Honored Contributor
Honored ContributorWell, I think it is really hard work to start with such a big project, but why not? At least you have the code for implementing the CPU in a FPGA. So I think this will make things more easy.
To choose the right FPGA you mainly have to know how many Logic Elements (LEs) are used by the CPU-Core. Normally this Information will be provided with the code. Take this number and double it for design safety, further extensions .... bla bla and so on .... and search for FPGAs which provide AT LEAST this number of LEs The next thing you have to know is how many pins and clocks you will need. But I think nearly all Cyclone FPGAs with enough LEs should also have enough pins. Now think about the speed grade and the temperature range. Well, for a Z80 with 8 - 20 MHz you can also choose a speed grade of '8' and for home usage the commercial temperature (0 - 85°C) range should also fit your needs. But if you have the money, you can also choose a higher speed grade of '6' and the industrial or automotive temperature range which supports up to 125°C (and down to -40°C). Some other suggestion: Why don't you try the DE0nano board? It comes with a mid-range Cyclone IV, some periphery, a lot of IOs and the only thing you have to do is to build an adapter from the IO-Pins to the 40p DIP Socket. This board costs about 90$ and can be programmed via USB. I think 22000 LEs could be enough for a small CPU-Core. For a overview on cyclone devices see: Cyclone II: http://www.altera.com/literature/hb/cyc2/cyc2_cii5v1.pdf Cyclone III: http://www.altera.com/literature/hb/cyc3/cyc3_ciii52001.pdf Cyclone IV: http://www.altera.com/literature/hb/cyclone-iv/cyiv-51001.pdf
