EP2AGX260EF29C5 - 244K LE Arria II GX FPGA 780-FCBGA | Intel
MPN: EP2AGX260EF29C5 ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2350.61 | $2,350.61 |
| 10 | $2230 | $22,300.00 |
| 100 | $2105 | $210,500.00 |
| 500 | $1985 | $992,500.00 |
| 1,000 | $1870 | $1,870,000.00 |
EP2AGX260EF29C5 Overview
What is an FPGA? An FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) is a reconfigurable integrated circuit whose logic, interconnect, and I/O behaviour are defined by a user-supplied hardware description language (HDL) bitstream. In the programmable logic taxonomy, the EP2AGX260EF29C5 sits below full-mask ASICs in NRE cost and below software-programmed DSPs in deterministic latency, making it ideal for mid-volume designs, prototyping, and applications that require parallel datapaths with hardware-timed interfaces. Arria II GX specifically belongs to Intel's transceiver-equipped mid-range family, sitting between Cyclone (low-cost) and Stratix (high-performance) families.
Key differentiating features include 244,188 logic elements, 12 Mbits of embedded SRAM, 372 user I/Os, embedded multi-gigabit transceivers, and 8-input adaptive logic modules (ALMs). The 40 nm process enables a favorable power/performance trade-off compared with the 65 nm Stratix IV predecessor, while the FC-FBGA package supports high-density board designs with controlled-impedance signal escape.
Typical applications include high-speed serial protocol bridging (PCI Express Gen1/Gen2, Gigabit Ethernet, Serial RapidIO), digital video broadcasting equipment, software-defined radio (SDR) baseband processing, radar and medical imaging front-ends, and telecom line cards. The combination of large logic capacity, abundant transceivers, and abundant user I/O is well suited to designs that must aggregate multiple high-speed serial links and a wide parallel data bus on one chip.
Designers should plan the PCB for a 780-ball FC-FBGA escape with matched-length differential pairs for transceiver channels, and validate thermal envelopes against typical power consumption in the selected configuration. For software development, Intel Quartus II (legacy) or the maintained Quartus Prime Lite edition supports this device family with synthesis, place-and-route, and timing analysis.
Drop-in alternatives for EP2AGX260EF29C5 — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
Variants in this series
Same-series models that are drop-in compatible with EP2AGX260EF29C5 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Operating Temperature, Speed Grade, Mounting Type, Process Technology.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP2AGX260EF29C4
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View Datasheet →EP2AGX260EF29C4N
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View Datasheet →EP2AGX260EF29C4G
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View Datasheet →EP2AGX260EF29C6G
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View Datasheet →EP2AGX260FF35I5G
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
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View Datasheet →EP2AGX260EF29C5 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Arria II GX |
| Logic Elements (LE) | 244,188 |
| Adaptive Logic Modules (ALM) | 10260 LABs |
| Embedded Memory | 12,038,144 bits (12 Mbits) |
| Maximum User I/O | 372 |
| Process Technology | 40 nm TSMC |
| Core Supply Voltage | 0.9 V |
| Speed Grade | C5 (-5) |
| Package | 780-Ball FC-FBGA |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Operating Temperature | Commercial (0C to +85C) |
| Embedded Transceivers | Yes (multi-gigabit) |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
| Lead-Free | Yes (per RoHS compliance) |
EP2AGX260EF29C5 780-ball fc-fbga Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP2AGX260EF29C5 (780-ball fc-fbga package). This digital IC includes GPIO, communication interfaces (UART, SPI, I2C), and power pins. Refer to the manufacturer datasheet for alternate pin functions and configuration options. Essential for embedded system design and PCB layout.
No detailed pinout data available for EP2AGX260EF29C5.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP2AGX260EF29C5 is suitable for 6 applications: PCI Express Gen2 Endpoint Card, Software-Defined Radio Baseband, Telecom Line Card Aggregation, Digital Video Broadcast Encoder, Medical Imaging Front-End Processor, Radar Signal Processing Node.
