x86-compatible, part 1: "Dark Horse from Taiwan"

Perhaps the most frequent question that KolibriOS developers hear is: “ When are you going to port Hummingbirds to ARM ? ” We always answer that this is impossible, KolibriOS is written in FASM assembler using x86 instructions , and porting it to ARM will mean practically complete rewriting from scratch. But the main reason is that there are enough computers on the market for x86-compatible processors, the size of which is Raspberry Pi and costing only $ 5- $ 35 more expensive, and this makes porting not only impossible, but also useless. So that readers would not say that a $ 40 x86-compatible computer is a “spherical horse in a vacuum,” I decided to write a review cycle of 3 articles on several such computers. Immediately, I’ll make a reservation that the articles aren’t being sponsored - I bought all this iron with my own money, and I’m testing Hummingbirds for parts of it almost every week - has it become, by chance, too slow ? Who cares - I ask under the cat.



Those who thought that the Taiwanese manufacturer of x86-compatible processors are called VIA , I will reveal a terrible secret: it turns out, in addition to Intel , AMD and VIA , now there are other manufacturers who hold insignificant market shares of x86 CPU (less than 1%). One of these manufacturers is DMP Electronics , and it is about her that will be discussed in my articles.



For transparency purposes, I note that Intel also has at least one card (Arduino Galileo) the size of Raspberry Pi , which sells for $ 69 (not including shipping) . If the size is not so important, and the Mini-ITX form factor also suits you, then you can buy the Intel Desktop Board D2500HN for about $ 60 (not including RAM, + $ 10). But Intel will be able to talk about its motherboards better than me, since they have their own corporate blog on Habré



DM & P Group was established in 1989, and consists of several divisions:

• Actually DMP Electronics itself, which produces x86-compatible Vortex86 processors
• The division of ICOP Technology , which produces embedded (embedded) boards based on these processors
• CompactPC division, which produces industrial eBox computers based on the above mentioned boards
• Not quite an independent unit of ToyPC , which removes all the stuffing from the aluminum case of eBox computers, and inserts it into the plastic Edubook and KeyboardPC case
• The Roboard division, which produces boards and controllers for robots, naturally, using their own processors.

DMP Electronics began its journey with the release of an i386-compatible processor licensed by ALi . The ALi M6117C processor included the core, which is a copy of the Intel 386SX and runs at 25-40 MHz, and the built-in ALi M1217B chipset. DMP slightly refined the processor to fit your needs, and called it ALi M6117D . The processor was produced in the form of the 208-pin PQFP Package , and had the following characteristics ( copy as it is from the DMP website ):

1. Intel ^TM 386SX core (5V - 25-40MHz Operation)
2. Supports EDO DRAM controller including FP mode (4 Bank)
3. Coprocessor interface
4. ISA interface
5. Peripheral Interface (includes two cascaded 8237 DMA controllers, a 74612 memory mapper, 2 cascaded 8259 interrupt controller, and a 8254 programmer counter)
6. Built-in RTC
7. Programmable 2 channels chip select
8. Built-in PS2 Keyboard Controller and Mouse
9. Built-in WATCHDOG timer
10. 16-bits GPI / O via SD bus and 16-bits independent GPIO
11. IDE interface

Based on the M6117D processor, the ICOP division produced embedded boards and even ready-made devices . The M6117D was produced before 2007, when the Vortex86SX / DX was replaced. Full specifications and a block diagram of the processor were posted on the DMP website, but about a year ago they were removed from there, due to the loss of use. For those who wish, the page is accessible via the Web Archive . From the point of view of KolibriOS, this processor is not interesting, since KolibriOS requires a minimum i586-compatible processor to work with (I only told about it for the sake of completeness).

')



(I know that the right photo is not a processor, but a radiator, but, unfortunately, I didn’t find a photo of the processor itself in the public domain. The first person to post a photo of the CPU itself in the comments will receive a prize from me.) EDIT: Needed Vortex86, not Vortex86SX / DX (I have full SX / DX photos).



In the late 90s of the 20th century, it became clear that the i386-compatible processor and the solutions offered on its basis could no longer meet the growing needs for computer performance, and in 2002, DMP Electronics bought licensed to manufacture i586-compatible CPU from SiS . SiS is better known as a manufacturer of video cards and chipsets for motherboards, but 10 years ago it also released its own processors for embedded systems. The line of processors was called SiS 55x , and was, in turn, based on the processor Rise mP6 , the rights to which, together with the production technology, SiS bought in 1999 from Rise Technology . DMP licensed the SiS550 processor, modified it a bit to fit your needs, and released it under the name Vortex86 (M6127D) . I’ll say right away that this name caused a lot of confusion, since one of its variants, M6127D, differed only in one number from M6117D, which I mentioned above, but at the same time had nothing to do with it (except for the manufacturer). The other variant of the name, Vortex86, was confused by many in the future with the Vortex86SX released several years later, with which it also had nothing to do.



