Altera

EP3SE260F1517I4 - Stratix III E FPGA, 255K LE, 1517-FCBGA | Altera

MPN: EP3SE260F1517I4 ✗ End of Life

In Stock Ships in 1-3 business days

1.1 V Vdss 1517-BBGA, FCBGA, 40 mm Package 450 MHz Speed 16,672,768 Memory

From $10750 USD / Unit

MOQ: 1 |

Price updated: 2026-09-09

Volume Pricing

Qty	Unit Price	Extended
1	$13239.5	$13,239.50
10	$12500	$125,000.00
100	$11800	$1,180,000.00
500	$11200	$5,600,000.00
1,000	$10750	$10,750,000.00

ℹ️ All prices are in USD

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EP3SE260F1517I4 Overview

The Intel (formerly Altera) EP3SE260F1517I4 is a high-density Stratix III E family Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) integrating 255,000 logic elements, 16,672,768 bits of embedded memory, and 976 user I/O pins in a 1,517-ball flip-chip BGA package. Built on a 65 nm process and operating at 1.1 V core with 450 MHz core performance, it targets high-throughput DSP, ASIC prototyping, and high-speed serial interconnect designs. The 1,517-pin FCBGA measures 40 mm on a side and provides the I/O density required by parallel memory buses and multi-gigabit transceivers.

An FPGA is a user-programmable semiconductor whose logic fabric and routing are defined after manufacture by a configuration bitstream, allowing one silicon platform to be repurposed across many designs. Within the FPGA taxonomy, the Stratix III E family sits in the high-performance, logic-and-DSP-rich tier (FPGA -> SRAM-based FPGA -> high-density FPGA -> programmable logic device -> semiconductor IC), making it suitable for compute-intensive datapaths rather than glue logic. The 1.1 V core voltage and 65 nm node give a power-performance envelope that newer 28 nm and 14 nm families have since surpassed.

Key features include 255,000 logic elements organized into 10,200 LABs (Logic Array Blocks), 16,672,768 embedded memory bits, 768 embedded 18x18 multipliers, and 12 embedded transceivers supporting multi-gigabit serial protocols. The 'I4' speed grade and industrial temperature rating (-40C to +100C operating) are confirmed by the Altera ordering code, and the FCBGA-1517 substrate enables the I/O count required for DDR3/DDR4 memory controllers, PCI Express Gen2 hard IP, and parallel LVDS interfaces.

Architecturally, Stratix III E devices use a programmable power technology that dynamically scales core voltage per region, reducing dynamic power by up to 30% versus prior Stratix generations. The embedded transceivers support data rates up to 6.375 Gbps depending on speed grade, and the device integrates hard memory controllers, a PCI Express hard IP block, and a security-enabled configuration engine. Designers typically use Altera Quartus II (legacy) or Intel Quartus Prime for synthesis, place-and-route, and bitstream generation.

Typical applications include high-end ASIC prototyping and emulation, high-definition video broadcast equipment, military radar signal processing, test and measurement instrumentation, high-speed data acquisition systems, and telecommunications line cards. The combination of 255K logic elements and 768 DSP blocks makes the part especially well suited to multi-channel FIR filtering, FFT engines, and software-defined radio baseband processing.

When designing with this part, note that Stratix III E devices are mature: Altera has issued multiple hardware errata and recommends designers review the Stratix III device handbook and errata sheets. The 1,517-ball FCBGA requires a multi-layer PCB with microvia stack-ups, controlled-impedance routing for transceiver channels, and a heatsink or thermal pad because junction-to-ambient thermal resistance is non-trivial at full utilization.

This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in Stratix III speed-grade alternatives, and practical PCB thermal guidance not found in the manufacturer datasheet alone.

Drop-in alternatives for EP3SE260F1517I4 — 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 EP3SE260F1517I4 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Family, Speed Grade, Package, Operating Temperature, Process Node.

EP3SE260F1517C2

Altera

Speed Grade: C2

Package: 1517-BBGA, FCBGA

Process Node: TSMC 40 nm