Supported FPGA Boards
Board compatibility and recommendations for PowerCommons development.
Tier 1: Production Ready
Xilinx VCU-118 (XCVU9P Ultrascale+)
Status: Fully supported, production ready
Specifications:
- FPGA: XCVU9P-L2FLGA2104E
- Logic: 1.2M cells, 600K LUTs
- Memory: 4GB DDR4 (expandable to 8GB)
- Interfaces: PCIe Gen3 x8, 10G Ethernet, SATA, USB
- Price: ~$7,500
Supported Cores:
- ✅ Microwatt (125MHz, production)
- ✅ Microwatt + LiteX (100MHz, production)
- 🚧 A2O (in development, 50MHz target)
Best for:
- Production development
- Linux with full peripherals
- Multi-core SoC designs
- A2O development
Where to get:
- University of Oregon remote access (free for contributors)
- Purchase: Xilinx distributors
Documentation:
Tier 2: Community Supported
Digilent Arty A7-100T (XC7A100T 7-Series)
Status: Microwatt working, community maintained
Specifications:
- FPGA: XC7A100T-1CSG324C
- Logic: 101K LUTs
- Memory: 256MB DDR3
- Interfaces: Ethernet, USB-UART, Pmod
- Price: ~$250
Supported Cores:
- ✅ Microwatt (50MHz, working)
- ❌ A2O (too small)
Best for:
- Learning and experimentation
- Budget development
- Simple SoC designs
- Students
Where to get:
- Digilent: digilent.com
- Distributors: Mouser, Digi-Key
Limitations:
- Limited BRAM (can’t run full Linux)
- Lower performance (50MHz vs 125MHz)
- No A2O support (insufficient resources)
Tier 3: Experimental
Digilent Nexys Video (XC7A200T)
Status: Community porting in progress
Specifications:
- FPGA: XC7A200T
- Logic: 200K LUTs
- Memory: 512MB DDR3
- Price: ~$500
Support:
- 🚧 Microwatt (porting)
Genesys 2 (XC7K325T Kintex-7)
Status: Experimental
Support:
- 🚧 Microwatt (community effort)
Not Supported
Xilinx VCU-128
Similar to VCU-118 but not tested. Should work with minor modifications.
Arty A7-35T
Too small for Microwatt. Use A7-100T.
Zynq-based Boards
Not currently supported. Focus is on standalone OpenPower, not hybrid ARM+Power.
Board Selection Guide
I want to…
Learn OpenPower and FPGA development → Arty A7-100T ($250)
Develop production OpenPower systems → VCU-118 (via UO remote access or purchase)
Run full Linux with networking → VCU-118
Contribute to A2O development → VCU-118 (required)
Experiment on a budget → Arty A7-100T
Access hardware without buying → UO Remote Systems (free)
Resource Comparison
| Board | Microwatt | A2O | Linux Boot | Price | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VCU-118 | ✅ 125MHz | 🚧 | ✅ Full | $7,500 | UO Remote |
| Arty A7-100T | ✅ 50MHz | ❌ | ⚠️ Minimal | $250 | Buy |
| Arty A7-35T | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | $100 | N/A |
| Nexys Video | 🚧 | ❌ | 🚧 | $500 | Experimental |
Legend:
- ✅ Fully working
- 🚧 In progress
- ⚠️ Limited
- ❌ Not supported
Porting to New Boards
Want to port to a new board?
Requirements
- Xilinx FPGA (Vivado support)
- 256MB+ RAM (DDR3/DDR4)
- 50K+ LUTs (Microwatt minimal)
- UART for console
Porting Guide
- Copy existing board target
cp -r boards/arty_a7 boards/my_board
- Update constraints
- Pin assignments (XDC file)
- Clock constraints
- DDR timing
- Test synthesis
fusesoc run --target=my_board microwatt
- Submit PR Share with community: codeberg.org/PowerCommons
Buying Guide
Where to Buy
Official Distributors:
- Digilent: digilent.com
- Mouser: mouser.com
- Digi-Key: digikey.com
- Xilinx: xilinx.com (VCU-118)
Academic Discounts:
- Xilinx University Program
- Digilent Academic pricing
What’s Included
VCU-118:
- Board, cables, power supply
- Does NOT include Vivado license (purchase separately or use eval)
Arty A7:
- Board, USB cable
- Works with free Vivado WebPACK
Board Donations
PowerCommons accepts board donations for:
- Remote access program expansion
- Developer lending program
- Testing and CI infrastructure
Contact: [email protected]
Questions
Board selection help: Matrix #powercommons