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I need some inputs. I am looking for a dev kit of Stratix 4 to interface with wireless RF I/O link, saving to storage through SATA port and getting input from ADC (HSMC) in real time.
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How fast is your ADC? What logic standard does it need to interface to the FPGA? For example, high-speed transceiver, LVDS, or 3.3V I/O?
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Question 1:
I have a question. The Altera one cost about $8000 whereas Terasic's is $3000.
Apart from a few differences in specs, Terasic's one has include more feature such as SATA ports.
Is there any reason?
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The Altera Stratix IV board was available long before the DE4. The differences in the board designs are mainly due to Terasic having more time to think about things. I don't think there were any SATA IP cores initially, so perhaps Altera wasn't thinking about them when they defined their board.
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Question 2:
For DE4, is there any free IPCore (Nios, Sata etc.) included or we have to purchase Quartus II, Modelsim, preferred IP cores seperately? How about Altera dev kit in this case, they included in the bundle which mark up the price?
It is because I can see Altera Dev Kit is not bundle with any other hardware except the main kit only. So perhaps DE4 is a better choice.
Any suggestion?
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Create your system design, and then start comparing features on the two boards. Also look at HSMC daughter cards.
Ultimately price will most likely factor in. If you can get someone to confirm that all the features on the DE4 board work, then you would buy that board.
I have a couple of the Altera Stratix IV GX Development kits. If you have questions regarding a specific interface on that board, I can let you know if I've tested it.
Cheers,
Dave
Honored Contributor
