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OKI Develops 124-Layer PCB Technology

54 points · 28 comments · luu

  1. geerlingguy · · focus · HN ↗
    So... at what point does someone re-create a 386 or 6501 but using only a motherboard, with no discrete circuits?
    1. Cieric · · focus · HN ↗
      Shouldn't that have already been do-able? I know the The MOnSter 6502 is a thing. The 386 I have no idea about though, that's to far out of my wheel house.

      <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;monster6502.com&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;monster6502.com&#x2F;

      1. duskwuff · · focus · HN ↗
        A replica 386 would be impractically large - it&#x27;s got around 275k transistors, compared to the 3.5k in the 6502. At the same scale as the MOnSter 6502, that&#x27;d be about a hundred square feet of PCB.

        The number of layers isn&#x27;t even remotely close to being a constraint. The real i386DX was manufactured on a process which only supported two metal layers, and a PCB version isn&#x27;t subject to the same constraints as silicon.

        1. geerlingguy · · focus · HN ↗
          But in terms of rearranging the stack vertically; is that a possibility?
          1. snek_case · · focus · HN ↗
            Probably not, because transistors produce some heat, and you can&#x27;t really sandwich surface mount transistors between PCB layers either. You could vertically stack PCBs with some spacing, however, but then normal PCBs will do the job.
            1. rcxdude · · focus · HN ↗
              It is possible to embed components in the middle of a pcb, but it&#x27;s a pretty specialist process (read: a pain in the neck because it interleaves the pcb fabrication and assembly stages, making both steps more complicated).
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