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CLa_R's avatar
CLa_R
Icon for Occasional Contributor rankOccasional Contributor
4 years ago

FPGA MAX10 future availability

In my supplier website (mouser) I do not find anymore directly the MAX10 FPGA. If I look for a specific model (es. 10M40) I read that: "Life cycle information is unclear. Ask for a quote to check th...
ak6dn's avatar
ak6dn
Icon for Regular Contributor rankRegular Contributor
3 years ago

Those two statements (Intel won't take backorders on MAX10, Intel will support MAX10 until 2032) are not inconsistent.

You must understand that Intel is producing FPGA parts as fast as its fab allows.

But they are all being bought up by large customers who have prenegotiated purchase contracts for confirmed delivery.

There are no parts left that Intel is producing that can go to distributors for general distribution.

This is not just an Intel/Altera problem, it is affecting all semiconductors.

Heck even the car makers had to cut production because they could not get devices that they needed to produce car electronics.

So Intel is not going to accept backorders on parts that they know they can't produce for a year or more.

Brad_Hardware_Dev's avatar
Brad_Hardware_Dev
Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor
3 years ago

Some of the other chips which are unavailable by other manufacturers have an estimated delivery date which you can preorder. Intel gives no information on future availability so it makes it very difficult to plan.

I have millions of dollar of equipment waiting on that chip.

I understand the current situation with the chip shortage. It just makes it hard to run a business.

  • CLa_R's avatar
    CLa_R
    Icon for Occasional Contributor rankOccasional Contributor
    3 years ago

    I can hardly understand that Intel does not consider small customers, but you are saying that your business is important. Intel should recognize this too. I understand the shortage of chips and the difficulty of obtaining them, but what is required is only clear communication.

    Is it too much?

  • ak6dn's avatar
    ak6dn
    Icon for Regular Contributor rankRegular Contributor
    3 years ago

    I completely understand where you are coming from. I am glad I am retired now after 40 years, and not have to deal with this.

    In my experience Intel is one of the more secretive companies and won't say much without an NDA.

    My speculation is that large volume purchasers of parts from Intel have locked up supply with long term purchase contracts.

    I know when I was employed (at a very large telecom company) our purchasing department was very good at doing this.

    Of course we had hundreds of millions of dollars of production systems relying on these parts being supplied on schedule.

    Honestly I would not want to be a small guy now trying to source parts thru distributors.