EP2C5F256C6 - Cyclone II FPGA, 4,608 LEs, 158 I/O | Intel
MPN: EP2C5F256C6 ⚠ Last Time Buy| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $38.5 | $38.50 |
| 10 | $33.2 | $332.00 |
| 100 | $26.75 | $2,675.00 |
| 500 | $22.1 | $11,050.00 |
| 1,000 | $19.4 | $19,400.00 |
EP2C5F256C6 Overview
A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is a type of programmable logic device (PLD) that contains an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs), programmable interconnect, and I/O cells. Architecturally FPGAs sit below custom ASICs in NRE cost and time-to-market but above microcontrollers in raw parallelism, making them a preferred choice for prototyping, low-volume production, and high-throughput data-path designs. Cyclone II specifically targets cost-sensitive applications by stripping out transceivers and dedicated hard IP cores (no embedded processors, no high-speed SERDES), trading absolute performance for very low unit cost and Quartus II design-flow compatibility.
Key device-level features include 4,608 logic elements arranged as 4-input LUTs, 119,808 bits of user-accessible RAM (typically partitioned into 26 M4K blocks of 4 kbit each), two embedded PLL blocks for clock multiplication and phase shifting, and 158 user I/O supporting LVTTL, LVCMOS, SSTL, and differential I/O standards. The package is a 256-pin FineLine BGA (1.0 mm pitch), with the die designated 'F256' and the speed grade 'C6'. Configuration is supported via active serial (AS), passive serial (PS), and JTAG modes.
Typical applications include video processing bridges, industrial motor control and encoder interfaces, low-cost communications line cards, prototype ASIC emulation, USB / video / image consumer peripherals, and glue-logic consolidation on multi-board systems. The combination of 13 hardware multipliers and 26 M4K blocks is well-matched to FIR filters, PID control loops and small FFT pipelines.
When designing with this device, plan for a Quartus II design flow and verify the 0°C to 85°C commercial temperature window against your end-product environment; if industrial -40°C to 100°C operation is required, use the 'I' grade variant instead. The 1.0 mm BGA pitch also demands PCB fabrication with microvia or HDI stack-up to escape the inner balls cleanly.
This page combines manufacturer specifications, current distributor stock and pricing tiers, and drop-in compatible alternative FPGAs in the same 256-ball BGA - information not assembled in any single source including the official Cyclone II datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for EP2C5F256C6 — 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 EP2C5F256C6 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Speed Grade, Process Technology, Operating Temperature, RoHS Status.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP2C5F256C7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$23.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C5F256C8N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$11.84 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C5AF256A7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$9.75 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C5AF256I8N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$16.1 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C5T144A7N
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP2C5F256C6 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Cyclone II |
| Logic Elements | 4,608 |
| Total RAM Bits | 119,808 |
| Number of M4K Memory Blocks | 26 (4 kbit each) |
| Embedded 18x18 Multipliers | 13 |
| PLLs | 2 |
| Maximum User I/O | 158 |
| Process Technology | 90 nm CMOS (low-k dielectric) |
| Package | 256-ball FineLine BGA (F256, 1.0 mm pitch) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Operating Temperature Range | 0°C to 85°C (TJ, commercial) |
| Speed Grade | C6 |
| Configuration Modes | AS, PS, JTAG |
EP2C5F256C6 256-ball fineline bga (f256, 1.0 mm pitch) Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP2C5F256C6 (256-ball fineline bga (f256, 1.0 mm pitch) 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 EP2C5F256C6.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP2C5F256C6 is suitable for 6 applications: Video Processing Bridge, Industrial Motor Control, ASIC Prototyping and Emulation, Low-Cost Communications Line Card, USB and Consumer Peripheral Glue Logic, Test & Measurement Front-End.
Video Processing Bridge
The EP2C5F256C6 is well suited to bridging parallel video standards (BT.656, RGB888, LVDS) to memory or to a downstream encoder. With 158 user I/O and 26 M4K memory blocks, it can absorb a full video line buffer and perform color-space conversion in real time. Its 13 dedicated 18x18 multipliers handle FIR filtering and scaling tasks without consuming LUT logic, while the two PLLs generate the pixel clock and memory clock from a single reference. Compared with a microcontroller, it offers deterministic latency; compared with an ASIC it requires no NRE and ships in prototype quantities immediately.
Recommended
Industrial Motor Control
For closed-loop motor control in industrial systems, the EP2C5F256C6 provides the parallelism needed for field-oriented control (FOC) algorithms while keeping bill-of-materials cost low. The 13 hardware multipliers accelerate the Park, inverse-Park and SVM calculations, and the 158 I/O are sufficient to drive three PWM channels, quadrature encoder inputs and multiple fault/feedback signals. Commercial 0C-85C rating covers most indoor cabinet environments; for harsher industrial sites use EP2C5AF256I8N instead. Compared with a dedicated DSP, the FPGA also implements the encoder interface, protection logic and CAN-style comms on the same die.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping and Emulation
Engineers use the EP2C5F256C6 as a low-cost platform for ASIC and ASSP prototype emulation, taking advantage of the 4,608 logic elements and JTAG-based configuration to validate control logic, glue logic and peripheral bus behaviour before committing to silicon. The device is supported by Quartus II design software and standard synthesis flows (Verilog, VHDL, SystemVerilog), making it a familiar platform for verification teams. Compared with simulation alone, running real workloads on the FPGA exposes timing, clock-domain and reset issues that pure RTL simulation misses, at a fraction of the cost of an ASIC tape-out.
