[Open-graphics] YAPI (Yet Another Product Idea)

[James Richard Tyrer]

James Richard Tyrer wrote:
> Timothy Normand Miller wrote:
>> On 2/7/07, Dieter <netbsd at sopwith.solgatos.com> wrote:
>>> Am I correct in thinking that a SATA controller would be easier and 
>>> faster to
>>> design than a graphics/video controller, and that it would cost 
>>> significantly
>>> less to get an ASIC fabbed?
>>
>> Since the design of the controller would be simple, and there are
>> FPGAs that have high-speed serial I/O drivers, we could probably
>> produce a fully-functional controller at a reasonable cost without
>> even having to go to ASIC.  The last 3ware controller I looked at had
>> a few Xilinx FPGAs on it.
>>
>> Speaking of 3Ware, since they have good Free Software drivers, I think
>> that might be a good solution.
>>
>> That isn't to say that the idea isn't interesting, but I have two
>> problems with it:  (1) we need someone to take charge of that but not
>> detract from the path we're already on, and (2) we shouldn't
>> unnecessarily compete with other vendors like 3ware who do a good job
>> of supporting Free Software, which we want to encourage.
>>
> Yes, we shouldn't directly compete.  I will take a look at their products.
> 
You could use their 7506-4LP card for this.  However, I think that this 
would be overkill and the price of the card is > $200, and you would 
also need 4 short IDE cables and 4 IDE to CompactFlash adapters ($10-20 
each)  My idea is for a card that can only do one thing.  Use SD cards 
directly and stripe the cards so that they look like a wider card.

-- 
JRT