[Arm-netbook] A10 server dreamboard

[Gordan Bobic]

On 05/30/2012 12:41 PM, Tsvetan Usunov, OLIMEX LTD wrote:
>>> producing prototype will be not expensive at all I guess $500 will cover
>>> all
>>> expenses, the design of the 2GB board though will take much more time and
>>> money :))))
>>
>> Schematics, routing&  layout, simulation&  verification, modification,
>> further simulation, iterate a number of times until it looks like all
>> signals are within safe margins in time/length, reflections, impdance,
>> interference and emi. Build prototype. Verify signal integrity, reaise
>> that simulaton and real life do not quite match (many unknowns). Iterate
>> whole procedure a couple of times.
>
> seems you have been there too ;)
> I still do remember once we had to deal with very new and not well
> documented processor from big name in industry, after several prototypes we
> finally found the only person in the company who had detailed knowledge on
> the part and let us know some internal info about the onchip DCDC which
> refused to work no matter how we layout the PCBs, and messing up with the
> SDRAM by injecting noise on the RAM high speed signals,  so we  finally got
> it to work, but we spent 9 months and our internal cost just of direct labor
> and materials went over 15K EURO

And suddenly a cheap SoC doesn't look cheap at all any more.

Gordan