Recommended
Low-Cost Communications Line Card
In telecom line cards and access equipment, the EP2C5F256C6 handles framing, de-framing, HDLC, cell delineation and timing recovery glue logic that does not justify a dedicated ASIC. Its two PLLs derive multiple clock domains from a single backplane reference, and the 158 I/O accept parallel TDM or low-speed SERDES interfaces from PHY devices. The 119,808 bits of RAM allow small packet buffers or look-up tables to be embedded. Compared with a CPLD, the FPGA provides 30x more logic and embedded multipliers for forward-error-correction primitives.
Recommended
USB and Consumer Peripheral Glue Logic
Consumer peripherals such as USB docking stations, multi-display adapters and image-capture accessories use the EP2C5F256C6 to integrate glue logic between USB controllers, video encoders, SD-card interfaces and microcontrollers. The 158 I/O expose multiple parallel buses simultaneously, and the embedded M4K blocks store descriptors and small lookup tables. Compared with discrete 74-series logic, a single FPGA shrinks the BOM, simplifies the PCB and allows late-stage design fixes via re-programming rather than re-spinning the board.
Recommended
Test & Measurement Front-End
Test instruments and data-acquisition front-ends use the EP2C5F256C6 to perform real-time DSP (filtering, FFT pre-processing, decimation) on ADC samples before handing the reduced stream to a host processor. The 13 hardware 18x18 multipliers run FIR/IIR filters at full ADC rate, while 26 M4K blocks buffer capture windows for trigger logic. The 158 I/O accept parallel LVDS or LVCMOS ADC buses up to ~150 MHz. Compared with a DSP, the FPGA provides deterministic latency needed for trigger decisions and parallel processing of multiple channels.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP2C5F256C6 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP2C5F256C7N | EP2C5F256C8N | EP2C5AF256A7N | EP2C5AF256I8N | EP2C5T144A7N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Package | 256-ball FineLine BGA (F256) | 256-ball FineLine BGA (F256) - same | 256-ball FineLine BGA (F256) - same | 256-ball FineLine BGA (F256) - same | 256-ball FineLine BGA (F256) - same | 144-pin TQFP (T144) - smaller |
| Speed Grade | C6 | C7 (faster) | C8 (slower) | A7 (automotive) | I8 (industrial) | A7 |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to 85C (commercial) | 0C to 85C | 0C to 85C | -40C to 125C (automotive) | -40C to 100C (industrial) | -40C to 125C (automotive) |
| Logic Elements | 4,608 | 4,608 | 4,608 | 4,608 | 4,608 | 4,608 |
| Embedded RAM Bits | 119,808 | 119,808 | 119,808 | 119,808 | 119,808 | 119,808 |
| Maximum User I/O | 158 | 158 | 158 | 158 | 158 | 89 (smaller package) |
| Configuration Memory Required | Serial (EPCS) or JTAG | Serial (EPCS) or JTAG | Serial (EPCS) or JTAG | Serial (EPCS) or JTAG | Serial (EPCS) or JTAG | Serial (EPCS) or JTAG |
| Lifecycle Status | Last Time Buy | Last Time Buy | Last Time Buy | Last Time Buy | Last Time Buy | Last Time Buy |
Key Differentiators
- Faster C6 speed grade vs C8 alternatives (vs EP2C5F256C8N)
- Commercial temperature grade vs automotive variant (vs EP2C5AF256A7N)
- 256-ball BGA with 158 I/O vs TQFP-144 package (vs EP2C5T144A7N)
Design Notes
The 256-ball FineLine BGA uses a 1.0 mm ball pitch, which forces a microvia or HDI PCB stack-up for clean inner-ball escape. Plan at least a 4-layer 1+N+1+1 build-up with 0.4 mm laser-drilled microvias under the BGA pads; standard 0.6 mm plated-through vias will not fit between the balls. Provide a continuous ground plane on layer 2 directly under the BGA for both reference return and thermal spreading.
Cyclone II requires separate VCCINT (core), VCCIO (I/O banks) and VCCA_PLL (PLL analog) rails. Decouple each VCCINT pin with a 0.1 uF X7R ceramic placed within 2 mm of the ball, plus one bulk 10-47 uF tantalum or polymer cap per bank. VCCA_PLL must be filtered through a ferrite bead or pi filter and held above 1.7 V even when the device is unconfigured; a POR hold-down resistor on nCONFIG is recommended.
Estimated: at typical utilization (60% LEs, 40% RAM, 50% multipliers) on a 4-layer 1 oz copper PCB, junction-to-ambient theta_JA for the 256-ball F256 BGA is approximately 20 C/W. Power dissipation is dominated by toggle rate and routing density; using the Quartus II PowerPlay estimator is the only reliable way to confirm junction temperature, especially in enclosed industrial cabinets. Do not rely on the C6/C7/C8 suffix alone for thermal margin.
Do not assume Cyclone II bitstreams are compatible with Cyclone III/IV/V; each family requires a Quartus II recompile and a different configuration file format. Also avoid mixing EP2C5 with EPCS configuration memories above 16 Mbit (EPCS16) - the device only consumes a portion of the larger memory, which is supported but wastes configuration space. Finally, the commercial 0C-85C temperature grade is NOT suitable for outdoor or unconditioned industrial deployments; specify the I-grade (EP2C5xF256I8) variant instead.
Compliance Information
RoHS, REACH, lead-free and halogen-free status were not present in the verified web data; refer to the Intel Cyclone II material declaration (MDDS) for authoritative compliance information. AEC-Q100 is not applicable because the EP2C5F256C6 is a commercial grade part; the automotive equivalent is EP2C5AF256A7N.
