Honored Contributor
Honored ContributorIn active configuration schemes the FPGA sources the clock. Depending on the device family, and potentially MSEL settings, this frequency will be fixed. So, any FLASH sourcing the data must be capable of operating at the stated active configuration speed for a given family.
CFI FLASH only? Not necessarily. You could source your configuration data from another source - I've sourced the data for an AP scheme from a CPLD in the past. However, wherever you source the data from will have to keep pace with the given configuration clock frequency and timings. What 'non-CFI' device would you like to consider using? I'm not sure I'm aware of any... You'll have to be confident of a solution for programming it should the Quartus programmer not like it. As for AS schemes - no, you don't have to use Altera's own 'badged' EPCS/EPCQ devices. These are standard serial FLASH devices. Cheaper devices from (for example) Micron or Spansion (now Cypress) work perfectly well. Altera's own EPCS/EPCQ cost more simply because that's what Altera have chosen to do. Cheers, Alex
