We have known each other for several years now, working together with supporters who have backed us through the long process of creating notebook prototypes. Over the last eight months, we have focused on developing a desktop version largely redesigned to be immediately functional.
As promised, the sources for our desktop board have been reviewed by NXP. They suggested a few changes, which we have implemented. The review process cost us an additional €850, but it was worth it: we have improved our schematics and PCB design just in time for the prototypes.
Great news: NXP confirmed we can publish the schematics with an Open Hardware License! We have already uploaded the PDF version to GitLab.
However, before publishing the raw source files, we need to convert them from the proprietary OrCAD format to KiCad to ensure everyone can use them. We need collaborators to help us bridge this gap.
If you would like to reserve a production desktop board this summer, we need donations to cover €6,100 for the remaining costs of the PCB design, as well as the expenses associated with prototypes and testing in the coming months. ACube Systems will handle the production because we are a nonprofit organization not allowed to sell physical products.
We are doing what is needed to reach production, despite the obstacles. The difficult part, the uncertainty, is behind us. Now we are missing a very simple ingredient: funds. We need to raise a few thousand euros in a window of 2-3 months. Simple, but not easy.
Join us on this journey!
Donate, tell your friends, and share our project. In order to enjoy the PowerPC motherboard later, we must all work together now by joining the donation campaign in large numbers.
Starting from the source of the Electronic Schematics design design the PCB means prepare all physical PCB layers lanes and components disposition and connection to go in production with prototypes. Designer have take from NXP Devkit design ( 2023 version) everything is related to boot process and many parts from our Notebook design, except what is not needed for Dekstop version, like the Battery part.
We now have the complete electronic source design for our new desktop design in our hands!
This week, ACube Systems and some volunteers from our association will review the design. We expect the manufacturer to start setting up the PCB layout for the new Powerboard Tyche Desktop on October 20th. This is part of our strategy to focus on creating a stable, functional desktop version of the core computing platform by the end of 2025.
The PCB design phase (Phase 2) will begin shortly after the schematics and Bill of Materials (BOM) are sent to the manufacturer. We anticipate that this step will allow the manufacturer to provide us with an estimate of the cost and timeline for the PCB layout design. This cost and timing estimate will then be shared with the community “just in time.”
Technical Components and NXP Review
We have verified that the availability of SATA2/3 controllers is poor, and the chip Lattice Silicon Image SiI3132 chip that we selected is no exception. We decided to include it in our desktop board to ensure backward compatibility with SATA devices, such as DVD and HDD.
We do not use the on-chip T2080 SATA2 controller because we prefer to use the T2080’s three x4 PCIe Gen3 configuration to optimize the speed of video cards and storage controllers. This configuration cannot coexist with the on-chip SATA2. In any case, the best performance is possible thanks to our M2 motherboard interfaces.
In our board design, we have an SPI connection for an external LCD, which can be used as a secondary screen or for debugging and diagnostics. It is also useful when setting up u-boot and when no video card is connected to the board.
Our board design includes GPIO connectors that can be used to connect other devices that don’t use USB, SPI, or PCIe buses.
Our desktop design is derived from our old notebook design and the original NXP T2080 RDB (Release F) design. We are integrating many components specified in the reference board, including critical monitoring hardware.
This includes the OnSemi ADT7481ARMZ thermal monitor, which has been upgraded to the OnSemi NCT72. The ADT7481 is used as the thermal monitor or temperature sensor on the original NXP T2080 reference design board. On that board, the ADT7481 (designated U34) is usually connected via the I2C_1 bus with the address 0x40. The T2080 processor itself contains a temperature diode designed to be used with system temperature monitoring devices, such as the Analog Devices ADT7461A. This similar part is mentioned in the documentation for the T1042 chip, which highlights the standard use of such monitoring.
Designers have changed other components from the original T2080 RDB design and our notebook design due to the availability of new compatible models, such as the N25Q512A13 FLASH SPI, which is substituted for the EvKit Micron MT25QL512A due to its limited availability.
Due to the changes in components, we will need to modify the VHDL code of the CPLD chip when we have the prototypes in our hands. Therefore, we must take into account the additional cost of this task.
To ensure full compliance and open-source publication readiness,
The designer will fill out the NXP review questionnaire [draft post 2025-10-12] simultaneously.
The questionnaire and the Cadence schematic source will then be sent to NXP.
The main goal is to receive a full or partial agreement to publish the parts of our design derived from the original NXP T2080 RDB (Release F) as open hardware.
