[Fpga-synth] ISE 10.1

[Eric Brombaugh]

I tried 10.1 (initial release w/o service pack 1) about a month ago  
and found some issues with PAR on a very large design. I summarized my  
experiences on comp.arch.fpga here:

http://groups.google.com/group/comp.arch.fpga/msg/d33d158611bf1d4d

and got some interesting feedback. My feeling at the time was that it  
has to 'age and mellow' a bit before I trust it with my paid work. I'm  
not doing anything at the moment that demands the new features of  
10.1, so that's not a problem for me.

I've got a buddy who tried 10.1 SP1 earlier this week and had some  
issues with core generator that were resolved by dropping back to 9.2

I guess my recommendation would be to proceed with caution.

Eric

On May 4, 2008, at 9:30 AM, Scott Gravenhorst wrote:

> Due to a computer malfunction that lead to an OS reinstall, I was  
> forced to download and install the latest version of WebPACK ISE 10.1.
>
> It's functional, that is, it works.  There are some improvements and  
> there is also some added obfuscation.
>
> The DSP48 warnings on devices that don't support it don't appear  
> anymore, no need to filter them.
>
> I see no speed increase, or other serious advantage in terms of the  
> bit file generated, XST, MAP, P&R etc.
>
> The process of sending the bit file is a bit obfuscated, however,  
> and has so far been frustrating until I tripped over doing what it  
> wanted me to do.  (see more below in "one stupid thing")
>
> iMPACT can now remember the target device in the chain by setting it  
> when iMPACT runs from a right click menu (Set Target Device when the  
> correct device is selected).  This will cause iMPACT to run and send  
> the bit file without forcing additional user clicks.  This is a nice  
> feature, except that if you walk away, you might not know that your  
> FPGA was updated.  I've had to power cycle the board so that the LCD  
> display is different to make sure that it happened.  A bit  
> unsettling, but I can get used to it.
>
> One stupid thing happened today, when I ran Configure Target Device  
> (I had already defined the target device as described above and had  
> already programmed the FPGA at least once), a popup message appeared  
> claiming I needed to configure a PROM or SYSTEM ACE something or  
> other (it never said _what_ to configure or set).  I tried again,  
> same thing happened.  Then out of frustration, before starting  
> another compile, I right clicked Configure Target Device and noticed  
> that no project file path/name appeared.  I
> set it it to the .ipf file I had saved and the problem ceased.
>
> So it works, doesn't seem any worse than 9.2i...
>
> Oh and it seems confused when I create a new project after using an  
> already created one.  The new project creation wants to grab source  
> files from the old directory instead of using the one I just created  
> as was the case with 9.2i.  [sigh]
>
> -- ScottG
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> -- Scott Gravenhorst
> -- GateMan-III - FPGA Based Monophonic MIDI Synthesizer with SVF
> -- PolyDaWG/8 - FPGA Based 8 Voice Polyphonic MIDI Synthesizer
> -- FatMan: home1.gte.net/res0658s/fatman/
> -- NonFatMan: home1.gte.net/res0658s/electronics/
> -- When the going gets tough, the tough use the command line.
>
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