Altera's Arria® FPGA series is designed for cost- and power-sensitive transceiver-based applications. The Arria FPGA series has a rich feature set of functions (memory, logic, and DSP) combined with the superior signal integrity of 3-Gb transceivers to allow you to integrate more functions and maximize system bandwidth. The Arria series includes Arria GX and Arria II GX devices with on-chip transceivers that allow the transfer of serial data in and out of the FPGA at high frequencies.
| Table 1. Arria FPGA Series Introduction | ||
| Arria GX | Arria II GX | |
|---|---|---|
| Year of Introduction | 2007 | 2009 |
| Process Technology | 90 nm | 40 nm |
| Recommended for New Designs | Yes | Yes |
The Arria II GX FPGA family features the industry's lowest power FPGAs with 3.75-Gbps transceivers. Designed for cost-sensitive applications, the Arria II GX FPGA family is based on a 40-nm, full-featured FPGA fabric that includes adaptive logic modules (ALMs), digital signal processing (DSP) blocks, embedded RAM, and a hard PCIe intellectual property (IP) core. Unlike other 3-Gbps FPGA families, Altera's Arria II GX FPGA family offers improvements in usability that allow you to complete your projects faster.
The Arria GX FPGA family is Altera’s cost-optimized 90-nm FPGA family with transceivers. With transceiver speeds up to 3.125 Gbps, you can connect existing modules and devices, and support protocols such as PCI Express, Gigabit Ethernet, Serial RapidIO®, SDI, XAUI, and more. The Arria GX FPGA family incorporates Altera’s proven transceiver technology, ensuring excellent signal integrity for your designs.
| Table 2. Comparison of Arria Series FPGAs with Transceivers | ||
| Feature | Arria GX | Arria II GX |
|---|---|---|
| Equivalent Logic Elements | 21,580 to 90,227 | 15,950 to 256,500 |
| Adaptive Logic Modules | 8,632 to 36,088 | 6,380 to 102,600 |
| Total RAM (Kbits) | 1,229 to 4,477 | 783 to 8,550 |
| Embedded 18 x 18 Multipliers | 40 to 176 | 56 to 736 |
| Maximum User I/O | 235 to 538 | 250 to 612 |
| Transceiver Data Range (Mbps) (1) | 600 to 3,125 | 600 to 3,750 |
| Transceiver Channels (1) | 4 to 12 | 4 to 16 |
| PCI Express Hard IP Blocks | - | 1 |
- Transceivers with PCS and PMA
