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Altera_Forum
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8 years ago

Cyclone V Configuration Devices

I've got a Terasic Cyclone V GX development board. I removed the EPCQ256 configuration device and am testing two other alternatives (Macronix MX25L257 and Cypress S25FL128). I created a simple proj...
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Altera_Forum
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8 years ago

I agree, it is all very confusing. It is at least partly due to the several different ways you can configure the FPGA and program the flash.

I'm working with a legacy design and honestly don't know too much about the hardware connections. "Active Serial" refers to the interface and you can use it to program the EPCQ device (this is what you do with a USB Blaster or similar): https://www.altera.com/documentation/sam1403481100977.html#sam1403478854451

I think it could be the other way around: booting the FPGA from the flash is always the same (using all four data lines if it's an EPCQ flash) and it does not matter if you used ASx1, ASx4 or JTAG to get your data to the flash. My guess is mostly based on Altera stating that "The AS x4 scheme is supported only in Stratix® V devices": https://www.altera.com/support/support-resources/support-centers/devices/cfg-index/cfg-as.html