MiSTer FPGA Forum

Greeting everyone!

I hope this is the right place to ask such question, and long story short I'm trying to decide which MiSTer FPGA "kits" to get from aliexpress:

https://aliexpress.com/item/1005003278789010.html - a bit smaller and fancier looking one without RTC (with VGA output)
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005002704518934.html - same as above, but instead of VGA it comes with some sort "Sega Saturn" composite like output

I see that generally people get the VGA ones, but I'm curious of benefits (or disadvantages) that may come with this "Saturn" output. On the page it claims that it helps with connecting to old TVs, displays and such.

Does anyone have an experience or familiar with this variation? Should I consider it to buy? I'm mostly looking to play on modern TV, but eventually maybe I'll get myself a PVM or something like this.

Another small question I have is how important a RTC board when it comes to running PC and microPCs cores?

The only reputable seller for MiSTer boards on aliexpress is so far retro castle (they are recommended by retroRGB). I was burned by bitfunx a little while ago and I made a thread on it.

The boards that they make don't follow specifications and are known to have issues with color display/have terrible soldering and incorrect resistor values. Depressingly aliexpress is able to censor negative reviews such as the one I placed which gives these companies an air of legitimacy

Caveat emptor everyone!

You'd probably be better off buying a DE-10 directly from Terasic, and then buying the addon boards from US, UK, or European sellers. You will save some money this way, and will get better quality and compatibility. All you actually *need* is the base board and a RAM module, and then you can add further boards later. (edit: oh, you also want some method of protecting the fragile OTG USB port; the default bottom-mounted hub is an excellent way to do that, because it hooks up with a hard U-bend connector that removes all stress. You can also use an external OTG hub, if you can be really sure that the connection won't be strained. For instance, I'm using an external, self-powered USB switcher, and I have everything arranged so that nothing ever moves.)

You don't particularly need an RTC, as long as the Mister has a network connection. It will set its time from NTP automatically. It just takes a little extra time after a cold reboot. Few cores care about time, pretty much only the 16-bit and better computers. The Amiga, ST, PC, and Mac all had onboard clocks, and I think they all sync with main Mister time, but it's rarely important to them. PC programs are probably the most likely to care.