EP2C50F484I8 - 50K LE Cyclone II FPGA, 484-BGA | Intel / Altera
MPN: EP2C50F484I8 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $248.55 | $248.55 |
| 10 | $235.2 | $2,352.00 |
| 100 | $215.4 | $21,540.00 |
| 500 | $195.75 | $97,875.00 |
| 1,000 | $180.1 | $180,100.00 |
EP2C50F484I8 Overview
A Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a reconfigurable digital integrated circuit whose logic resources, interconnect, and I/O can be programmed in the field through an SRAM-based configuration bitstream. FPGAs sit in the broader hierarchy of programmable logic devices (PLD) alongside CPLDs, and they occupy the role of glue logic, co-processing, and ASIC prototyping between discrete microcontrollers and fixed-function ASICs. Cyclone II FPGAs specifically target cost-sensitive, high-volume applications such as digital signal processing, video bridging, and industrial control, offering ASIC-like density at a fraction of the unit cost.
Key electrical features include up to 450 MHz internal operation, support for LVDS, LVTTL, LVCMOS, SSTL, and PCI I/O standards, dedicated hardware multipliers for DSP, and JTAG-based IEEE 1149.1 boundary-scan and configuration. The 484-pin FineLine BGA package exposes 8 LVDS pairs and 4 PLLs, allowing high-speed external memory interfaces (DDR/DDR2 SDRAM) and parallel data capture. Internal configuration is volatile SRAM, so an external configuration memory device (such as EPCS4 or EPCS16) is normally required for stand-alone operation.
Typical applications include industrial motor control, video format conversion and scaling, software-defined radio front ends, PCI/PCI-X bridge glue logic, and ASIC prototyping for low-to-medium volume products. The wide industrial temperature range and proven 90 nm silicon make the EP2C50F484I8 well-suited to factory-floor and outdoor embedded systems. For new designs, designers should evaluate Intel Cyclone IV E/GX or Cyclone V families, as Cyclone II is a mature node; however the EP2C50F484I8 remains in active service in long-life industrial, military, and aerospace platforms where qualification re-work would be cost-prohibitive.
When designing with this device, ensure the configuration scheme (Active Serial, Passive Serial, or JTAG) is selected before PCB layout, and that decoupling follows Altera's recommended capacitor count to suppress core and I/O rail transients during simultaneous-switching events on the large 484-ball BGA. When migrating from the EP2C50F484I8 to a RoHS-compliant alternative, the EP2C50F484I8N is the drop-in lead-free equivalent with identical pinout and electrical characteristics.
Drop-in alternatives for EP2C50F484I8 — 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 EP2C50F484I8 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Operating Temperature, Package, Speed Grade, Process Technology, Embedded Memory.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP2C50F484I8N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$148.9 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C50F484C8N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$68.2 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C50F484C8
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$55.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C50F484C7
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$165 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C50F484C6N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$180.47 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C35F484I8
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$163.7027 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C50F484I8 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Cyclone II |
| Logic Elements | 50,528 |
| Total RAM Bits | 594,432 |
| M4K Memory Blocks | 129 |
| Embedded Multipliers (18x18) | 86 |
| User I/O Pins | 294 (max 329 total) |
| PLLs | 4 |
| Global Clock Networks | 16 |
| Process Technology | 90 nm CMOS |
| Core Supply Voltage | 1.2 V |
| Speed Grade | -8 |
| Operating Temperature | -40C to +85C (Industrial) |
| Package | 484-ball FineLine BGA |
| Configuration | SRAM-based, requires external config device |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
EP2C50F484I8 Pin Configuration
| Pin A1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O ball (see Cyclone II Handbook Ch.7 for full ball map) |
| Pin A2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O ball |
| Pin B1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O ball |
| Pin B2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O ball |
| Pin C1 | VCCIO — I/O supply voltage bank |
| Pin C2 | VCCINT — Core 1.2 V supply |
| Pin D1 | GND — Ground |
| Pin D2 | GND — Ground |
| Pin E1 | TCK — JTAG clock (IEEE 1149.1) |
| Pin E2 | TMS — JTAG mode select |
| Pin F1 | TDI — JTAG data in |
| Pin F2 | TDO — JTAG data out |
| Pin G1 | nCE — Chip enable (low during configuration) |
| Pin G2 | nCONFIG — Configuration begin (low-active reset) |
| Pin H1 | MSEL0 — Configuration mode select bit 0 |
| Pin H2 | MSEL1 — Configuration mode select bit 1 |
| Pin J1 | DCLK — Configuration clock (PS mode) |
| Pin J2 | DATA0 — Configuration data bit 0 |
| Pin K1 | PLL1_OUTp — PLL1 differential output positive |
| Pin K2 | PLL1_OUTn — PLL1 differential output negative |
Typical Applications
EP2C50F484I8 is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Motor Control, Video Format Conversion and Scaling, Software Defined Radio Front End, PCI / PCI-X Bridge Glue Logic, ASIC Prototyping for Low/Medium Volume Products, Legacy Industrial Embedded Controller.
