PR Newswire
Oct 1, 2007 08:00 ET

Altera Extends Productivity Advantage with Quartus II Software Version 7.2

Development Software Enables Stratix III FPGAs to Achieve 3X Faster Compile Times Compared to Competing High-End 65-nm Devices

SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Delivering unparalleled productivity tools for FPGA users, Altera Corporation (NASDAQ:ALTR) today announced its Quartus(R) II software version 7.2. With this new software version, Altera continues to extend its advantage in compile times, a key productivity metric. Designers using Quartus II software version 7.2 can expect their Stratix(R) III FPGAs compile-time advantage to grow to three times that of competing high-end 65-nm FPGAs.

"More than 15 years experience using the largest and most complex FPGAs from multiple vendors has taught me that Altera's Quartus II software is the productivity winner," said Joe Jacob, president of Quasar Systems, a design services company. "Using Altera's Quartus II software tool suite, I was able to build and test a PCI Master/Target system with DMA and memory interfaces in a single day that would have taken four to six weeks using competitive tools. The Quartus II software enables me to finish my designs quicker than other tool suites."

"Our customers today are increasingly concerned about designer productivity, so they look for tools that give them a competitive edge," said Chris Balough, Altera's director of software and embedded marketing. "With our latest Quartus II software, our productivity advantage has improved from 2X to 3X compared to our competitor's solutions, enabling our customers to compile their designs faster and meet their aggressive time-to-market goals."

Quartus II software version 7.2 includes productivity and performance-focused enhancements that enable designers to achieve faster compile times and meet performance requirements. A Quartus II software user working with a multiprocessor computer will experience, on average, a 20 percent reduction in compile times over single-processor computers. Additionally, enhanced place-and-route algorithms enable Stratix III customers to meet their high-performance requirements and offer a two speed grade advantage versus competitors. Stratix III customers interested in learning more about the benefits of using the Quartus II software can visit: http://www.altera.com/stratix3performance

Enhancements to Quartus II Version 7.2

-- New Live I/O Checking -- The addition of real-time pin-out validation
allows faster verification of pin placement and assignments.
-- Improved Avalon(R) Streaming Support in SOPC Builder -- New automatic
insertion of adapters makes finishing your Avalon Streaming designs
quicker and easier. In addition, the revamped component editor
includes a faster GUI for adding your custom components and support
for Avalon Streaming.
-- Expanded OS Support With Windows Vista -- Altera is the only FPGA
vendor to support both Windows Vista 32- and 64-bit editions with its
Quartus II software.
-- New State Machine Editor -- Accelerate your design entry with a new
graphical state machine design entry tool.
-- Easier Chip Debug With Enhanced SignalTap(R) II -- Improved trigger
condition settings capture data based on a sequential set of events to
allow for faster chip debug. In addition, Signal Tap II offers
enhanced segmented acquisition for better use of the memory buffer,
allowing for easier hardware verification.
-- Faster Timing Closure With Enhanced TimeQuest -- New clock-as-data
feature enables designers to analyze timing when clock signals are
used as data, a feature not available in most timing analysis tools.
In addition, TimeQuest's new waveform viewer enables designers to
visualize timing relationships for faster timing closure.
-- Simplified Software Download -- Altera offers a new unified download
and installation for Quartus II Subscription Edition on the Linux
operating system to support faster software upgrades.

Pricing and Availability

Both the Subscription Edition and free Web Edition of Quartus II software version 7.2 are now available for download at http://www.altera.com/download. The Subscription Edition is also available in DVD format by request at http://www.altera.com/dvdrequest. Altera's software subscription program simplifies obtaining Altera(R) design software by consolidating software products and maintenance charges into one annual subscription payment. Subscribers receive Quartus II software, the ModelSim(R)-Altera edition and a full license to the IP Base Suite, which includes ten of Altera's most popular IP (DSP and memory) cores. The annual software subscription is $2,000 for a node-locked PC license.

About Altera

Altera programmable solutions enable system and semiconductor companies to rapidly and cost-effectively innovate, differentiate and win in their markets. Find out more at http://www.altera.com/.

Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, the stylized Altera logo, specific device designations, and all other words that are identified as trademarks and/or service marks are, unless noted otherwise, the trademarks and service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. ModelSim is a trademark of Mentor Graphics Corp. All other product or service names are the property of their respective holder.