FEDEVEL Course "Advanced PCB Layout" for x86 board design

[marcusbarnet]

I'm going to design a sensors board based on a AMD x86 CPU which integrates also a GPU since I would like to use it as main board for my mobile robots.
(I have the access to the AMD developer hub, so no problems for the CPU information)

I never designed a board based on a x86 CPU and so I would like to ask if the "Advanced PCB Layout course” can give me the skills necessary to be able to design my own board.

I read that the course is based on a iMX6 ARM processor: is there any difference between the AMD x86 architecture and the NXP?

I will need to correctly design the layout for the processor, the RAM, the hard disk and the video output (I will have to run Ubuntu on this board).

Do you think this course will be OK for me?
Does it cover topics like how to make connections between CPU and video output, RAM and memory?

Thank you!

[robertferanec]

Hi marcusbarnet,

this is a very difficult question to answer.

From your question, it is not clear, that if you are aware of some facts about designing x86 boards - especially, that they are expensive to develop. Maybe have a look at these my blog posts, they can help you understand background of designing complex boards:

1) How much a custom x86 Motherboard Design / Development cost

https://www.fedevel.com/welldoneblog/2012/11/how-much-a-custom-motherboard-design-development-costs/

2) x86 Custom Board Design – How long it takes?

https://www.fedevel.com/welldoneblog/2013/08/x86-custom-board-design-how-long-it-takes/

Also, designing x86 board is quite complicated. Of course, it is possible, but it would be great if you have had some processor board design experience before. I know, that in your email you mentioned that "I’m a mechatronics engineer and I only designed boards based on ATMEGA micro-controllers." .. so ... yes, courses will help you to learn and understand something new, but .... there are no miracles.

I wish it was so simple to learn to design complex board as watching a video, unfortunately, it's not. I am sure you understand what I mean.

"I read that the course is based on a iMX6 ARM processor: is there any difference between the AMD x86 architecture and the NXP?"
- ARM and x86 boards are very different. Especially power management is much more complicated in x86 ... + do not forget BIOS in x86

"Does it cover topics like how to make connections between CPU and video output, RAM and memory?"
- Advanced PCB Layout covers DDR3 layout, HDMI, LVDS, ... etc

I hope this helps.