June 9, 2024

The Xilinx Zynq 7000 processor

The Zynq is a unique device that combines a dual core ARM32 system with a good sized FPGA. There are other Zynq processors outside the 7000 series that we won't talk about here. There are a variety of devices in the Zynq 7000 series. As of 2024, these devices are about 10 years old -- many people might consider them obsolete.

I have information here on 4 boards that use Zynq 7000 chips:

My interest in Zynq began when I heard that EBAZ-4205 boards were available for about $20 and offered me a chance to learn about the world of FPGA. Since then I have discovered the Antminer S9 boards which are now available for the same price and are in many ways nicer than the EBAZ-4205. Both of these are "surplus" boards from obsolete bitcoin mining systems.

The Zedboard and Zybo are commercially available "demo" boards. They are significantly more expensive than the surplus bitcoin boards, but offer handy features and comprehensive documentation.

Much of this information was written when I only had the EBAZ 4205 to work with and was struggling to figure it out. My effort to reorganize this is a work in progress.

Zynq projects

I have a number of projects that are EBAZ specific or specific to some other board. These projects are "generic" as they apply to the Zynq chip itself independent of a specific board.
Feedback? Questions? Drop me a line!

Tom's Computer Info / tom@mmto.org