Built for Speed: Quartus II Software Version 5.0 Boosts Stratix II Memory Performance Up to 550 MHz

Fastest Internal Memory Core Frequency of Any FPGA

San Jose, Calif., May 3, 2005—With the release of Quartus^® II software version 5.0, Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) today announced significant enhancements of Stratix^® II FPGA specifications that support higher performance and increased flexibility. Quartus II software version 5.0 improves system performance for digital signal processing (DSP), memory, and I/O-intensive design applications incorporating Stratix II FPGAs, which now feature the fastest memory core frequency of any FPGA on the market. Internal memory block specifications in Stratix II FPGAs have been updated to allow frequencies of up to 550 MHz.

Customers utilizing Quartus II software version 5.0 for designs with Stratix II—the highest-density FPGAs available—can take advantage of these increases in performance:

• M4K block: from 400 MHz to 550 MHz
• Digital Signal Processing (DSP) block: from 420 MHz to 450 MHz
• M512 block: from 380 MHz to 500 MHz
• DDR2 interface (middle speed grade): from 233 MHz to 267 MHz
• DDR2 interface (slowest speed grade): from 200 MHz to 233 MHz

In addition, Quartus II software version 5.0 offers these flexibility enhancements:

• 1.2-V I/O support: enabled in Quartus II version 5.0 service pack 1 (SP1)
• HSTL Class I support: now supported on all I/O banks
• DDR2 and RLDRAM II: now supported on all I/O banks (including side bank)

“The performance and density of today’s high-end FPGAs address a majority of the design starts that historically have used ASICs,” said David Greenfield, Altera’s senior director of product marketing for high-density FPGAs. “When coupled with their inherent flexibility, designers increasingly are choosing FPGAs over ASICs for their high-density, high-performance designs. This trend is evident with the Stratix II series enjoying significant momentum in the market.”

About Altera

Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) is the world’s pioneer in system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions. Combining programmable logic technology with software tools, intellectual property, and technical services, Altera provides high-value programmable solutions to approximately 14,000 customers worldwide. More information is available at www.altera.com.

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