How Do You Select an FPGA?

usually, your design spec will be the main driving factor in selecting an FPGA.

What external interfaces do you need?

what are the power requirements?

how much are you prepared to spend?

These are the 3 most important factors that only you can determine. Then you can narrow down your FPGA choice.

Tricky,

Being a writer at Altera, I'm interested in what documents you use once you begin to " narrow down your FPGA choice.":)

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Being a writer at Altera, I'm interested in what documents you use once you begin to " narrow down your FPGA choice.":)

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I start with the project requirements, and then look at the device family features; sometimes Altera has web pages with summaries, otherwise I will download the device handbook.

For IP related questions, I'll often start with the Quartus handbook, and then move onto the Megafunction guides.

However, Altera has terrible cross-referencing between resources. For example, "The Embedded Peripherals IP Guide" has a lot of good documentation, but it is rarely referenced from other documents that describe using that IP. The "Embedded Design Handbook" is another good reference, which again, is rarely cross-referenced (it has lots of Avalon-MM design tips).

My recommendation is to improve cross-referencing between resources.

Cheers,

Dave