
Huge home-built computer used for Tetris - satysin
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36711989
======
CarolineW
As so happens, an article in the "popular press" totally misses the point.

This is about the "Megaprocessor" \- a CPU built entirely from discrete
components. It's an amazing project, superbly executed, and
submitted/discussed here on HN many times.

You can see some of the previous submissions by using this search:

[https://hn.algolia.com/?query=megaprocessor&sort=byDate&date...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=megaprocessor&sort=byDate&dateRange=all&type=story&storyText=false&prefix&page=0)

Recent submissions haven't had much discussion, but it deserves it. The
testing and verification processes alone are fascinating - just how _do_ you
test something like this?

Amazing project.

~~~
jgrahamc
_As so happens, an article in the "popular press" totally misses the point._

As it happens I know Zoe (who wrote this) very well and would be happy to pass
on constructive suggestions on what folks would like to see in this article
(and other tech. articles from the BBC).

~~~
qq66
I would have appreciated a greater emphasis about the fact that a modern
computer is made out of invisible transistors and that this is a fully
discrete but working model, like a large cutaway steam engine in a science
museum. Here, I'll take a wild stab:

"You may have heard that computer processors consist of billions of
transistors crunching through 0's and 1's. But what is actually happening
inside these processors?

A man has recently build a computer out of individual transistors, the
components that control electric currents to perform computations. Instead of
using one chip with billions of transistors, he has used individual
transistors wired together, allowing him to visualize the individual computing
structures and the electric currents that flow through them.

His completed computer has "only" 40,000 transistors, which is just enough to
play a game of Tetris, but he hopes that the relative simplicity of this
computer, as compared to a modern smartphone, can help educate the public on
how computers actually work."

~~~
chiph
Or maybe:

"You may have heard that computer processors consist of billions of
transistors crunching through 0's and 1's. You've never seen them, but with
this room-sized processor, you can."

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pavel_lishin
A video tour is available on youtube, so we don't crush his website:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z71h9XZbAWY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z71h9XZbAWY)

Spoiler alert: his Tetris skills are inversely proportional to his computer
building skills.

~~~
criddell
Wow - that thing is beautiful. I hope he finds a good home for it.

------
MarcScott
I went to James' home to see the Megaprocessor a year ago, when he thought
there was only a few months more work to do.

It really is amazing to see the thing up close. Especially when you look at
the sheer number of transistors that had to be soldered to make this.

My favourite part was when James said that he's started off by just wanting a
better understanding of how logic gates worked, and it just escalated from
there.

~~~
nickpsecurity
"My favourite part was when James said that he's started off by just wanting a
better understanding of how logic gates worked, and it just escalated from
there."

That's hilarious. Maybe a common thing. My posts on analog computing, esp
neural or general-purpose, started similarly. I noticed analog and digital
cell development used similar tools. Also that they used to build computers
that way. The rabbit hole followed.

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Graham24
This is what I'd like to build. A CPU from parts. I'll start when I win the
lottery.

~~~
mrob
The cost of the Megaprocessor is documented here:
[http://www.megaprocessor.com/Cost_Materials.html](http://www.megaprocessor.com/Cost_Materials.html)

The Megaprocessor uses through hole components. Something similar using
surface mount components could be substantially cheaper, mostly because it
could be smaller. This means it will need less of all the expensive supporting
parts. The components themselves are only a small part of the cost.

~~~
badsock
You're right; still costs $1-5k though:
[http://monster6502.com/](http://monster6502.com/)

~~~
jacquesm
Neat project. Nice quote from that page:

"How big would a modern CPU be at this scale? The Apple A8X, found in the iPad
Air 2, contains about 3 billion transistors. (This is comparable to the number
of transistors in modern desktop computer CPUs as well.) At the scale of the
MOnSter 6502, that would take about 885,000 square feet (82000 square meters)
— an area about 940 ft (286 m) square."

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canada_dry
What is it with the Brit's love of hacking/building?

Perhaps the generally shitty weather tends to keep them tinkering away in
their basements!

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nkrisc
That's awesome. It looks like it would make an amazing museum piece one day.

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digi_owl
And sometimes it seems like people think mainframes are still done this way.

