ALTERA DEBUTS QUARTUS II SOFTWARE VER. 5.1.

Altera Corporation (NASDAQ:ALTR), San Jose, has introduced version 5.1 of its Quartus(R) II design software. This latest version includes design support for the new Stratix(R) II GX FPGA family and completes the rollout of two key tools for increasing designer productivity -- the PowerPlay technology suite and the Quartus II incremental design flow.

Additional productivity enhancements in Quartus II software version 5.1 include immediate and full license access to popular premium MegaCore(R) intellectual property (IP) functions and the introduction of an external logic analyzer interface.

"In the past two years, the Quartus II worldwide commercial user base has grown more than any other PLD software tool -- by 70 percent in 2004 alone," said Chris Balough, director of software and Nios(R) marketing at Altera. "The ease-of-use and productivity advantages that Quartus II delivers, in concert with the growing adoption of our programmable logic solutions, is fueling this growth rate."

Productivity Features

Quartus II software version 5.1 includes features for enabling the highest productivity for programmable logic and structured ASIC designs. New features include the following:

-- Stratix II GX Device Support: Designers can begin designing now for the entire Stratix II GX family using Quartus II software version 5.1.

-- PowerPlay Technology Suite: With the completion of the PowerPlay technology suite rollout, Quartus II software users now have the industry's most advanced tools for programmable logic power analysis and optimization. When compared to Quartus II software version 5.0, the power optimization features delivered in version 5.1 reduce dynamic power consumption by an average of 20 percent, and up to 60 percent in Altera's Stratix II devices. Additionally, version 5.1 includes a new power optimization adviser, which complements the area and performance optimization advisers introduced in Quartus II software version 4.1. These powerful aids provide users with real-time, step-by-step guidance on how to optimize Quartus II software usage for these design dimensions.

-- Incremental Design Flow: Incremental compilation enables designers to segment designs into physical and logical partitions for synthesis and fitting. With the incremental compilation bottom-up flow introduced in version 5.1, individual engineers can independently develop and optimize functions and then easily aggregate them into a completed design. This feature complements the top-down block-based flow introduced earlier this year, which allows a designer to preserve the performance of specific blocks while other blocks are undergoing optimization.

-- Popular IP Blocks: The Altera subscription program now includes full licenses for some of its most popular MegaCore functions, helping designers to reduce design time. Additionally, both Quartus II software Web Edition and Subscription Edition now contain a set of embedded peripherals previously licensed separately with the Nios II embedded processor.

-- External Logic Analyzer Interface: In addition to using the SignalTap(R) II embedded logic analyzer feature, Quartus II designers can employ the new logic analyzer interface function to gain visibility of internal FPGA nodes when utilizing a logic analyzer for board-level debugging.

For more information about Quartus II software, visit www.altera.com/quartus2.

Pricing and Availability

Both the Subscription Edition and the Web Edition of Quartus II software version 5.1 will be available this week. The subscription edition will ship to all customers with an active software subscription. Altera's software subscription program simplifies the process of obtaining Altera(R) design software by consolidating software products and maintenance charges into one annual subscription payment. The annual subscription for the Altera design software is $2,000 for a node-locked PC license. Quartus II Web Edition software can be downloaded for free from http://www.altera.com/q2webedition. Quartus II design software supports major operating systems, including Windows XP; Windows 2000; Sun Solaris 8 and 9; Red Hat Linux 8.0, and Enterprise 3.0 WS; and HP-UX 11.0. New or existing customers may obtain a software subscription online at the Altera web site, http://www.altera.com, or from Altera distributors worldwide.

About Altera

Altera Corporation 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.

For more information, visit http://www.altera.com or call 408/544-6397.