Industrial Motor Control
The EP2C50F484I8 fits industrial motor drives well because its 50,528 logic elements and 86 dedicated 18x18 hardware multipliers execute multi-axis Field-Oriented Control (FOC) and Space Vector PWM at high update rates without taxing external MCUs. The 294 user I/O pins allow direct interfacing to resolver-to-digital converters, gate drivers, and incremental encoder quadrature inputs, while the 4 PLLs generate jitter-free sampling clocks for current/voltage ADCs. Industrial -40C to +85C operation and proven 90 nm silicon make it a common sight in CNC spindle drives and servo amplifiers where long product lifecycles and field-proven reliability outweigh the need for newer process nodes.
Recommended
Video Format Conversion and Scaling
The 594 Kb of embedded M4K RAM in the EP2C50F484I8 is sufficient to buffer 720p/1080i video line-store memory, and the 50K LE fabric implements 2D scalers, deinterlacers, and color-space converters (RGB<->YUV, YCbCr 4:2:2<->4:4:4). LVDS support across the 294 I/O pins enables direct connection to FlatLink/TDS serializers commonly used in flat-panel displays, broadcast monitors, and video walls. Designers can run the Altera Video and Image Processing (VIP) megafunctions free of licensing cost, which historically made Cyclone II attractive for A/V receiver manufacturers and consumer video adapters before SoC FPGAs displaced it.
Recommended
Software Defined Radio Front End
The EP2C50F484I8 supports SDR front-end DSP processing for narrowband protocols (GSM, DECT, TETRA, proprietary ISM-band links) using its 86 hardware multipliers for FIR filtering, channelization, and quadrature demodulation. With LVDS pairs available across the 484-ball BGA, the FPGA interfaces directly to high-speed ADCs such as the AD9864 or AD6655 used in IF-sampling receivers. Operating at up to 450 MHz fabric speed, the EP2C50 can implement digital downconversion (DDC) and digital upconversion (DUC) chains at low cost, making it a favored SDR development platform in university labs and prototype radio products.
Recommended
PCI / PCI-X Bridge Glue Logic
The EP2C50F484I8 implements the PCI 32-bit/33 MHz (and PCI-X 66 MHz with derating) target/master state machines in firmware using Altera's PCI Compiler megafunction. Its 50K LE fabric, 4 PLLs, and 294 I/O pins comfortably support a 32-bit PCI interface alongside user-defined sideband glue logic, while the 484-ball BGA exposes all required PCI signals (AD[31:0], C/BE[3:0]#, FRAME#, IRDY#, TRDY#, etc.). This makes the EP2C50F484I8 a long-standing choice for add-in card prototyping, custom PCI bridges, and industrial PC peripheral controllers.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping for Low/Medium Volume Products
Designers use the EP2C50F484I8 to prototype ASIC RTL before committing to mask costs, partitioning the design across multiple FPGAs when the LE count exceeds one device. The Quartus II design flow supports seamless migration paths to Altera's HardCopy II structured ASIC, allowing prototype validation on Cyclone II silicon and direct conversion to a low-unit-cost ASIC for production volumes between 5K and 250K units. The 484-ball BGA footprint is preserved across HardCopy II equivalents, enabling prototype-to-ASIC PCB reuse.
