EP4SGX360FH29C4 - Stratix IV GX FPGA 353K LE | Intel | BGA-780
MPN: EP4SGX360FH29C4 ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4250 | $4,250.00 |
| 10 | $3995 | $39,950.00 |
| 100 | $3700 | $370,000.00 |
| 500 | $3450 | $1,725,000.00 |
| 1,000 | $3225 | $3,225,000.00 |
EP4SGX360FH29C4 Overview
A Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a reconfigurable semiconductor device whose logic fabric, routing, and I/O resources are defined after manufacturing via a hardware description language (HDL) bitstream. Within the broader programmable-logic taxonomy, the Stratix IV GX sits in the high-end tier alongside competing families such as Xilinx Virtex-6 and Lattice ECP3; the GX suffix denotes integrated multi-gigabit transceivers. Compared with a fixed-function ASIC, an FPGA provides faster time-to-market and field upgradeability at the cost of higher per-unit silicon area, higher dynamic power, and a unit price typically reserved for prototyping or low-volume production.
Key features of the EP4SGX360FH29C4 include 24 transceivers supporting rates up to 8.5 Gbps, dedicated DSP blocks for high-speed fixed- and floating-point math, on-chip tri-speed Ethernet MACs, and PCI Express hard IP. The FH29 speed grade targets a balance of timing margin and power, while the C4 commercial temperature grade (-0°C to +85°C) suits lab and rack-mounted systems. Hard memory controllers and partial reconfiguration support allow designers to swap logic regions on the fly without disturbing active data paths.
Typical applications include 10G/40G line-card aggregation, radar and software-defined radio DSP front-ends, ASIC prototyping, high-speed test and measurement, and broadcast video processing. The 780-ball FC-HFBGA (33 x 33 mm) package is designed for high-layer-count PCBs with matched-impedance controlled impedance traces for the transceiver channels.
When designing with this device, follow the Stratix IV GX pin connection guidelines, route each transceiver channel as a 100-ohm differential pair with continuous reference planes, and provide adequate decoupling on every 0.9V / 1.1V / 2.5V rail. JTAG access is required for boundary-scan and configuration verification, and the configuration flash must be sized for the compressed bitstream plus margin.
This page consolidates distributor pricing, verified drop-in alternatives within the Stratix IV family, and practical PCB/thermal guidance that is not gathered in a single place in the manufacturer datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for EP4SGX360FH29C4 — 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 EP4SGX360FH29C4 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Speed Grade, Operating Temperature, Family, RoHS Status.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP4SGX360FH29C3
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$1395 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4SGX360FH29C3N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$1495 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4SGX360FH29C2XN
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$2210 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4SGX360FH29C2X
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$3050 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4SGX360FF35C4N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$3550 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4SGX360FF35I4N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$1245 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4SGX360FH29C4 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | Stratix IV GX |
| Family | Stratix IV |
| Logic Elements | 353,600 |
| Adaptive Logic Modules (ALMs) | 141,440 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 14,144 |
| Embedded Memory (bits) | 23,105,536 |
| User I/Os | 289 |
| Core Voltage | 0.9 V |
| Process Node | 40 nm |
| Operating Temperature | 0 C to +85 C (commercial, C4 grade) |
| Package | 780-ball FC-HFBGA (HBGA-780), 33 x 33 mm |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
| Configuration Method | JTAG / Fast Passive Parallel / Active Serial |
EP4SGX360FH29C4 780-ball fc-hfbga (hbga-780), 33 x 33 mm Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP4SGX360FH29C4 (780-ball fc-hfbga (hbga-780), 33 x 33 mm 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 EP4SGX360FH29C4.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP4SGX360FH29C4 is suitable for 6 applications: 10G/40G Line-Card Aggregation, ASIC Prototyping, Software-Defined Radio (SDR) DSP Front-End, Radar Signal Processing, High-Speed Test and Measurement, Broadcast Video Processing.
10G/40G Line-Card Aggregation
The EP4SGX360FH29C4 is well matched to 10G and 40G Ethernet line-card aggregation because its Stratix IV GX transceivers reach multi-gigabit serial data rates with hard PCS and KR-compatible PHY support. The 353,600 logic elements provide headroom for traffic managers, packet parsers, and lookup engines that are typical of metro-aggregation designs. The 23,105,536 bits of embedded memory let designers buffer bursts without external RLDRAM, simplifying board layout. Compared with an ASIC, the FPGA allows rapid feature scaling as packet processing standards evolve, making the EP4SGX360FH29C4 a preferred choice for first-deployment aggregation gear.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping
With 353,600 logic elements, the EP4SGX360FH29C4 is large enough to host mid-complexity SoC ASIC prototypes on a single device, eliminating multi-FPGA partitioning pain for many designs. The 40nm architecture and mature Quartus II place-and-route flow deliver stable timing closure, which is critical when the prototype must match the ASIC netlist. On-chip block RAM and DSP blocks let designers emulate memory controllers and signal-processing blocks directly. For designs that exceed the device, multi-FPGA partitioning kits using EP4SGX360FH29C4 are widely available, making it a practical prototyping platform.
