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Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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12 years ago

PCIe or PCI Adaptor with Cyclone II EP2C8Q208

Guys,

Nice to meet you all, this is my first post in this forum.

My question is, is it possible to create adaptor from Cyclone II EP2C8Q208 I/0 to PCIe or PCI with header ?

I saw a Cyclone II board but doesn't have PCI interface which I need...

what's the requirement for high frequency signal integrity ?

Thanks

9 Replies

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    If all you need is a PCI-to-PCIe bridge, then just use an IC designed expressly for that purpose:

    http://www.plxtech.com/products/expresslane/bridges

    Otherwise you will have to create an FPGA design where you integrate a PCI IP core and a PCIe core.

    Since you mention an FPGA that does not even have transceivers, I suspect this type of FPGA design would be very challenging for you.

    When you have a requirement that is met by a standard chip then just use that device.

    Cheers,

    Dave
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    Hi Dave,

    Thanks for the reply,

    No it's not PCI to PCIe but from Altera chip I/O to PCI or PCIe

    I'm interested altera development board at ebay,

    but I want to connect it to PCI or PCIe via it's I/O with adaptor of course ?

    What's your opinion ? and what do I need for doing it ?

    thanks
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    ebay dot com

    /

    itm

    /

    251183473915?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    --- Quote Start ---

    I'm interested altera development board at ebay,

    --- Quote End ---

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/251183473915?sspagename=strk:mewax:it&_trksid=p398%204.m1438.l2649

    This board is just an FPGA breakout board.

    --- Quote Start ---

    but I want to connect it to PCI or PCIe via it's I/O with adaptor of course ?

    What's your opinion ? and what do I need for doing it ?

    --- Quote End ---

    You would be better off buying a board designed for PCI or PCIe. You cannot create jumper wires to make this board into a PCI board. There are very specific timing requirements that must be met, and controlled impedance that must be maintained. This board cannot be used for PCIe as it does not have transceivers.

    Cyclone II is quite old now. If you are going to spend time looking at Cyclone devices, at least start with Cyclone IV.

    Cheers,

    Dave
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    Hi Dave,

    Thanks for the advice about PCI or PCIe transceiver,

    Do you have any ideas which low cost PCI or PCIe board with Altera Cyclone ?

    It's for development and study, I don't have much money to spend.
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor

    --- Quote Start ---

    Thanks for the advice about PCI or PCIe transceiver,

    Do you have any ideas which low cost PCI or PCIe board with Altera Cyclone?

    --- Quote End ---

    http://www.altera.com/products/devkits/altera/kit-cyclone-iv-starter.html

    --- Quote Start ---

    It's for development and study, I don't have much money to spend.

    --- Quote End ---

    What do you need PCI/PCIe for? You can use a Terasic DE0-nano to learn about FPGAs:

    http://www.terasic.com.tw/cgi-bin/page/archive.pl?no=593

    Cheers,

    Dave
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    I want to learn how PCI or PCIe work with Altera FPGA, creating window driver for it and so on....

    I read, altera has integrated transceiver

    www dot altera dot com

    /technology

    /high_speed

    /hs-index.html

    Please read table 1.
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor

    --- Quote Start ---

    I want to learn how PCI or PCIe work with Altera FPGA, creating window driver for it and so on....

    --- Quote End ---

    In that case, you will need to buy a development kit. I would recommend the Cyclone IV PCIe kit I mention above (I have a couple and they work fine). There are other kits, but they are more expensive.

    Cheers,

    Dave
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor

    --- Quote Start ---

    In that case, you will need to buy a development kit. I would recommend the Cyclone IV PCIe kit I mention above (I have a couple and they work fine). There are other kits, but they are more expensive.

    Cheers,

    Dave

    --- Quote End ---

    Dave,

    Do you mean this one ?

    http://www.altera.com/products/devkits/altera/kit-cyclone-iv-starter.html

    It's abit expensive for learning board 395 ?

    Do you know other board with similar function but cheaper ?

    thanks