I think the real joy of these old 8-bit CPU's is the simplicity and how a single person can wire up a computer by hand.
In uni we built an 8088 board in microprocessor class and it was the best class I ever took; it demystified drivers and hardware for me. I attempted a redesign using KiCAD which added an IO expansion port and better layout with an LCD port for a 2x16 character LCD. I had a prototype made by Futurlec but made a massive mistake in footprint assignment that required an interposer. Furthest I got was soldering in the 8284 and the IC sockets then got distracted by life and its sitting in a box still.
Microcontrollers are great, everything in one package but there's something enormously satisfying about being able to design and build a computer by hand. FPGAs sort of bring this back but the tooling is byzantine dog shit.
In uni we built an 8088 board in microprocessor class and it was the best class I ever took; it demystified drivers and hardware for me. I attempted a redesign using KiCAD which added an IO expansion port and better layout with an LCD port for a 2x16 character LCD. I had a prototype made by Futurlec but made a massive mistake in footprint assignment that required an interposer. Furthest I got was soldering in the 8284 and the IC sockets then got distracted by life and its sitting in a box still.
Microcontrollers are great, everything in one package but there's something enormously satisfying about being able to design and build a computer by hand. FPGAs sort of bring this back but the tooling is byzantine dog shit.