When faced with the decision of which FPGA development board to get started with, a lot depends on what peripherals are needed. In this review, I’ll cover boards that have specific applications that may be of interest. In addition, all of the boards in this review are readily available from Digikey or Mouser at the time of publishing, and with the current part shortage, that’s a leg up when you want to hit the ground running as quickly as possible.
Zybo Z7: Zynq-7000 SoC
For a System-On-Chip (SoC) solution, the Zybo is a relatively inexpensive path to quick development at a starting price of $299. The Zybo boards are especially useful for audio development, as it features the SSM2603 audio codec along with connections for a Line In, Mic In, and Headphones audio jack. The board also supports 1Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI, and USB 2.0 OTG (host only). What I like about all the products offered by Digilent is the extremely detailed tutorials offered for all their products. Rather than just providing a PDF with a quick-start guide that quickly becomes dated, Digilent provides up to date web-based tutorials, typically with the most recent version of the Xilinx tools. The real advantage to this board is the SoC Dual-core Cortex-A9 ARM processor that runs up to 667MHz. This board has somewhat modest logic resources (Programmable Logic or PL), but if the bulk of the design is capable of running on the ARM, this proves a very solid solution. With 1GB of DDR3L and 16MB of QSPI flash, this board is capable of running a Linux OS or bare metal if an OS isn’t needed. Finally, the board provides 6 Pmod expansion ports to allow substantial growth to a number of applications. For an inexpensive stand-alone development board that can host either a Z010 or Z020 device, this board is a good development board for a lot of products.
AC701: Artix-7
If you need PCI Express, High Speed SERDES, or SFP functionality, the AC701 is a solid choice. It is one of the more expensive development boards listed at $1,678, but the cost of the board does yield some rather unique capabilities. Many of the other choices highlighted in this article feature HDMI and 1Gbit Ethernet, but the AC701 also has PCIe, SFP, and SMA connectors, which are some features not available on other platforms. Featuring an Artix-7 XC7A200T, the board provides a lot of logic resources, and some impressive interface options. The development board can be plugged into a PC for PCIe development but note that you may need to swap video cards if the 4-lane PCIe connector is already utilized in your configuration. We ended up purchasing a 1-lane PCIe video card in order to use the development board in our PC. In addition, the board provides a high-density FMC connector. Several FMC options are available for expansion, including an I/O breakout board that has proven handy on a few occasions during our designs. For more detailed documentation, see the vendor website: https://www.xilinx.com/products/boards-and-kits/ek-a7-ac701-g.html#information
MYIR Z-turn V2
MYIR’s Z-turn V2 is not only a development board, but it really shines as an off-the-shelf System-On-Module (SOM) that can be used for an end product. This board is once again featuring the Z010 and Z020 FPGA devices, but although it has some similarities to the Zybo, the real difference is that this board can be easily integrated into a custom carrier board that provides any I/O that the product needs.
Featuring very similar specs as the Zybo, this board provides 1GB DDR3, 16MB QSPI flash, 1GbE, and HDMI, all at a price point start at $99. The board ships with PetaLinux installed, so the user can power on the board upon delivery and boot the processor within minutes.
Arty S7
For a very economical FPGA development board (listed at $99), the Arty S7 provides some very useful features. In addition to the onboard capabilities, the S7 provides dual-row Arduino connectors, which allows combining hundreds of compatible shields with the Arty.
The product is offered by Digilent, so the user is provided with access to detailed tutorials and documentation – documentation that is typically available using the most recent version of the Xilinx tools.
The Arty S7 is available with either the XC7S25 or SC7S50 device, with the only difference being the number of resources offered. The Arty provides several buttons, switches, Pmods, and LEDs, along with the aforementioned Arduino shield connectors. In addition, the Arty provides 256MB of DDR3L and a 16MB QSPI flash, which offers enough resources to either make a fully programmable logic design or use programmable logic in tandem with a MicroBlaze soft processor core for combined Processing System and Programmable Logic capabilities. Overall, this board fits the needs of quite a few applications at a very attractive price point.
https://digilent.com/reference/programmable-logic/arty-s7/start
Genesys ZU: Zynq Ultrascale+ MPSoC
For the user that needs multiple interfaces and powerful capabilities, the Genesys ZU Zynq Ultrascale+ has just about everything. As the most expensive of the group listed here, this board offers both an impressive FPGA and an equally impressive set of onboard components. Firstly, the FPGA itself is the Zynq Ultrascale+ XCZU5EV, which sports a quad-core ARM Cortex A53 (up to 1.5GHz) application processor and a dual-core ARM Cortex-R5 (up to 600MHz) real-time processor. The processors have access to 4GB of DDR4 memory and 32 MB of onboard QSPI flash.
For audio and video, there is a 1.2a Dual-Lane DisplayPort, an HDMI Source, an HDMI Sink, an audio codec, and a 2x MIPI dual-lane. In addition, network connectivity is provided to allow 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, 1GbE, and an SFP+ for 10G Ethernet.
As another Digilent product, the user has access to all of the up-to-date tutorials that we’ve found extremely useful on all of their products.
https://digilent.com/shop/genesys-zu-zynq-ultrascale-mpsoc-development-board/
Summary: For each development board, there is a specific application that would possibly drive me to that choice. Depending on your budget, performance requirements, or even supply chain issues, choosing the best FPGA development board requires looking at all of the variables, and then being able to select the best tool for the job. If you need help deciding on the right development board for your project, contact us and we would be happy to help.
