snickerdoodle/snickerdoodle black (really needs a better name)

$60 including shipping is attractive until you realize that to do useful things with the board you probably need one of the base boards (e.g., the $55 piSmasher), which means you need to add $10 to put the high-density connectors on the bottom of the board.  This configuration is now $55 + $10 + $55 = $120 plus $10 if you want as much DRAM as RasPi 2 plus shipping.  That's still a competitive price for a Zynq, but not an amazing deal.

I haven't delved into Zynq for several reasons.  First is the high cost of development boards in past years.  Second, I've read too many comments on what a pain it is to get software running on Zynq.  This is all second-hand, so I don't know what the answer is.  Xilinx makes outstanding silicon, but their tools have a very steep learning curve and their previous foray into integrated Power PC cores didn't go so well.  I'm also leery of an FPGA family that's still so expensive (single-chip pricing from distributors) even though it's been out for several years now.  The original Zynq article in Xilinx's Xcell Journal 2Q2011 suggested "a starting price below $15".

Just depends on what you're looking for, John. If all you need is a couple USB ports and an HDMI jack, you're probably set with R Pi. But if you need I/O, want Gigabit Ethernet or HDMI in, Wi-Fi & Bluetooth, you're much better off with snickerdoodle + piSmasher (or just getting snickerdoodle alone if you don't need the bulkier connectors).

Ryan Cousins wrote:

 

Just depends on what you're looking for, John. If all you need is a couple USB ports and an HDMI jack, you're probably set with R Pi. But if you need I/O, want Gigabit Ethernet or HDMI in, Wi-Fi & Bluetooth, you're much better off with snickerdoodle + piSmasher (or just getting snickerdoodle alone if you don't need the bulkier connectors).

US$55 ($65 with down connectors) is a great price for a Zynq module, so if you want something to plug into your own custom baseboard it's a nice way to go.

I'd probably be interested in getting one for myself if I weren't already swamped with FPGA projects, mostly creating open-source tools for FPGA design.  So for me the Lattice iCE40 is particularly interesting.  It has a tiny fraction of the capabilities of a Zynq, but has a documented bitstream and an open-source toolchain, which isn't available for Xilinx FPGAs (yet).

Thanks, John. Maybe you can get one on order just in case your schedule frees up in a couples months... Can't go wrong with $55

The open-course Lattice stuff is certainly interesting and they have some great parts (we've even used a few of them on various snickerdoodle baseboard designs). There's some tricky stuff when it comes to open FPGA tools but a cool concept nonetheless.

Thanks, John. Maybe you can get one on order just in case your schedule frees up in a couples months... Can't go wrong with $55

The open-course Lattice stuff is certainly interesting and they have some great parts (we've even used a few of them on various snickerdoodle baseboard designs). There's some tricky stuff when it comes to open FPGA tools but a cool concept nonetheless.