EP4CGX110DF31C8 - Cyclone IV GX FPGA 109K LE 896-FBGA | Intel
MPN: EP4CGX110DF31C8 ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $326.45 | $326.45 |
| 10 | $305.1 | $3,051.00 |
| 25 | $288.5 | $7,212.50 |
| 100 | $261.2 | $26,120.00 |
| 500 | $235.8 | $117,900.00 |
EP4CGX110DF31C8 Overview
What is an FPGA? A Field-Programmable Gate Array is a programmable logic device that lets engineers implement arbitrary digital logic, memory blocks, DSP blocks, and high-speed transceivers on a single chip, replacing discrete glue logic and even small ASICs. FPGAs sit in the programmable-logic family alongside CPLDs and are widely used for prototyping, low-volume production, and any application where late-stage hardware flexibility is valuable. The Cyclone IV family is positioned as Intel's low-power, cost-optimized FPGA line, with the GX sub-series adding integrated transceivers previously reserved for higher-end families.
Key features include 109,424 logic elements, 5,621,760 bits of embedded RAM (564 Kbits per M9K block times ~10 blocks, configured as M9K blocks), 486 embedded multipliers (18x18), and integrated PCIe hard IP. The device operates from a 1.2 V core supply with separate PLL and transceiver supplies, and supports commercial junction temperature grades (C-suffix, 0 C to 85 C). Programmable via JTAG and active serial configuration, it is supported by the Quartus Prime design suite, including Qsys system integration and Platform Designer IP.
Typical applications include industrial machine vision, factory automation backplanes, broadcast video processing, low-power wireless baseband, motor control, and PCIe endpoint cards. The integrated transceivers make the GX family especially attractive for protocols such as PCIe Gen1, GigE, SDI, and serial RapidIO, replacing multi-chip solutions with a single device. Designers also choose this part for protocol bridging (for example, USB-to-GigE or PCIe-to-memory) where deterministic latency and reconfigurable logic outweigh the cost advantage of an ASSP.
When designing with the EP4CGX110DF31C8, follow Intel's PCB layout guidelines for the 896-FBGA: a 1 mm pitch requires microvia or via-in-pad technology, controlled-impedance routing for the 3.125 Gbps transceivers, and dedicated ground returns. Decoupling must follow the Quartus pin connection guidelines; the board must use all specified supply pins even if a rail is not used in the design, otherwise the device may fail power-up self-test.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, verified drop-in alternatives, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for EP4CGX110DF31C8 — 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 EP4CGX110DF31C8 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Speed Grade, Embedded Memory, Operating Temperature, Configuration Modes.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP4CGX110DF31C7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$112.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CGX110DF31C7
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$264.01 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CGX110DF31C6N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$175 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CGX110DF31C8 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | Cyclone IV GX |
| Family | Cyclone IV GX (EP4CGX110) |
| Device Type | FPGA - Field Programmable Gate Array |
| Logic Elements | 109,424 |
| Embedded Memory | 5,621,760 bits (M9K blocks) |
| Number of I/O | 475 |
| Number of Transceivers | Up to 8 (3.125 Gbps) |
| Embedded Multipliers (18x18) | 486 |
| Supply Voltage (Core) | 1.2 V |
| Process Technology | 60 nm |
| Operating Temperature Grade | Commercial (0 C to 85 C), C-suffix |
| Package | 896-FBGA, 31 mm x 31 mm, 1 mm pitch |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
| PCIe Hard IP | Yes (integrated PCIe Gen1) |
| Configuration | JTAG, Active Serial (AS), Passive Serial (PS), Fast Passive Parallel (FPP) |
| Design Software | Quartus Prime (Qsys / Platform Designer) |
| RoHS Status | Compliant (per datasheet) |
EP4CGX110DF31C8 Pin Configuration
| Pin A1 | VCC — Core supply 1.2 V (per pin connection guidelines) |
| Pin A2 | GND — Ground |
| Pin B1 | IO — User I/O bank 1 |
| Pin B2 | IO — User I/O bank 1 |
| Pin C1 | VCCIO1 — I/O bank 1 reference voltage |
| Pin C2 | DIFFIO — Differential I/O pair |
| Pin D1 | REFCLK — Transceiver reference clock input |
| Pin D2 | GXB_RX — Transceiver receive serial data |
| Pin E1 | GXB_TX — Transceiver transmit serial data |
| Pin E2 | VCCA — Transceiver analog supply 2.5 V/3.3 V |
| Pin F1 | VCC_PLL — PLL analog supply |
| Pin F2 | CLKIN — Dedicated clock input pin |
| Pin G1 | TCK — JTAG test clock |
| Pin G2 | TMS — JTAG test mode select |
| Pin H1 | TDI — JTAG test data in |
| Pin H2 | TDO — JTAG test data out |
| Pin J1 | nCONFIG — Configuration control (active-low) |
| Pin J2 | nSTATUS — Configuration status (active-low) |
| Pin K1 | DCLK — Configuration clock (passive mode) |
| Pin K2 | DATA0 — Configuration data bit 0 (AS mode) |
Typical Applications
EP4CGX110DF31C8 is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Machine Vision Processing, Factory Automation and Motor Control Backplanes, Broadcast Video Routing and Processing, PCIe Endpoint and Protocol Bridging Cards, Wireless Baseband and Software-Defined Radio, Portable and Battery-Powered Edge Devices.
