Hardware Console Design

Ian Buck
Princeton University, Department of Computer Science
Independent Work for COS 398

Advisor : Doug Clark
www.cs.princeton.edu/~ ianbuck/NESConsol

Abstract:

The basis for this work was to explore the process of designing and implementing a hardware console device beginning its initial specifications down to the actual implementation and conformance testing. This project is both an exercise and study of the steps taken in creating an actual hardware implementation. In this work, we take an existing hardware functional specification and perform each stage of development through to toward the final hardware simulation, critiquing each stage.

• Introduction and Motivation
• Project Specifications
• NES Description and Requirements
  • MOS6502 CPU
  • Picture Processing Unit and Graphics Architecture
  • Memory Architecture
• Instruction Timings and Datapath Necessities
  • Instruction Grouping
  • Register Transfer Design
  • Software Emulator
• Datapath Design
  • Combining Instruction Requirements
  • Defining Control Signals
• Implementation of Datapath
  • 6502 Datapath Summery
• Control Logic
  • Optimizing State Machine
  • 6502 Control Logic
• CPU Testing
  • Testing the 6502
• Picture Processing Unit
• PPU Datapath
• PPU Control
• PPU Testing
• Remaining Architecture
• Testing with Commercial Code
  • Final Images
• Conclusion
  • Thorough Cpu Planning.
  • Hierarchical Layout.
  • Flexible Design.
  • Simulation Tools.
• References
• About this document ...