Recommended
Software-Defined Radio (SDR) DSP Front-End
The EP4SGX360FH29C4 suits SDR DSP front-ends because its dedicated DSP blocks deliver high GFLOPS for baseband processing while the integrated transceivers handle ADC/DAC interface and RF data conversion. The 289 user I/Os allow direct parallel interfaces to wideband ADC/DAC pairs without external mux logic. Embedded memory of 23 Mb supports long FFT windows and channelization filters. The commercial temperature grade is sufficient for indoor SDR enclosures; ruggedized variants require the I-grade EP4SGX360FH29I4 substitute.
Recommended
Radar Signal Processing
Radar systems benefit from the EP4SGX360FH29C4's combination of DSP throughput, embedded memory bandwidth, and high-speed serial links for ADC/DAC interfacing. The device can host pulse compression, moving target indication (MTI), and beamforming pipelines in a single chip for mid-range phased-array radars. The HBGA-780 package provides the thermal headroom needed for sustained DSP workloads at full clock rate. For dual-redundant radar processing, two EP4SGX360FH29C4 devices can be paired with matched-impedance SERDES links.
Recommended
High-Speed Test and Measurement
The EP4SGX360FH29C4 is well suited to high-end oscilloscope, logic analyzer, and protocol analyzer front-ends because its 8.5 Gbps-class transceivers can aggregate multiple test lanes, while the 353,600 logic elements implement deep trigger sequencers and protocol decoding state machines. The 780-ball BGA package supports clean power delivery for low-jitter analog performance. Embedded memory serves as deep capture buffer for serial protocol analysis, often replacing expensive external SRAM.
Recommended
Broadcast Video Processing
Broadcast video routers, format converters, and SDI-over-IP gateways use the EP4SGX360FH29C4 for its combination of DSP blocks (for scaling and de-interlacing), embedded memory (for line/frame buffering), and multi-gigabit transceivers (for 3G-SDI / 12G-SDI and SMPTE 2022/2110 IP transport). The 289 user I/Os allow direct connection to multiple SDI PHY chips. Designers targeting 4K and 8K workflows benefit from the 23 Mb of embedded RAM that supports multi-frame buffers without external memory.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP4SGX360FH29C4 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP4SGX360FH29C3 | EP4SGX360FH29C3N | EP4SGX360FH29C2XN | EP4SGX360FH29C2X | EP4SGX360FF35C4N | EP4SGX360FF35I4N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Package | 780-ball FC-HFBGA (HBGA-780) | 780-ball FC-HFBGA (HBGA-780) - same | 780-ball FC-HFBGA (HBGA-780) - same | 780-ball FC-HFBGA (HBGA-780) - same | 780-ball FC-HFBGA (HBGA-780) - same | 780-ball FC-HFBGA (HBGA-780) - same (FF35 pin map) | 780-ball FC-HFBGA (HBGA-780) - same (FF35 pin map) |
| Logic Elements | 353,600 | 353,600 | 353,600 | 353,600 | 353,600 | 353,600 | 353,600 |
| Speed Grade | C4 | C3 (slower) | C3 (slower) | C2 (slower) | C2 (slower) | C4 (same) | I4 (slower but industrial temp) |
| Temperature Grade | Commercial (0 C to +85 C) | Commercial | Commercial | Commercial | Commercial / Extended | Commercial | Industrial (-40 C to +100 C) |
| Embedded Memory (bits) | 23,105,536 | 23,105,536 | 23,105,536 | 23,105,536 | 23,105,536 | 23,105,536 | 23,105,536 |
| Process Node | 40 nm | 40 nm | 40 nm | 40 nm | 40 nm | 40 nm | 40 nm |
Key Differentiators
- Highest speed grade (C4) within the Stratix IV GX 780-ball FC-HFBGA family (vs EP4SGX360FH29C3)
- Same 780-ball package as other Stratix IV GX variants - drop-in compatible (vs EP4SGX360FF35C4N)
- Commercial temperature grade optimized for lab and rack-mount equipment (vs EP4SGX360FF35I4N)
Design Notes
The HBGA-780 package requires a high-layer-count PCB (typically 12 layers or more) with continuous ground and power planes for transceiver reference. Each multi-gigabit transceiver channel must be routed as a 100-ohm differential pair with intra-pair skew held below 1 ps for data rates above 5 Gbps. Decoupling must include bulk 100 uF tantalum or polymer caps on each 0.9V / 1.1V rail plus 0.1 uF / 0.01 uF / 0.001 uF ceramic capacitors placed within 100 mil of the BGA balls.
Estimated: at full transceiver utilization and 70% logic utilization, the EP4SGX360FH29C4 dissipates approximately 10-15 W. With the HBGA-780 thermal resistance of approximately 4-6 C/W on a 12-layer PCB with thermal vias, the junction temperature rise above ambient is 40-90 C - adequate airflow or a heat-spreader is required to keep Tj below 100 C for reliable commercial-grade operation. Use the Stratix IV thermal sensor IP to monitor die temperature in real time.
Do not mix FH29 pin-map and FF35 pin-map variants on the same PCB layout - although both are HBGA-780, the ball-function assignment differs and would cause design failures. Always check the Quartus II pin-out file and confirm the package code 'FH29' or 'FF35' matches the PCB footprint before tape-out. Also note that the 'N' suffix indicates lead-free / Pb-free terminal finish - verify this matches your manufacturing process.
Compliance Information
RoHS and REACH compliance verified through Intel FPGA product page. AEC-Q100 is not applicable for commercial-grade FPGA. Lead-free and halogen-free status depends on the specific package option code (N-suffix typically denotes lead-free).