We anticipate a robust boot-up because the components and firmware are similar to those of the stable T2080 RDB. The specific CPLD is programmed using the original CPLD source code of the T2080 RDB. Once NXP grants the necessary agreement, we plan to publish the source schematics and evaluate the use of a recent CERN Open Hardware License version.
Upcoming Project Phases
The next anticipated milestones, pending finalization of cost estimation:
Phase 2: PCB design. (tentatively scheduled two months after the completion of the schematics).
Phase 3: Prototype production (tentatively scheduled one month after PCB design).
Phase 4: Prototype testing (tentatively scheduled one month after prototype production).
We continue to rely on the community’s support. Recurring donations are dedicated to the campaign aimed at recovering costs already incurred for notebook testing and CPLD firmware fixing.
We are searching volunteers to test Debian PPC64 and fix packages
Finally, we need more volunteers to support the necessary software efforts, including Debian PPC64 testing, as we cannot ask for additional donations for this purpose.
Below is an updated list of specs for the desktop board being designed.
Form Facttor: Micro ATX
CPU: NXP T2080, e6500 64-bit Power Architecture with Altivec technology
4 x e6500 dual-threaded cores, low-latency backside 2MB L2 cache, 16GFLOPS x core
RAM: 2 x DDR3 Slots
VIDEO
PCIE3 x16 VIDEO Card 1
PCIE2 x16 VIDEO Card 2
AUDIO: C-Media 8828 sound chip, audio IN and audio OUT jacks (3x2)
USB: 2 USB 3.0 ports
2 USB 2.0 ports
2 USB 3.0 ports internal for FRONT
STORAGE:
2 NVM Express (NVMe)
2 x SATA2
1 x SDHC card reader
NETWORK:
2 x Gigabit ethernet RJ-45 connector
We are very happy to inform you that the Schematics Design of our new Powerboard Tyche Desktop is running fast thanks to the new Designer and to the NXP Devkit source design plus our Powerboard Tyche Notebook design. Designer took from the NXP Devkit design ( 2023 version) everything is related to the boot process and many parts from our Notebook design, except what is not needed for the Desktop version, like the Battery part.
You can check all the details regarding what we took from Devkit design and what we took from our Powerboard Tyche Notebook design.
At the end of July, we will provide the schematic design and the BOM to the factory, which will then begin the PCB design based on the schematics. Therefore, by the beginning of August (before the factory’s holiday closure), we will know the cost for the PCB design and prototype production. New donation campaigns will then start for PCB design and prototype production.
Today, July 14th, 2025, we’ve officially launched the donation campaign for the schematics. Before the end of July, we’ll make the down payment for the schematics design. We already have funds collected from the previous donation campaign for the CE certification (of the Powerboard Tyche Notebook), so we can advance money from that fund. However, it’s crucial to boost this new campaign and encourage everyone to donate so we can use fresh funds specifically for the schematics design.
SPECS
Form Facttor: Micro ATX
CPU: NXP T2080, e6500 64-bit Power Architecture with Altivec technology
4 x e6500 dual-threaded cores, low-latency backside 2MB L2 cache, 16GFLOPS x core
RAM: 2 x DDR3 Slots
VIDEO
PCIE3 x16 VIDEO Card 1
PCIE2 x4 VIDEO Card 2
AUDIO: C-Media 8828 sound chip, audio IN and audio OUT jacks
Yes, it’s possible to reach the goal to have a working Powerboard Tyche Desktop before the end of 2025, but is needed an extraordinary effort from donors because we depend on donations to cover all the steps that are coming : Schematics Design, PCB Design, Prototype Production and Tests.
Starting from today (July 14th 2025) you can make your donation, thanks!
Milestones
Phase 1: Actual Campaign Schematics Design : goal 30.07.2025
The milestone phases depend from your donation. Thanks!
We remain absolutely committed to making an Open-Hardware Notebook-based PowerPC machine a reality.
As we have already published on our past post we have changed the tactic, focusing on a desktop board first allows us to concentrate on getting the core computing platform stable and functional, tackling the complexities of a laptop form factor (like power management, screen integration, etc.) in a later stage if needed. This is a pragmatic step to ensure we achieve a tangible outcome by our 2025 target. What’s more the Powerboard Tyche Desktop version will be more cheaper than the Notebook version!
We value the experience of making our Open Hardware Powerboard Tyche based on PowerPC from scratch; this is possible thanks to the support of all donors and supporters, and the time and creativity of the activists who have been involved in this project over the years.
We ask you to share every-ware this call for support a strong flow of donations to cross the finish line of all donation campaigns to arrive by 2025 with produced, tested and functioning prototypes!
