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Honored ContributorHow to make NCO compiler use M9K blocks and not M144K
I am using the NCO compiler V10.1 to generate a ROM based NCO. I am using a stratix IV (EP4SE230F29C2) device.
According to both the manual and the wizard itself, the ROM should be implemented with M9K memory blocks. But to my disappointing surprise, it is implementing the NCO with M144K blocks. The NCO compiler manual even provides resource estimates in terms of M9K blocks. Yet the compiler is ignoring its own estimation and goes on to use only M144K blocks. This is a major problem. I am instantiating multiple NCOs and the design won't fit. I have all the M9K blocks available in the world but the tool is insisting on using the M144K, which I don't have enough. Does anybody know what to do? Is this [yet] another Quartus II bug, or is there some hardware limitation here?18 Replies
Altera_Forumtry Assignments > Settings > Analysis and Synthesis Settings > More A & S Settings > Max number of M44K Blocks maybe in addition to (imported) partitions
- Altera_Forum
Thanks, I tried playing with the "Max number" settings. It doesn't help. It insists on using M144K blocks only.
- Altera_Forum
i confirmed with a single NCO core before i posted. it used M144K until i set the number of blocks to 0, in which case it used M9K
- Altera_Forum
i'm also using 10.1 (Linux, Subscription)
- Altera_Forum
have you tried LogicLock?
- Altera_Forum
Interesting. I tried it also but it fails for me. "can't fit design". I am using the windows version.
What can I do with LogicLock? - Altera_Forum
maybe reduce the design down to 1 NCO to see if you can get that to fit to M9K, then scale it up
with LogicLock you can define fixed regions for each NCO instance which contain the specific number of memory blocks needed - Altera_Forum
I did reduce it down to 1 NCO and it didn't work. That's what I was referring to above.
- Altera_Forum
hmm, can you post the NCO specs or else the variation .v/.vhd
- Altera_Forum
It's a Large ROM based NCO, 32 bit accumulator, 16 bit phase resolution, 14 bit amplitude resolution, single output, no modulations, no dithering. I use VHDL.
