even a basic one, similar to this board + RAM would be > 300 USD.

Don't get me wrong, I like cheap(er), but in this case incapability of 'clone' with real board means you either will have to have the same teams working on 2 different projects, or new teams trying to copy what original team has done and make it work. In worst case you will have erosion of support for MiSTer FPGA project and less programmers supporting either one.

Originally Posted by dreadnought

So, bringing the price to this level, approachable for mass consumer is quite a breakthrough. Of course, if you already have a MiSTer this news might leave you cold, but tbh I feel an itch to get one even though I have 2 already.

BTW, had no idea that price of DE10-Nano is double of what I've paid for it. (And I considered that price quite high) Now you see my problem, getting another one.... tempting.

Originally Posted by dreadnought

Sure, that would be nice, but one thing does not exclude the other. Besides, an appearance of a suitable board would be just a first step, somebody would have to write these rather complex cores too. That's why Mars FPGA seems a bit of hot air tbh, even aside from its very high price.


Terasic's also prepping a new board (DE-25) but I doubt it'll be a cheap affair.

Had no idea about new Terasic's board. I can just imagine price if they get better CPU and more memory.

[dreadnought]

Originally Posted by Anubis

Don't get me wrong, I like cheap(er), but in this case incapability of 'clone' with real board means you either will have to have the same teams working on 2 different projects, or new teams trying to copy what original team has done and make it work. In worst case you will have erosion of support for MiSTer FPGA project and less programmers supporting either one.

I don't think it will really be a problem. The clone boards are coming from China and these folks making their own add ons is something that's been happening for a while now, eg RetroCastle. And actually the "official" new 9.2 IO boards copy some stuff from their designs (like the Saturn AV port).

And on the software side, as long as the clones are 100% compatible then it doesn't make any difference for the core devs.

[aeberbach]

I would say go for it - it could hardly be any worse than the Terasic DE-10 nano, which has basically no protection against damage from static or other sources, then the FPGA ends up with dead pins and nothing can be done.

[RedskullDC]

All currently showing as unavailable (sold out) on the Aliexpress store page.

I might pick one up when they come back into stock though, price is right.

Some earlier QMTECH products had issues where they didn't follow manufacturer instructions regarding PCB trace lengths to DDR rams.
Keep an eye out for any bug reports before taking the plunge.

Cheers,
Red

[xc8]

There is a [ Show youtube player ] video about these clones.