Nanosilica's blog posts


Designing a processor from scratch, how hard can it be?

Whether it’s GPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, embedded systems, or any other kind of low-level hardware, I figured that understanding how processors work at a fundamental level is crucial for debugging. Tackling performance bottlenecks in software also benefits from this knowledge. It translates into more effective and informed decision-making in design. It’s also pretty interesting to see how different modules work together at a low level abstraction and gives you a deeper appreciation for the complexity of high-performance processors. This project is meant to be simple (kind of... haha) and for students/hobbyists. I coded it using Verilog, implementing a simple processor (top) with an ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit), control unit, and register file. This processor also follows the basic principles of RISC.  

Read more...



Comments: 0