PCI Express Gen2 Endpoint Card
The EP2AGX260EF29C5 fits PCI Express Gen2 endpoint designs because its embedded multi-gigabit transceivers natively support 5 Gbps line rate with hard PCS/PMA IP. At 244,188 logic elements and 12 Mbits of embedded memory, the device has headroom for a soft x4 PCIe TLP processor plus a user datapath (DMA engine, scatter-gather, MSI-X) without external memory pressure. Placed on a x8 or x16 edge-connector card with 100 MHz reference clock, it can implement a single-chip endpoint. Unlike a Cyclone V GX, it offers more transceiver channels and a richer soft-logic budget for protocol accelerators.
Recommended
Software-Defined Radio Baseband
The EP2AGX260EF29C5 supports SDR baseband processing thanks to 244,188 logic elements that map cleanly to multi-antenna FFT/filters, plus embedded 12 Mbits of block RAM for sample buffers and twiddle tables. Its multi-gigabit transceivers connect to ADC/DAC sample clocks at up to 3.75 Gbps per channel, and the 372 user I/Os route LVDS parallel data from front-end ADCs without external muxes. Unlike an ASIC, the design can be re-targeted as waveforms evolve, and unlike a GPU it provides deterministic latency for protocol timing. Power estimation in Quartus PowerPlay is recommended before layout commit.
Recommended
Telecom Line Card Aggregation
The EP2AGX260EF29C5 fits telecom line card aggregation because its 244,188 logic elements can implement multi-protocol framer/MAC blocks (Ethernet, OTN, Serial RapidIO) while its multi-gigabit transceivers terminate multiple SFP+/SFP cages at 1-6 Gbps. The 12 Mbits of embedded SRAM holds per-channel statistics and queue descriptors. Placed on a 780-FBGA carrier with a backplane connector, it scales from edge aggregation to mid-density fabric. Compared with a discrete ASSP framer, the FPGA offers software-definable channel mapping and faster time-to-market for new protocol variants.
Recommended
Digital Video Broadcast Encoder
The EP2AGX260EF29C5 supports digital video broadcasting encoders because its 244,188 logic elements implement video preprocessing, rate buffers, and forward-error-correction (LDPC, BCH) at HD/3G-SDI line rates. Embedded 12 Mbits of block RAM frame-buffers compressed streams without external SRAM, and the 372 user I/Os expose parallel video bus plus ASI/SMPTE-310M serial interfaces. Placed on a 780-FBGA module with serializer/deserializer companion chips, it builds a single-chip encoder head-end. Unlike an ASSP encoder, the design adapts as codec standards evolve.
Recommended
Medical Imaging Front-End Processor
The EP2AGX260EF29C5 supports medical imaging front-end processing because 244,188 logic elements map to image-pipeline stages (defect correction, demosaic, gamma, scaling) at multi-megapixel sensor rates. Embedded 12 Mbits of line-buffer memory holds Bayer-domain rows in real time without external SRAM, and 372 user I/Os connect to CMOS sensor MIPI/parallel interfaces plus post-processed display outputs. Multi-gigabit transceivers send processed frames to a host DSP/GPU over PCIe Gen2. Unlike a CPU/GPU pipeline, the FPGA delivers deterministic frame latency critical for ultrasound and endoscopy.
