Will larger FPGA devices be available soon?

[PGH]

Hello,

Here is a question for NI insiders:

When will next generation of FPGA based devices come out? 
The current 3 million gate FPGAs (like the PXI-7813R) are just not big enough for some
of our applications. 

The motivation is that we want to move more of the computation load
off of the real-time computer and on to the FPGA, and this uses lots of gates.

Thanks,

Peter H.

[Paul M.]

Peter,

We currently have not announced any larger FPGA's, however I cannot comment on any ongoing internal projects. However, rest assured there are always good things in the pipeline. 😃

We do recognize there is a demand for higher-gate count FPGAs.  In the meantime, there are a number of things you can do to signifcantly reduce gate usage such as reducing array usage, minimizing front panel controls/indicators, and avoiding use of expensive functions like divide and array functions. Also, if your calculations aren't running all the time, you may consider swapping bitfiles on the FPGA programmatically from the host (ie have one bitfile for one portion of a test, and download another bitfile for another test).

Some links that may be useful:
How Do I Change the FPGA Compiler to Optimize for Area or Speed?
http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/websearch/EE940C191DDCE9CE86256E5500783A4D?OpenDocument

How Can I Optimize/Reduce FPGA Resource Usage?
http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/websearch/311C18E2D635FA338625714700664816?OpenDocument

Message Edited by Paul M. on 08-11-2006 12:12 PM