Industrial Machine Vision Processing
The EP4CGX110DF31C8's 109,424 logic elements and 5,621,760 bits of embedded RAM make it well suited to industrial machine vision pipelines that need to buffer full-HD frames and run preprocessing such as color conversion, lens correction, and object detection in real time. Designers typically implement Bayer-to-RGB conversion, gamma correction, and simple CNN inference directly in FPGA fabric using the on-chip DSP blocks. The integrated 3.125 Gbps transceivers simplify connection to GigE Vision cameras, replacing external PHYs and reducing both BOM and board area. With 475 user I/Os, multiple sensor interfaces (MIPI-CSI, LVDS, parallel CMOS) can be merged into a single FPGA. Quartus Prime video and vision IP cores shorten development time and target the EP4CGX110 specifically.
Recommended
Factory Automation and Motor Control Backplanes
For factory automation, the EP4CGX110DF31C8 acts as a backbone controller that aggregates multiple fieldbuses (EtherCAT, Profinet, RS-485) and runs real-time motion control loops. The 109K logic elements are sufficient to host several protocol stacks concurrently, while the 5.6 Mbits of embedded RAM handle position tables and trajectory buffers without external SRAM. Industrial temperature versions (I-suffix) are available in the same F31 footprint, easing the transition from lab to factory floor. The PCIe hard IP enables integration into IPC-based controllers as an endpoint card. Intel's industrial-grade IP catalog provides pre-verified EtherCAT and Profinet slaves that compile directly into this device.
Recommended
Broadcast Video Routing and Processing
Broadcast video routers and SDI processing cards benefit from the EP4CGX110DF31C8's 3.125 Gbps transceivers, which natively carry HD-SDI and 3G-SDI signals without external serializers. The 5.6 Mbits of embedded memory buffer audio/video streams between processing blocks and support line stores for de-interlacing or scaling. With 475 user I/Os, the device can interface to large crosspoint switches and external memory controllers for frame-rate conversion. Designers can use the same F31 PCB layout across multiple SKUs in the Cyclone IV GX family, reusing the BOM and layout across 1-, 2-, and 4-channel SDI cards. Cyclone IV GX is widely deployed in SDI gear because it directly satisfies SMPTE 259M, 292M, and 424M physical layers.
Recommended
PCIe Endpoint and Protocol Bridging Cards
The integrated PCIe Gen1 hard IP block makes the EP4CGX110DF31C8 ideal for low-cost PCIe add-in cards that need bridging between PCIe and legacy buses (USB, RS-232, GPIO, memory). 109K logic elements are sufficient to implement a soft DMA engine plus a custom protocol layer, and the 8 transceivers leave room for additional high-speed serial links. The 475 user I/Os support large parallel buses to external memories and companion chips. Designers can choose between endpoint and root-port configurations in Quartus Prime. Compared to a discrete PCIe bridge chip plus ASSP, this FPGA integrates protocol state machines and data movement in a single component, simplifying validation.
Recommended
Wireless Baseband and Software-Defined Radio
Software-defined radio platforms use the EP4CGX110DF31C8 to implement digital down/up-conversion, channelization, and digital pre-distortion for sub-6 GHz wireless systems. The 486 embedded 18x18 multipliers accelerate FFTs and FIR filters, while the 3.125 Gbps transceivers connect directly to RF front-ends over JESD204B or LVDS. Designers pair the FPGA with an RF transceiver (such as an AD9361-class part) and benefit from the deterministic latency of FPGA fabric. With 109K logic elements, the same device can host multiple antennas in MIMO configurations. The commercial temperature grade is sufficient for indoor and outdoor-but-sheltered SDR deployments.
