PPU Book

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org
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PPU Book

Post by org »

I want to present you a book about PPU:

Image

The book is compiled by the author team: andkorzh, HardWareMan and org.

You can download the digital version (pdf) here:

https://github.com/emu-russia/breaks/re ... eplinglish

https://github.com/emu-russia/breaks/re ... vA-russian

I am trying to produce a printed version, but due to lack of experience so far I made only a trial print run of 5 pieces in Russian:

Image

Enjoy reading!
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Quietust
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Re: PPU Book

Post by Quietust »

A very interesting read, I must say - even though I traced out the whole chip in order to simulate it, I never really understood how all of the different parts of it worked.

I also saw references to (and pictures of) the PAL PPU, something I've been wanting to look at for a long time. Are any layer images available for it online, or were they too poor-quality for proper analysis (which wouldn't surprise me, based on the picture of the VRAM I/O logic)?

I did notice that page 27 of the English version had a section header in Russian ("Управляющие регистры", just above the image of the $2000/$2001 registers).
Quietust, QMT Productions
P.S. If you don't get this note, let me know and I'll write you another.
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org
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Re: PPU Book

Post by org »

Quietust hi, good to see you :)

We opened up both PAL chips a few months ago. All pics of APU (2A07) and PPU (2C07) can be found here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

For the APU only the interesting parts were photographed, because otherwise it repeats the NTSC version. For the PPU all the metallization photos were taken, and for the silicon only the interesting places were taken again.

The restored PPU transistor circuits can be found in the releases:

https://github.com/emu-russia/breaks/releases

(But there is still a middle part left to do, where the sprite logic is)

Thanks for the correction, we will take it into account in the next revision of the book (the next revision is planned sometime in early 2022).
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org
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Re: PPU Book

Post by org »

EDIT:

And yes, the PPU got a little "dirty" at the bottom because of the burn, but overall it didn't stop you from understanding all the differences. The whole bottom part of the PAL PPU is exactly the same as the NTSC version.
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TmEE
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Re: PPU Book

Post by TmEE »

This was a nice read, thänk you very much for making it ~

I have done a burn method to extract silicon too, but I have placed the chip in my fireplace, away from flames. It heats more gradually and more gently, and chips I have extracted have been without defects.
calima
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Re: PPU Book

Post by calima »

Small note, the title doesn't work at all in English.
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org
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Re: PPU Book

Post by org »

> Small note, the title doesn't work at all in English.

"Breaking NES" refers to the lengthy process of breaking the NES, it sounds something like "Breaking Rock" :)
tepples
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Re: PPU Book

Post by tepples »

I'm presuming that it has nothing to do with a TV series by AMC about making and selling methamphetamine whose logo alludes to the elements Bromine and Barium.

(In Russia, bad breaks YOU!)
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org
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Re: PPU Book

Post by org »

No, it's legal :)
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org
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Re: PPU Book

Post by org »

A new revision of the book we have been working on for the last half year.

All circuits have been verified in the simulator, the results can be seen in the PPU Player (the topic with it is somewhere near here in NESemdev).

https://github.com/emu-russia/breaks/re ... vB-english

Enjoy Reading/Soldering/Verilogging :beer: :D
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jeffythedragonslayer
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Re: PPU Book

Post by jeffythedragonslayer »

Where will I be able to buy this in print when it's out? Do you have a publisher lined up yet?
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org
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Re: PPU Book

Post by org »

No, we haven't done that yet. After studying the market, it became clear that it will be possible to sell no more than 20 copies, so there is no point. The pdfs are made so that you can print them yourself at a local bookstore.

But it is still better to wait for the compilation of all three books, there is a book of 500 pages with all the schematics of 6502 / APU / PPU.
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