Vortex86 is a system -on- chip (System-on-a-Chip, SoC): the chip in the 686-pin BGA package was manufactured using 180nm process technology and included, in addition to a Pentium-compatible processor with support for FPU and MMX instructions operating at a frequency of 200MHz, also built-in north bridge, graphics card and south bridge:



Full processor information is available on the DMP website . The CompactPC division on the basis of this processor released the industrial mini-computer eBox-2300 (not to be confused with the eBox-2300SX , which has a completely different processor: Vortex86SX ). The characteristics of this computer are more than enough to run KolibriOS:

Processor	Vortex86 SoC-200MHz (Fanless) i586-MMX compatible, FPU
Memory	128MB SDRAM onboard (Hummingbird is enough 8MB)
Flash Memory (Disk)	Support EmbedDisk 32MB to 2GB (A hummingbird is enough a 1MB disk)
VGA	Shared System Memory Area 8 MB (Hummingbird Enough) External 15-pin D-type female VGA connector
Ethernet Interface	Realtek 8100B single chip x 1 Throughput: 10/100 Mbps RJ-45 Ethernet Connector
I / o	Enhanced IDE interface, 44pin box header x 1 Type I / II Compact Flash Slot x 1 Mini PCI Socket x 1 (Optional) RS-232 Port x 2 (Optional) External 6-pin Mini DIN for PS2 Keyboard External 6-pin Mini DIN for PS2 Mouse
Audio	AC97 CODEC, Fully Compliant with AC97 V2.1 Phone Jack for MIC-in and Line-Out
USB	3 connectors (USB 1.1) (2 on Front)
Power Requirement	Single Voltage + 5V @ 2A, w / ACPI function Support Power Push Button x 1
Dimensions	115 x 115 x 35 mm
Weight	505g
Operating Termperature	0 ~ + 60 ° C

However, for unknown reasons, the Vortex86 processor was discontinued almost simultaneously with the very first M6117D processor (in 2007), and replaced with a completely different processor with a similar name, Vortex86SX. The eBox-2300 computer on its base was still being sold for some time (obviously, from the old stocks from the warehouse), but already in 2010 almost in all the stores selling them hung the “Out of stock” sign. No information about why this was done, I could not find on the Internet; on the website of the company it is also absent. Probably, the disclaimer published at the very bottom of the page on the site www.dmp.com.tw will serve as a tip :

Notice: MMP Technology by TPL Group:

DMP has a Microprocessor Patent (MMP) Portfolio from the TPL Group on Sep. 7 2007 . MMP technology (ie “Implementations”). There is no need for a TPL. You may be required to use the TPL. Contact: mmp-licensing@tplgroup.net

This disclaimer may well be directly related to what happened, since the second processor of the Vortex86 series ( Vortex86SX ) was released in 2007.



To release the second processor of the Vortex86 line (and the third one from the DMP company), she again did what she did the last 2 times: she bought a license to manufacture (and refine) the processor from another company. This time, RDC Semiconductor (another Taiwanese manufacturer of x86-compatible processors, even less well-known than DMP Electronics itself) acted as the seller.



Today, the Vortex86 processor line includes 7 processors (except for the original Vortex86, made under the SiS license, all other processors were based on the RDC IAD 100xx family of processors). However, unlike the M6117D and Vortex86, which are almost a complete copy of their “ancestors”, there is more diversity in the new processors: some technologies were taken from the same SiS, and DMP Electronics introduced some of the design. For example, the RDC design consists of 2 chips (the first is CPU + North Bridge, the second is South Bridge), while the DMP design is still SoC (1 chip including CPU, North Bridge and South Bridge). I could not find any information about what part of the processor the RDC Semiconductor technologies are now (and what technology is DMP Electronics and / or SiS), and it is also missing on the company's website. According to datasheets we can talk about about 70-80% similarity.



Anyway, the result of this turn was an interesting curiosity: the second processor of the Vortex86 line (based on most RDC Semiconductor technologies) was worse in performance and performance than the first processor (made using SiS technologies). The third ( Vortex86DX ) caught up with the first, and only starting from the fourth, did the processors become better than the first. But about this - in the next part.