Re: WDC's 32-bit W65T32

["Michael J. Mahon" <mjmahon@aol.com>]

aiiadict@gmail.com wrote:
> On Nov 2, 8:57 am, Mike Maginnis <magin...@computist-project.net>
> wrote:
>
> > Apparently, this is old news, but it looks like WDC's forthcoming
> > 32-bit  chip is completely 6502/65816 compatible.  I don't know much
> > about CPU architecture, so I don't know if this would matter to the A2
> > community.  Would such a chip impact us at all with, say, the
> > development of new peripherals, etc?
>
>
> It's been rumored to be in development for over ten years, I think...

Any chip in development for 10 years has actually been *not* in
development for 10 years.  ;-)

> compatible with 6502...  ugh...  how do you get 32 bit's address with
> only 16 address lines?  Some sort of scheme to put first 16bits on, ?
> latch it?
> in another chip, then get next 16 bits...  then an MMU would address
> the appropriate RAM chip?
>
> If it doesn't happen, how about modifying a 65816 VHDL or verilog
> core?
>
> would be cool to get it running, and code a C compiler that works with
> 32bits... we could port a ton of software to the II...  except for the
> low
> resolution of graphics and speed of CPU...

And it would be like the old axe that's exactly the same except for
the new axe head and the new axe handle.  ;-)

In exactly what way would a system running an as yet undefined
32-bit processor be an Apple II?  (Oh, yes--"compatibility mode".)

Why not just build an ARM coprocessor card with 512MB of DRAM and
an interface to the peripheral slot?  That would at least have
some "spiritual" connection to the Apple II...

-michael

NadaPong: Network game demo for Apple II computers!
Home page:  http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/

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