Recommended
Radar Signal Processing Node
The EP2AGX260EF29C5 fits radar signal processing because 244,188 logic elements implement pulse compression, MTI/MTD filtering, and CFAR detection across many range bins in parallel. Embedded 12 Mbits of block RAM stores range-Doppler maps in real time, and multi-gigabit transceivers aggregate digitized IF from A/D converters at up to 3.75 Gbps. The 780-FBGA package supports conduction-cooled enclosures required in airborne and naval radar. Compared with a DSP farm, the FPGA offers superior per-watt throughput for fixed-point FFT pipelines and deterministic processing latency.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP2AGX260EF29C5 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP2AGX260EF29C4 | EP2AGX260EF29C4N | EP2AGX260EF29C4G | EP2AGX260EF29C6G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 780-FBGA (EF29) | 780-FBGA (EF29) - same | 780-FBGA (EF29) - same | 780-FBGA (EF29) - same | 780-FBGA (EF29) - same |
| Brand | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) |
| Logic Elements | 244,188 LE | 244,188 LE | 244,188 LE | 244,188 LE | 244,188 LE |
| Embedded Memory | 12,038,144 bits | 12,038,144 bits | 12,038,144 bits | 12,038,144 bits | 12,038,144 bits |
| User I/O | 372 | 372 | 372 | 372 | 372 |
| Speed Grade | C5 (-5) | C4 (-4) | C4 (-4) | C4 (-4) | C6 (-6) |
| Temperature Grade | Commercial (0C to +85C) | Commercial | Commercial with N-screening | Commercial | Commercial |
| Pb-Free (RoHS) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (G suffix) | Yes (G suffix) |
Key Differentiators
- Highest logic density in the Arria II GX family (vs EP2AGX190EF29C5G)
- Speed grade -5 offers higher Fmax than -6 (vs EP2AGX260EF29C6G)
- Same die as the C4/C6 variants, drop-in compatible (vs EP2AGX260EF29C4)
Design Notes
The 780-FBGA package requires 4 to 6 PCB layers with a continuous ground plane under the BGA to control impedance for the multi-gigabit transceivers. Use a 1.0 mm pitch escape pattern with microvia stack-ups (laser-drilled microvias to inner layers). Recommend matched-length routing (within 5 mils tolerance) for each transceiver differential pair and a dedicated 100 MHz reference clock routed as a length-matched differential pair with series AC-coupling capacitors near the FPGA pins.
The Arria II GX core operates at 0.9 V; transceiver supply rails (VCCA, VCCP, VCCR) operate at 1.1 V-2.5 V depending on data rate. Estimated total power for a fully-utilized EP2AGX260EF29C5 at 244K LE and active transceivers is approximately 8-12 W typical per the Arria II GX family PowerPlay estimator. Use a multi-rail LDO or DC-DC regulator with bulk decoupling of 220 uF polymer plus 0.1 uF/10 nF/100 pF capacitor arrays within 100 mils of each power pin.
At the estimated 8-12 W power envelope, junction-to-ambient thermal resistance (theta_JA) for the 780-FBGA on a 4-layer JEDEC test board is approximately 13 C/W (Estimated, based on Arria II GX family datasheet thermal data). This implies a junction temperature rise of 105-156 C above ambient, which exceeds the commercial limit of 85 C at typical 25 C ambient. A heatsink with thermal interface material or forced airflow (>=2 m/s) is required for production deployment.
Do not confuse the EF29 pin map with the FF35 pin map of similar Arria II GX parts - the silicon die may be the same but the ball assignment differs, so a re-design of the PCB escape is required to swap between EF29 and FF35 variants. Do not omit the JTAG header for AS or JTAG configuration - Arria II GX does not support passive parallel (PP) configuration from a parallel flash, only Active Serial (AS) from EPCS or JTAG. Verify Quartus software version supports the exact speed grade (C5) - Quartus II 13.0sp1 or Quartus Prime legacy is required.
Transceiver channels must be AC-coupled with 100 nF capacitors in series on each TX line; place the capacitor within 200 mils of the FPGA pin to maintain 3 dB insertion-loss budget at 5 Gbps. Use a 4-port VNA or TDR to validate differential return loss better than -10 dB up to 5 GHz. For PCIe Gen2 designs, route the REFCLK+/- as a 100 MHz HCSL-level differential pair with 33 ohm series termination near the FPGA pin; do not use LVPECL drivers unless the FPGA pin supports it.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliant per DigiKey and Heisener listings as of 2026-09-08. The G-suffix variants explicitly denote Pb-free assembly. REACH compliance per Intel product environmental certifications. AEC-Q100 not applicable - this is a commercial/industrial grade FPGA, not an automotive qualified part.
