Populated Mainboards


EvilDragon

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 4, 2003
Messages
29,986
Age
46
Location
Ingolstadt
You probably all seen the latest pictures of the PCB, but as I visited Nikolaus today and grabbed some things for the GamesCom, I've made some nice photos for you :)

DSC02048.JPG

This is the main PCB with the Dummy CPU PCB beside it.

DSC02051.JPG

And the other side of the main PCB.

DSC02054.JPG

Here you can see the dummy CPU Board attached to the main PCB.

This is what you'll see when you open up your Pyra :)

DSC02057.JPG

This is an unpopulated bare PCB.

DSC02058.JPG

And the other side :)

DSC02055.JPGDSC02056.JPG

Two more nice pictures for you.

Okay, so much for the pictures, now on to the news.

1. PCB Status

We got multiple populated main PCB Rev. 3 now.

They are not fully finished yet - the Wifi module is still undecided (we still have 2 to evaluate) and we didn't populated the 3G chip on all of them.

The one I took pictures of has most of the parts missing, as it's the dummy I can show around at GamesCom and send it to the case company so they can do the final design tweaks to the case as well.

All the components on the PCB will now be tested (there are some more surprises for you hidden on them), and then it's time to design the CPU PCB.

2. The displays

The BOE display is working, the one from Success is still staying black. Something in the code sequence we got is still wrong, but we're hoping to get more details here.

But at least we got the BOE one working fine, and honestly, Half HD suites the screen size much better than Full HD.

The rotator chip seems to have some timing issues right now - probably some traces on our PCB are too long or not properly shielded, so it has issues receiving the signals.

We're getting awesome support from Solomon though, and they sent us an accurate design guide now.

So we probably need to update the display PCB once more, but right now, these PCBs are for testing anyways, they're not in their final design yet.

3. Heating

I'll do some more heat tests soon, but from what I've tested so far, things are looking good that we can handle the heat properly.

I've got a testing algorithm from notaz that stresses the CPU including NEON, so that's the worst case scenario the SoC can get into.

It works fine without downclocking, even without heatsink, and with plastic inbetween, the plastic didn't even get too hot - I could still touch it with my fingers.

It gets pretty warm, yes, but not unbelievably hot.

Still, we need to distribute the heat as much as possible, and we've got some good plans for that.

First, we'll have multiple layers full of copper in the PCB which we'll use for heat distribution.

The top of the CPU board will also have a copper layer, so we can still add something more there as well (or connect the copper to the SD Card cages, etc.)

This way, the Pyra should get mildly warm when you fully use it for a longer period of time (which you'll probably never even do), but it won't get too hot.

4. GamesCom and Holidays!

Nikolaus will go to a well-deserved holiday until August 17th while I be at the GamesCom, showing the Pyra to everyone who wants to see it.

We'll have a devboard there, so you can test out the speed.

We'll have a near-final case there (including the new shoulder buttons), including a dummy keymat so you can test the new keyboard as well.

I hope to meet as many of you as possible there :)

That sure will be fun :)

So, work will resume after the GamesCom - but I'll make some pictures there for you as well.
 
Wow, the difference in the solder dot density between the CPU and the 3G module is nuts, assuming that's a rough approximation of the pin out for the OMAP5 at least on the CPU board.


Interesting ideas for heat distribution too. I'm looking forward to hearing how that all works out.
 
I want to point out that if (or when) there are any good game releases for the device, you can expect that some people will plug in their Pyra and play on it for a few hours straight, so it's best not to be too optimistic about usage patterns :)

I appreciate the updates, they're very helpful.
 
Thanks for  the update ED. :)

This way, the Pyra should get mildly warm when you fully use it for a longer period of time (which you'll probably never even do), but it won't get too hot.
probably never?  I have to agree with Linopoly here,   "probably never"  seems a mite optimistic.

- Neelix
 
What he means is synthetic benching is an unrealistic usage-pattern. Real-world things are more dynamic  and/or only tax one thing 100%, not everything at once.

If you can offset the waste heat from benching for long enough for it not to become a negative coefficient then it doesn't matter. Depending on what your timeframe is.

So the result is this, worst case you are doing benching, infinitely and its hot outside, you will feel it is hotter, but not too hot.

Some things one can estimate, some things one has to model or test with the actual case. I'd say its very possible to solve in a convenient manner from how it looks to me.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The rotator chip seems to have some timing issues right now - probably some traces on our PCB are too long or not properly shielded, so it has issues receiving the signals. We're getting awesome support from Solomon though, and they sent us an accurate design guide now. So we probably need to update the display PCB once more, but right now, these PCBs are for testing anyways, they're not in their final design yet.
So, ED, while there's still some work needed on the rotation chip, it sounds like this will be the final solution to drive the displays? 
 
  YOu got ps2 running on Pyra the last time
wikipedian_protester.png
 
Didn't he run 2 ps1 emulators the last time?  I try to say is he gonna run 3 ps1 emulators this time ;)

Sorry, ignore me.

Good stuff Ed.  Christmas 2014 is the release date right? :)   Can't wait.  I keep checking this board everyday and every hour :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I've been habitually checking it as well, even though I know it won't come out any faster. It's like Cartman waiting in front of the game store for the Wii even though it doesn't come out for three weeks in South Park.
 
That looks great :)


Still not sure if I can join Gamescon this year.


Wish you a lot of fun there.


Won't you also have to test the heat when the CPU AND GPU are at peak usage?


I could imagine that the GPU will also get quite warm.
 
Nice to see that Nikolaus is getting the break he deserves!  His work on the Pyra has been excellent.  Those PCPs are gorgeous! 

Can't wait for those pics from GamesCom, ED.  :D

-Glyph Reader
 
Excitement! This is turning out really good! Once again I wish I can go but it is just too far for me, and with new employees I have to train, I can't take time off right now, even during summer :/
 
Back
Top