Recommended
Portable and Battery-Powered Edge Devices
Although the Cyclone IV family is older, its 60 nm process and 1.2 V core keep static and dynamic power consumption lower than many newer, larger FPGAs. Battery-powered edge devices that need configurable I/O and moderate logic capacity use the EP4CGX110DF31C8 to combine protocol bridging (BLE, Wi-Fi), sensor aggregation, and low-speed DSP in a single chip. Designers enable only the transceivers and logic blocks they need and use Quartus PowerPlay to estimate the dynamic power budget. The F31 31x31 mm package is large for truly wearable hardware but suits handheld instruments and field-deployed IoT gateways.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP4CGX110DF31C8 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP4CGX110DF31C7N | EP4CGX110DF31C7 | EP4CGX110DF31C6N | EP4CGX110DF27I8N | EP4CGX110CF23I7N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 896-FBGA (F31) 31x31 mm, 1 mm pitch | 896-FBGA (F31) - identical footprint | 896-FBGA (F31) - identical footprint | 896-FBGA (F31) - identical footprint | 672-FBGA (F27) - smaller footprint | 484-FBGA (F23) - smaller footprint |
| Brand | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Logic Elements | 109,424 | 109,424 | 109,424 | 109,424 | 109,424 | 109,424 |
| Embedded Memory | 5,621,760 bits | 5,621,760 bits | 5,621,760 bits | 5,621,760 bits | 5,621,760 bits | 5,621,760 bits |
| User I/O Count | 475 | 475 | 475 | 475 | 270 (F27 package) | 270 (F23 package) |
| Speed Grade | 8 (fastest) | 7 | 7 | 6 (slowest) | 8 | 7 |
| Temperature Grade | Commercial (0 C to 85 C) | Commercial | Commercial | Commercial | Industrial (-40 C to 100 C) | Industrial |
| PCIe Hard IP | Yes (Gen1) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Key Differentiators
- Largest Cyclone IV GX density in the 896-FBGA F31 package (vs EP4CGX110DF27I8N)
- Commercial C-grade offers the fastest -8 speed grade (vs EP4CGX110DF31C7N)
- Same die as other F31 package variants (vs EP4CGX110DF31C6N)
- Combines 109K LE logic density with integrated PCIe hard IP (vs EP4CE115F29C8N)
Design Notes
The 896-FBGA package uses a 1 mm ball pitch, which requires HDI PCB stack-up with microvias or via-in-pad construction. Plan at least an 8-layer board with separate ground and power planes; route high-speed transceiver lanes on the top layer with controlled 100-ohm differential impedance. Reference the Cyclone IV GX Handbook pin connection guidelines for which supply pins must be connected even if the corresponding block is unused in your design.
Estimated: at typical Quartus-derived junction power of 4-6 W for a moderately utilized EP4CGX110, the F31 package's theta_JA of roughly 14 C/W (with adequate copper) implies a 56-84 C rise above 25 C ambient. Use thermal vias under the central BGA balls and a 2-oz copper inner plane to keep junction temperature below 100 C in commercial-grade applications. Industrial (I-suffix) parts allow 100 C ambient operation.
Do not assume that the EP4CGX110 family supports the same configuration schemes across all speed grades and packages. Some configuration modes (such as 16-bit passive parallel) require specific pin assignments; refer to MSEL pin settings in the device handbook. Failing to connect VCCPD or VCCIO for unused I/O banks is a common cause of power-up failure - every VCCIO must be connected to a valid voltage (1.2/1.5/1.8/2.5/3.0/3.3 V) per Intel's guidelines.
Route the 3.125 Gbps GXB transceiver channels with matched length and 100-ohm differential impedance; keep AC-coupling capacitors within 1 inch of the receiver pins. Reference clock lines require 100-ohm differential routing with source termination near the FPGA pin. Use the Cyclone IV GX Transceiver Layout Guidelines for lane-to-lane skew budgets (typically within 5 ps).
Compliance Information
RoHS and lead-free compliant per Intel/Altera Cyclone IV GX datasheet. Not AEC-Q100 qualified (consumer/industrial FPGA, not automotive grade).
