Which version of FPGA to use? |

Which version of FPGA to use?

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Hello.

I am a student and have started my MS Thesis--designing pulse compression module over FPGA. I am thinking of goin for Virtex 6, since so far it claims to be the fastest.
Please comment and guide.
Thanks

Discussion started by Aysha , on 15 November 01:12 PM

Replies

Bruce Fienberg, 2009-11-29 14:45:40

Virtex-6 is a good choice. I'm not certain the performance you require, the dedicated DSP slices will support different configuration options that will likely meet or exceed your performance requirements. Depending on your design background you could do this either in HDL or using the Xilinx SysGen tool in the DSP edition of the ISE Design Suite. HDL will be faster but will take a little more work. You might consider speaking to the technical experts who work with our university program.

Nick L-Laas, 2009-11-18 15:39:59

I'm not familiar with your application, but "fast" is a very nebulous concept in the world of FPGAs.

FPGAs are comprised of a variety of processing elements, each optimized for a different function. These processing elements vary significantly from product line to product line, making it difficult to define the "fastness" and making apples-to-apples comparisons between FPGA models nearly impossible.

What is your experience level? Virtex 6 FPGAs are very powerful and very expensive, and behavioral—or other high level—code may run just as fast on a Spartan 3 as on the Virtex 6.

It might help to know more about your processing requirements, your experience with FPGAs, and how important the FPGA portion of your project is (is the goal of the project to develop an FPGA core or to prove your control scheme?).

But to give you a short answer: you are probably safe with the Virtex 6. It is far more likely to be overkill than not good enough.