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steve_Alten's avatar
steve_Alten
Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor
4 years ago
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Cyclone V Features

Hi everyone,

I have a question regarding which of the Cyclone V family would be more suited for the application we are going to develop.

First of all, I have never used Intel FPGAs so excuse me if the questions sound a bit dumb.

Our system would require to receive some data from Ethernet or USB and drive some digital output or read some digital input and send back data to USB or Ethernet.

The question is: is required/recommended the Soc versions of the Cyclone V or should I be fine whitout?

Moreover, could I use the Lite version of Quartus Prime for the whole design? (purchasing only the IP Base Suite License)

Thanks in advance.

  • Farabi's avatar
    Farabi
    4 years ago

    Hi Steve,

    The Cyclone V SoC come with embedded linux repository. You can use the Eth and USB functions using command lines. All built-in IP like Eth and USB are functional well, but this is okay for development environment.

    If you targeting end user application, then you will need SoC-EDS to develop the application software for users to use or control the eth and USB functions.

    regards,

    Farabi

10 Replies

    • steve_Alten's avatar
      steve_Alten
      Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor
      4 years ago

      Thanks for the reply.

      I have one more question. I have worked with Xilinx FPGAs and softwares before so I think I didn't understand exactly how to properly use the Intel tools.

      We are probably going to use the MARS MA3 SoC Module for our application. If I got it right we can avoid purchase the standard version of Quartus and use the Lite version, and when the design is done we would need to purchase the IP Base Suite License to generate unlimited time files. But which software do I need to use to interface with the HPS part?

      I've seen that there is the Nios II software. Is it included in Quartus Prime Lite version? or should I use other tools not included in Quartus Lite for my design?

      Thanks.

      • Farabi's avatar
        Farabi
        Icon for Regular Contributor rankRegular Contributor
        4 years ago

        Hi,

        Good choice! If you want to use Cyclone V SoC (MARS MA3 SoC module), you can use Quartus Lite for FPGA content development, the only thing you need to know is, for software development side, on ARM based linux application, you will need to purchase the SoC EDS tool. link: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/software/programmable/soc-eds/overview.html

        NIOS II SDK can be used for free. It is used for developing application software for NIOS II softcore processor inside the FPGA.

        regards,

        Farabi

  • Farabi's avatar
    Farabi
    Icon for Regular Contributor rankRegular Contributor
    4 years ago

    Hi Steve,

    I’m glad that your question has been addressed, I now transition this thread to community support. If you have a new question, feel free to open a new thread to get the support from Intel experts. Otherwise, the community users will continue to help you on this thread. Thank you.

    regards,
    Farabi