mike_la_jolla checking in here to clarify some FPGA questions.
- DNDPB_S327:
http://www.dinigroup.com/new/DNDPB_S327.htmlList price is $19,680 for quantity 1.
- This is probably a much better choice: DNBFC_S12_PCIe:
http://www.dinigroup.com/new/DNBFC_S12_PCIe.htmlList price for quantity 1 is $8,950. We sell thousands of these to do (spooky) things. We can fit 12 in a single chassis.
- 300 MHz is probably not achievable for Spartan-6 or Cyclone 3. With some effort by an expert, assume you can get to 200 Mhz or so. Don't bother with the 'C' to FPGA methodologies. You'll need someone that is well versed in VHDL/verilog. Also, you generally can't get to 100% utilization without breaking the tools.
- Any FPGA solution will required a host. The DNDPB_S327 connects via Ethernet, so has low data throughput. The DNBFC_S12_PCIe is GEN1/GEN2 PCIe, so the bandwidth is much higher.
- Those of you that think you can do a custom ASIC are nuts. The expense and effort of an ASIC would cost millions ($USD). The Genomic search market isn't even large enough to support a custom ASIC.
- If this is a pure code breaking application, you are probably better off with FPGAs than GPUs, but it is very easy to gang together a few Xboxes. FPGAs are harder to come by.