• stingpie@lemmy.world
    29·
    1 day ago

    Anything that is turning complete & has enough ram can emulate x86, and an x86 emulator can boot Linux.

  • nickwitha_k (he/him)@lemmy.sdf.org
    33·
    1 day ago

    That Spartan 6 FPGA can probably boot on a softcore with mainline Linux support. It has enough fabric space (74k logic cells) to implement some smaller RV32 designs.

      • nickwitha_k (he/him)@lemmy.sdf.org
        7·
        19 hours ago

        Top row, second column. That chip is a Xilinx (now AMD) Spartan 6 Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). An FPGA is a type of chip that contains an array of logic gates, flip-flops, and other elements whose interconnects can be “programmed” (I use quotes because it’s more like configuration than software programming). These elements are collectively referred to as the FPGA “fabric” and the naming of the individual elements varies between manufacturers but Xilinx uses “Logic Cells”.

        The fabric of this particular chip has 74,637 Logic Cells (there’s more element types but I’m not going into those because I’m still learning any them).

        What makes FPGAs so special? Basically, they contain all of the parts needed to make a CPU (or other digital circuit). An FPGA may not be able to implement a general purpose CPU that is as fast or powerful as custom silicon but, it can do it. A CPU implemented on an FPGA is known as a “soft core”.

        What is RV32? Simply, a 32-bit RISC-V processor. There are some open-source RV32 implementations that will both fit in the pictured FPGA and are capable of booting mainline Linux.

    • Gronk@aussie.zoneEnglish
      3·
      19 hours ago

      Mad that FPGA looks pretty cheap to toy around with thanks for letting me know!

      I dream of making a SBC that has an FPGA and modular cable system to emulate as many device interfaces as possible

      • nickwitha_k (he/him)@lemmy.sdf.org
        3·
        19 hours ago

        No problem! I’ve similar goals, though I tend to be too exhausted in my free time as of late. The 6 series are a bit long in the tooth at this point (there’s 3 or 4 newer generations). They probably won’t give amazing performance, though they’re still used in logic analyzers. Probably great to learn on though.

      • lemmyng@lemmy.caEnglish
        29·
        1 day ago

        The prompt says “can boot”, not “is usable with”. If it gets to the kernel and then hangs that still counts.

      • gen/Eric Computers@lemmy.zip
        3·
        1 day ago

        Don’t a lot of routers use Broadcom SoCs? Things like DD-WRT and OpenWRT run the Linux kernel.

        Yes, Broadcom Wi-Fi driver support on Linux sucks, however.

  • penquin@lemmy.kde.social
    42·
    1 day ago
    • Grabs screenshot
    • Pastes screenshot in a chatgpt chat
    • “Hey, Gipit, which ones”
    • Gipit giveth the right answer (hopefully)
    • locuester@lemmy.zipEnglish
      103·
      1 day ago

      Grok:

      To solve this CAPTCHA, we need to identify which of the System-on-Chip (SoC) images can boot mainline Linux. Mainline Linux refers to the official Linux kernel maintained by the Linux community, and not all SoCs have adequate support for it due to varying levels of driver development and community support. Based on my knowledge of SoCs and their Linux compatibility up to my latest updates, let’s analyze each image:

      1. Harris S80C286-16 F3360 Δ8943: This appears to be an older Intel 80286-based chip, typically used in early PCs. It does not support mainline Linux, as Linux requires more modern architectures.
      2. Xilinx Spartan-6: This is an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), not a traditional SoC. While it can run Linux with custom configurations, mainline Linux support is limited and not standard.
      3. Rockchip RX3399: Rockchip SoCs, such as the RK3399, are well-known for their mainline Linux support, especially in single-board computers like the Rock Pi 4.
      4. ITE IT8516E: This is likely a super I/O chip or embedded controller, not a full SoC capable of running a general-purpose OS like Linux.
      5. Intel '82: This is too vague to identify, but it seems to be an old Intel processor. Older Intel chips may not have mainline Linux support.
      6. Qualcomm MSM8916: Qualcomm SoCs often have limited mainline Linux support due to proprietary drivers. The MSM8916 (Snapdragon 410) has some community efforts but is not fully mainline-compatible.
      7. Marvell PXA1928: Marvell PXA series chips have had mixed support. The PXA1928 has limited mainline Linux support and is not widely recognized for it.
      8. Intel '91: Again, too vague, but likely an older Intel chip with no mainline Linux support.
      9. Texas Instruments OMAP 850AZVL: Older TI OMAP chips have limited mainline support. The 850 series is quite outdated and unlikely to boot mainline Linux.
      10. Broadcom BCM2709: This is the SoC used in early Raspberry Pi models (e.g., Pi 2). Broadcom SoCs have partial mainline support, but much of the Raspberry Pi ecosystem relies on custom kernels.
      11. Samsung S5L8930X: This appears to be an older Samsung chip, possibly from an iPhone or similar device. It lacks mainline Linux support.
      12. Allwinner A13: Allwinner SoCs, like the A13, have growing mainline Linux support, especially with community efforts for devices like the Cubieboard.
      13. SCEI CXD90036: This is likely a Sony PlayStation-related chip. It is not designed for mainline Linux.
      14. Mediatek MT6577: Mediatek SoCs have historically had poor mainline Linux support due to proprietary firmware requirements.

      Conclusion:

      The SoCs that are known to have reasonable mainline Linux support based on my knowledge are:

      • Rockchip RX3399
      • Allwinner A13

      Thus, you should select the squares containing:

      • The Rockchip RX3399 (third image in the top row).
      • The Allwinner A13 (first image in the bottom row).

      Click on these two squares and then press “VERIFY”.