Altera's Nios® II embedded processor provides phenomenal cost flexibility, allowing you to choose the exact set of processors, peripherals, memory, and interfaces that you need for your application, without paying for features that you don’t need.
Table 1 lists some of the low-cost benefits of Nios II processors.
| Table 1. Cost Reduction Features and Benefits of Nios II Processors | ||
| Feature | Description | Get Details |
|---|---|---|
| Low-Cost Processor Core | Utilize the fewest possible logic and memory resources with the Nios II/e "economy" core, the absolute lowest cost Nios II processor. | |
| Greater System-Level Integration | Create exact-fit systems by combining one or more CPUs with the exact set of peripherals, memory, and I/O interfaces, greatly reducing board cost, complexity, and power consumption. | |
| Cost-Optimized FPGA | Combine the Nios II/e core with a low-cost Cyclone® III FPGA and consume as little as 25 cents of the Cyclone III device's cost, leaving plenty of logic for implementing functions previously handled by external devices. | |
| Cost-Efficient Acceleration | Boost software performance in a cost-efficient way by offloading performance-critical software functions to hardware accelerators in the FPGA. | |
| Low-Cost Tools and Development Kits | Download the Nios II Embedded Design Suite and evaluate the tools and processor for free today. Then, you can purchase a low-cost development kit that includes everything you need to create complete on-chip microprocessor systems. | |
| Royalty-Free License | Pay no royalties for Nios II processors implemented in Altera® FPGAs and HardCopy® ASICs. | |
| High-Volume Migration Path | Develop and test your designs with reprogrammable FPGAs, then easily migrate the designs to low-cost HardCopy ASICs | |
As a designer, you have to find ways to reduce development and component costs to meet your design specifications and deadlines. The Nios II processor gives you the cost flexibility to meet these requirements.
