Robo_Pi
Newbie level 3
Hi, I would like to learn about FPGA and whether or not it may be useful for my intended purposes.
The main purpose I have in mind right now is to use the FPGA for pattern recognition. It's my understanding that many people have been using FPGAs for this purpose already.
I have the following constraints. Mostly financial. I'm a hobbyist working in robotics. I use Raspberry Pi and Arduino boards to do most of my processing and microcontrolling. I'm looking to add inexpensive FPGA boards to my toolbox. The pattern recognition I mentioned above is one application, but there may be others that I'm not even aware of at this time due to my ignorance of what FPGAs are even capable of.
With all of the above in mind I've been considering the following FPGA boards.
RioRand® EP2C5T144 Altera Cyclone II FPGA Mini Development Board (Price: $23.90)
I like the small size and small price of this board at under $20. But I have no clue what its limitations are.
A second board that I've been considering is this one at almost twice the cost at $38:
Waveshare XILINX Spartan-3E Core Board XC3S500E XILINX FPGA Evaluation Development Board Kit (Price: $38.99)
Between these two boards, is one more powerful than the other? Would the Xilinx Spartan 3E be far more powerful than the EP2C5144 Altera Cyclone and therefore well worth twice the dough?
Like I say, I'm new to FPGA and I don't really know what to choose.
My main concerns are cost and footprint. I like a small board that I can tuck away in my robots. And I like a small cost allowing me to purchase several of these over time. So these two boards are attractive to me. I just don't know whether the Xilinx is worth twice the money?
I can actually get the Altera Cyclone II boards for as low as about $15 from other sources. So the Xilinx Spartan 2E is actually more than twice as much. But is it worth it in terms of having a more powerful or more dense FPGA chip?
Thanks for reading.
Other suggestions are welcome too. But please keep in mind that cost and small footprint are two important factors for my applications.
The main purpose I have in mind right now is to use the FPGA for pattern recognition. It's my understanding that many people have been using FPGAs for this purpose already.
I have the following constraints. Mostly financial. I'm a hobbyist working in robotics. I use Raspberry Pi and Arduino boards to do most of my processing and microcontrolling. I'm looking to add inexpensive FPGA boards to my toolbox. The pattern recognition I mentioned above is one application, but there may be others that I'm not even aware of at this time due to my ignorance of what FPGAs are even capable of.
With all of the above in mind I've been considering the following FPGA boards.
RioRand® EP2C5T144 Altera Cyclone II FPGA Mini Development Board (Price: $23.90)
I like the small size and small price of this board at under $20. But I have no clue what its limitations are.
A second board that I've been considering is this one at almost twice the cost at $38:
Waveshare XILINX Spartan-3E Core Board XC3S500E XILINX FPGA Evaluation Development Board Kit (Price: $38.99)
Between these two boards, is one more powerful than the other? Would the Xilinx Spartan 3E be far more powerful than the EP2C5144 Altera Cyclone and therefore well worth twice the dough?
Like I say, I'm new to FPGA and I don't really know what to choose.
My main concerns are cost and footprint. I like a small board that I can tuck away in my robots. And I like a small cost allowing me to purchase several of these over time. So these two boards are attractive to me. I just don't know whether the Xilinx is worth twice the money?
I can actually get the Altera Cyclone II boards for as low as about $15 from other sources. So the Xilinx Spartan 2E is actually more than twice as much. But is it worth it in terms of having a more powerful or more dense FPGA chip?
Thanks for reading.
Other suggestions are welcome too. But please keep in mind that cost and small footprint are two important factors for my applications.
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