GoKawiilDave Plummer builds custom RAM board for 1970 PDP-11 using AI-assisted design
Former Microsoft engineer Dave Plummer, prompted by the high cost of memory for his vintage PDP-11, designed a standalone RAM card using ChatGPT and the EasyEDA circuit simulator despite lacking prior experience with such projects. The board uses a Lattice MachXO2 FPGA as a memory controller linked to four ISSI 1MB memory chips, and was tested on a backplane with an M8190 CPU board. He hit setbacks including inexperience flashing FPGA chips and the PDP-11's quirky word-based memory bus, which required careful handling of byte-lane selection during reads and writes.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The project illustrates how AI tools like ChatGPT can help hobbyists tackle specialized hardware design tasks they haven't attempted before, potentially lowering the barrier to entry for retrocomputing and electronics projects. It also highlights the ongoing challenges of maintaining decades-old computing systems as original parts and replacements grow scarce or expensive.
- Dave Plummer built a custom RAM board for a 1970 PDP-11 using AI assistance from ChatGPT.
- The design centers on a Lattice MachXO2 FPGA controller paired with four ISSI 1MB memory chips.
- Plummer had to work around the PDP-11's word-based memory bus and byte-lane selection quirks.
Lattice MachXO2 FPGA Breakout Board — If Dave Plummer's DIY RAM project has you itching to try FPGA design yourself, a MachXO2 breakout board is a great way to start experimenting with memory controllers and custom logic. It's the same family of chip used in his vintage PDP-11 RAM card, making it a perfect hands-on companion for retrocomputing and hardware hacking projects.
See Lattice MachXO2 FPGA Breakout Board on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: tomshardware.com — Bruno Ferreira, 2026-10-31
Published there as: “Veteran Microsoft engineer makes his own RAM from scratch using AI”
Read the original report → The summary and analysis above are GoKawiil's own, written from reporting by the source above. Facts and quotes belong to the original publisher.