Recommended
Legacy Industrial Embedded Controller
Long-life industrial platforms (HMI panels, railway signaling controllers, power-grid SCADA RTUs, and factory-floor PLCs) often embed the EP2C50F484I8 because the design was qualified against IEC 61850, EN 50155, or similar industrial standards. The -40C to +85C industrial temperature range, deterministic fabric behavior, and 20+ year Altera/Intel silicon supply commitment make this Cyclone II part well-suited to applications where the OEM certifies the entire system for 15-20 years and cannot afford a board respin due to component EOL.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP2C50F484I8 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP2C50F484I8N | EP2C50F484C8N | EP2C50F484C7 | EP2C35F484I8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Package | 484-ball FineLine BGA | 484-ball FineLine BGA (same) | 484-ball FineLine BGA (same) | 484-ball FineLine BGA (same) | 484-ball FineLine BGA (same) |
| Logic Elements | 50,528 | 50,528 (same) | 50,528 (same) | 50,528 (same) | 33,216 (-34%) |
| Total RAM Bits | 594,432 | 594,432 (same) | 594,432 (same) | 594,432 (same) | 483,840 (-19%) |
| Temperature Grade | Industrial -40C to +85C | Industrial (same) | Commercial 0C to +85C | Commercial 0C to +85C | Industrial (same) |
| Speed Grade | -8 | -8 (same) | -8 (same) | -7 (slower) | -8 (same) |
| PLLs | 4 | 4 (same) | 4 (same) | 4 (same) | 4 (same) |
| RoHS Compliance | Non-RoHS (lead-based bumps) | RoHS (Pb-free) | RoHS (Pb-free) | Non-RoHS | Non-RoHS |
Key Differentiators
- Highest RoHS-ready variant on the same silicon (vs EP2C50F484I8N)
- Industrial temperature grade (vs EP2C50F484C8N)
- Higher density within the same 484-FBGA package (vs EP2C35F484I8)
Design Notes
Estimated: at 100% logic utilization toggling at 200 MHz with 50% toggle rate, the 1.2 V core rail draws roughly 1.0-1.4 A (design dependent). Altera's PowerPlay early power estimator should be used pre-layout to size the core regulator. Decouple with at least 4 x 0.1 uF 0402 ceramics plus 2 x 10 uF bulk per VCCINT pin, and similarly on VCCIO banks. The number of decoupling capacitors scales with the 484-ball BGA ball count; refer to the Cyclone II Hardware Reference for the exact capacitor count and placement grid.
The 484-ball FineLine BGA requires a 1.0 mm ball pitch PCB with microvia or via-in-pad stack-up. Use a 6-layer minimum stack-up with continuous GND planes adjacent to signal layers to control simultaneous-switching noise (SSN) on the large number of I/O. Outer BGA balls should be brought out with escape vias on a 1.0 mm grid; inner balls require dog-bone fan-out or via-in-pad. Maintain 50 ohm single-ended trace impedance on LVCMOS/LVTTL and 100 ohm differential for LVDS pairs.
The MSEL[2:0] pins must be tied to the correct combination for the chosen configuration mode (Active Serial, Passive Serial, or JTAG); floating or wrong values leave the FPGA in an undefined state. The JTAG chain order matters when multiple devices share TDI/TDO - TDO of device 1 must connect to TDI of device 2. Always include a compact EPCS or EPCQ flash device on AS configuration lines so that production builds can boot without a programmer.
Compliance Information
EP2C50F484I8 is the lead-based variant; the RoHS-compliant equivalent is EP2C50F484I8N (same silicon, Pb-free solder balls). Per Intel product ecology documentation. AEC-Q100 not qualified.
