Neon816

The Neon816 is a Mini-ITX retrocomputing motherboard built around a hybrid architecture combining a Western Design Center W65c816S CPU and a Lattice XP2 8000LUT FPGA. Power is supplied to the system via a standard ATX power supply, which converts AC mains electricity into the stable DC voltages required by the digital logic components. The W65c816S acts as the central processing unit, executing instructions while interacting with a memory subsystem comprising 1MB of main RAM, 512kB of Video RAM for graphics handling, and 128kB of Flash ROM containing the boot firmware. The Lattice FPGA plays a crucial role by managing glue logic, bridging the processor to modern peripherals, and generating digital video signals for a DVI-D or HDMI monitor. For persistent storage and user interaction, the system interfaces with an SD card module for data loading, a PS/2 keyboard, and classic Atari or Sega-style gamepads. Software execution is managed through a Neon firmware loader operating under Linux, allowing users to boot into a Forth OS image stored on the system. By integrating classic 8/16-bit architecture with modern display standards and storage interfaces, the hardware bridges vintage computing principles with contemporary hardware interfacing.