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From: davidb@braa.inmos.co.uk (David Boreham)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apollo
Subject: Re: Color Monitors and Mentor Quicksim
Keywords: Questions
Message-ID: <4955@ganymede.inmos.co.uk>
Date: 29 Mar 90 08:54:21 GMT
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Sender: news@inmos.co.uk
Reply-To: davidb@inmos.co.uk (David Boreham)
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Some answers to some of Mike's questions:

1. Yes, monitors can be pulled and plugged between 3000, 3500, 3550, 4500 and probably
   10000 (all using the 1024*800 color card that Mentor sell). I've no idea which
   of our monitors started on which machine.

2. We use quicksim on 3000,3500,3550,4500 for simulating boards. First get the LAI
   BLM library (very useful and necessary if you have anything more complex than 
   TTL parts). We also write BLMs for various things, including processors. However,
   we recently found enough money to lay LAI to do those for us. I would seriously
   consider writing BLMs for the ASICs so that your simulation runs at a decent
   speed. Then drop in the gate-models for a final sim run.  

3. Quickparts are pretty neat. However, I'm not sure how relavent they are to 
   modeling ASICs. They do not allow different delay paths through the model
   under different circumstances, something which usually becomes necessary
   with complex chips.

4. Your board sounds pretty large. We have only simulated fairly small designs
   (100 ICs or so) and they run adequately fast on a 3550. Expanding actually 
   represents the major bind with our designs. From what I hear from other
   users, putting a couple of 10000 gate ASICs in there will slow things down
   quite considerably. 




                                                
David Boreham, INMOS Limited | mail(uk): davidb@inmos.co.uk or ukc!inmos!davidb
Bristol,  England            |     (us): uunet!inmos.com!davidb
+44 454 616616 ex 547        | Internet: davidb@inmos.com