FPGAs -- they're like ASICs (Custom silicon, very high performance, high density. inaccessible to hackers, very expensive). But FPGAs are programmable logic arrays that can go very high performance computing. They used to be very expensive, but Moore's Law has driven the cost WAAAAAY down. They can be self-testing! They're gaining ground on ASICs and the price/gate is dropping. High performance IO support. You can get 10^6 gates (a 486) for $20-30. (from Hardware Hacks)

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