BillO wrote:
3 or 4 years ago I got 10 SST 27SF256 EEPROMs for $15. They are 70ns units. They also came in a 55ns version if I'm not mistaken. There were probably even faster EEPROMs that I don't know about. I have EPROMS that run at 45ns and there are 35ns ones available too. Although these are 'ancient' technology, flash has not exactly blown them away in the speed department.
alright there seem to be quite a few fast EEPROMs, even directly from STMicroelectronics, that i somehow never found when browsing for components....
i'd still say Flash is cheaper in terms of kB per USD, but i should stop with claims like these before i derail things further... sorry.
to get a bit more on-topic again, one thing i would add on the motherboard is an Interrupt Button.
on your schematic the NMI input is simply pulled high so i assume you didn't intend to use it for anything anyways, so might as well use it for a Button (with a debounce circuit).
the main reason for an NMI Button is that it allows you to instantly interrupt any running program, which can be useful for debugging or just if you want to get out of an endless loop or crashed program.
others will probably have some better examples for the uses of such a button, but they are basically endless.
also i hope you plan on using a socket for the Oscillator instead of directly soldering it onto the board. that way it's less of a loss if the board doesn't work or you want to replace the Oscillator with a faster one to see if it would work.