1. There must be a GCC or LLVM compiler available
2. No vendor specific CPU, a CPU should run on all FPGA’s
If possible, a simple ready to go SoC with Uart, Timer and GPIO is nice, but no requirement.
And the following FPGAs made the cut:
VexRiscv
LEON3
PicoRV32
Neo430
ZPU
Microwatt
S1 Core
Swerv EH1
I liked the Vexriscv, LEON3 and NEO430 the most in terms of usability. None of them were perfect. Vexriscv is very flexible, but lacks documentation in some areas, LEON3 probably works perfect with a commercial license and the NEO430 lacks a debugger. But all in all, those three seem the best choices in my opinion if you need a CPU for an FPGA project.
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
