Xilinx has opened the FPGA development gates with a pair of evaluation kits for the latest Spartan 6 and Virtex 6 FPGAs. The SP601 Spartan 6 board has one FMC connector. The ML605 has a pair plus DVI outputs and a small LCD. The boards have 1-Gbit Ethernet connections along with DDR3 RAM and flash memory. The boards come pre-programmed, allowing use within minutes of unpacking the system. In addition, the ISE Design Suite 11.2 development tools and tutorials have been tuned for those new to FPGAs. Multiple reference designs are provided. I had a chance to see these kits first hand and was impressed by how quickly new users can get started with FPGA designs. Pricing for the ML605 is $1995, and the SP601 is $295. These is also a base for a series of application-specific kits for areas such as connectivity.
Xilinx
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