Altera's Industry-proven Quartus II Software Delivers Up To 4X Faster Compile Times; Expands Support for 28-nm FPGAs

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Altera Corporation (Nasdaq: ALTR) today released the latest version of its industry-proven Quartus® II development software, the industry's number one software in performance and productivity for FPGA design. Quartus II software version 12.0 provides customers additional productivity and performance advantages, such as up to 4X faster compile times for high-performance 28-nm designs. Additional upgrades include broadened 28-nm device support, including initial support for Altera's SoC FPGAs, enhanced Qsys system integration and DSP Builder tools, and improved intellectual property (IP) core offerings. For a complete list of features and devices supported by the Quartus II software v12.0, visit www.altera.com/q2whatsnew.

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Industry's Fastest FPGA Compile Times
Quartus II software v12.0 maintains the industry's fastest compile times, allowing customers to focus design team resources on innovating their designs while maximizing designer productivity. Stratix® V FPGA users will achieve on average a 35 percent reduction in compile times, while Cyclone® V and Arria® V FPGAs users will see on average a 25 percent reduction in compile times with this software version, as compared to the company's previous software release.

Expanded 28-nm FPGA Support
Quartus II software v12.0 broadens its support for 28-nm FPGAs, including initial support for Altera's SoC FPGAs, which feature a hard dual-core ARM® Cortex™-A9 processor. Customers can select and start designing a wide range of low-cost, mid-range and high-end 28-nm FPGAs. New support includes the following:

• Programming support for Stratix V GX and Stratix V GS production devices
  • 5SGXA7, 5SGXA4, 5SGXA3 and 5SGXA5
  • 5SGSD5 and 5SGSD4
• Programming support for Stratix V GT FPGA
  • 5SGTC5
• Device support for the largest Arria V GT FPGA
  • 5AGTD7 with final pin-out
• Device support for Cyclone V FPGAs
  • 5CEA7 and 5CGTD7
  • 5CEA9, 5CGXC9 and 5CGTD9
• Compilation support for Cyclone V SX SoC FPGA
  • 5CSXFC6D6

Qsys System Integration Tool Adds AXI-3 Interface Support
Also with this release, Altera is adding support for the ARM AMBA® AXI™-3 interface in its Qsys system integration tool, giving users the flexibility to connect IP cores and IP sub-systems based on different standard interfaces. Qsys is the FPGA industry's first system integration tool based on network-on-a-chip (NoC) technology, delivering users a high-performance interconnect. The tool eases system development by integrating IP functions and IP subsystems using a hierarchical approach. The latest release includes several new ease-of-use features that provide additional automation to system designers and simplifies design reuse. More information on Qsys can be found at www.altera.com/qsys.

Additional Features in the Quartus II Design Suite Include:

• New digital signal processing (DSP) support with DSP Builder v12.0—Communicates with DDR memories from MATLAB via System Console and uses new floating-point functions for improved design productivity and greater DSP efficiency.
• Improved Video and Image Processing (VIP) Suite and Video Interface IP—Eases development of video processing applications through an updated Scaler II MegaCore function with edge-adaptive algorithm and new Avalon-Streaming (Avalon-ST) Video Monitor and Trace System IP cores.
• Enhanced Transceiver Design and Verification—Updated transceiver toolkit support for Arria V FPGAs and support for higher speed transceiver data rates (up to 14.1 Gbps in Stratix V FPGAs).

For additional information on the features of Quartus II software version 12.0, visit www.altera.com/q2whatsnew.

"From design planning to compilation to implementation, Altera makes the design process easier with the Quartus II software," said Vince Hu, vice president of product and corporate marketing at Altera. "With our 12.0 release, customers can take advantage of faster compile times and expanded device support to meet today's system performance requirements and productivity demands, especially for 28-nm design projects."

About Quartus II Software
Altera's Quartus II software improves FPGA designer productivity by offering a complete design suite of industry-leading tools and features. The design environment enables FPGAs designers to meet aggressive time-to-market goals with leading-edge synthesis and place-and-route algorithms, as well as advanced DSP design and system integration tools, and includes a broad portfolio of pre-verified IP cores. The development suite targets all aspects of the FPGA design process, from design entry, to timing closure to verification.

Pricing and Availability 
Both the Subscription Edition and the free Web Edition of Quartus II software version 12.0 are now available for download. Altera's software subscription program simplifies obtaining Altera design software by consolidating software products and maintenance charges into one annual subscription payment. Subscribers receive Quartus II software, the ModelSim-Altera Starter edition and a full license to the IP Base Suite, which includes 15 of Altera's most popular IP (DSP and memory) cores. The annual software subscription is $2,995 for a node-locked PC license and is available for purchase at Altera's eStore.

About Altera 
Altera programmable solutions enable system and semiconductor companies to rapidly and cost-effectively innovate, differentiate and win in their markets. Find out more about Altera's FPGA, CPLD and ASIC devices at www.altera.com. Follow Altera via Facebook, RSS and Twitter.

ALTERA, ARRIA, CYCLONE, HARDCOPY, MAX, MEGACORE, NIOS, QUARTUS and STRATIX words and logos are trademarks of Altera Corporation and registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. All other words and logos identified as trademarks or service marks are the property of their respective holders as described at www.altera.com/legal.

Editor Contact:
Steve Gabriel
Altera Corporation
(408) 544-6846
[email protected]

SOURCE Altera Corporation