Altera today launched its Cyclone IV FPGA family aimed at low cost, small form factor mobile video, voice, and data applications. The family offers two variants: Cyclone IV GX devices have up to 150K logic elements, up to 6.5-Mbits of RAM, up to 360 multipliers, and up to eight integrated 3.125-Gbps transceivers supporting such protocols as Gigabit Ethernet (GbE), SDI, CPRI and V-by-One. Cyclone IV GX also has hard IP for PCI Express (PCIe).
By integrating transceivers, Cyclone IV GX FPGAs eliminate external component costs and, according to the company, reduce power consumption up to 30 percent compared to previous generation Cyclone products combined with external transceiver PHYs. This power savings also reduces costs by eliminating the need for heat-dissipation hardware. Cyclone IV GX devices require only two power supplies which significantly simplifies PCB design and reduces board space and cost.
Cyclone IV E devices are said to lower power by up to 25 percent compared to previous generation Cyclone products for power-sensitive applications such as handheld software-defined radio.
Production shipments of the EP4CGX15 and EP4CE115, the first Cyclone IV GX and Cyclone IV E devices respectively, will begin in the first quarter of 2010. Pricing for the smallest devices, the EP4CE6 and the EP4CGX15, will start as low as $3 and $6 respectively for 250K unit quantities in 2010.