Actel has first 64-Bit 66 MHz Master/Target PCI Solution for under $25

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For Immediate Release

ACTEL HAS FIRST 64-BIT 66MHZ MASTER/TARGET PCI SOLUTION FOR UNDER $25

• New 54,000 System-Gate Antifuse SX32A Combines with Actel's New RTL PCI Core to Offer Maximum Flexibility of High-Speed, Low-Power PCI Designs at a Very Affordable Price
• Full-Featured 64-bit 66 MHz Master/Target PCI Macro Operates at Over 75MHz with Setup and Hold Time to Spare

SUNNYVALE, CA, OCTOBER 11, 1999 -- Actel Corporation (Nasdaq: ACTL) of Sunnyvale, Calif. today unveiled a complete, low-cost 64-bit 66MHz programmable master/target PCI solution. Actel can now deliver a 54,000 system-gate programmable device with master/target PCI functionality in a 329-pin BGA package for under $25 in high volume. Amortized over high volume, the below-$25 price includes the cost of the soft PCI core. For the first time, this puts an FPGA (field programmable gate array) PCI solution in the same price/performance bracket as traditionally lower cost ASICs (application specific integrated circuits). In combination with the new, very high-speed Actel SX32A device, the company's RTL (register transfer level) soft PCI core provides a new level of design flexibility and simplicity for PCI bus designs.

"SX-A delivers so much extra speed that engineers have plenty of room to easily meet system performance and power targets," said Tim Colleran, senior director of product marketing at Actel. "We believe using an RTL implementation such as ours, in contrast to standard parts or embedded and hard-wired silicon approaches, will for the first time give engineers maximum flexibility without sacrificing affordability."

Actel's new 0.25-micron, PCI-compliant SX-A devices are the world's fastest FPGAs, operating at 250 MHz clock to out. The SX-A family is also among the lowest power FPGAs in the world. The family's wide performance guardband of ample "speed to spare" and low power help engineers achieve first-time design success in what Actel calls "ease of performance." The SX32A device loaded with Actel's 66MHz core is able to operate at over 75MHz system performance, delivers ample setup and hold time and requires no pre-placement. The SX72A, the world's largest programmable antifuse part delivering 108,000 system gates, is also PCI compliant. With the PCI core implemented, both the SX32A and SX72A devices will have ample silicon remaining for additional logic functionality.

A unique benefit of Actel's PCI core, and unavailable from any other FPGA vendor, is the use of a soft RTL flow that provides the flexibility and engineering resource savings of easy reuse of the PCI core in other designs as well as a simple portability path to ASICs. Actel's soft core approach, when combined with Actel silicon, provides a very high-performance, low-power, cost-effective and flexible platform for a broad scope of PC and embedded PCI needs in communications, consumer, computer, industrial and military applications.

Historically, designing PCI bus products has been an extremely difficult proposition. Most current FPGA PCI solutions continue to be of limited value because they are gate-level netlists or pre-placed designs, both of which place significant constraints on the designer and the design tools. As a result, it is difficult to consistently meet timing after the core is integrated with additional functionality. However, Actel's antifuse-based SX FPGA family provides the performance and routing resources that allow the use of a highly flexible RTL core while still hitting the stringent PCI performance requirements.

Availability, Design and Prototyping Support and PCI Core Pricing

The SX-A family of silicon consists of four devices ranging in size from 12,000 to 108,000 system gates. Samples of the SX32A and the 108,000 system-gate SX72A are available today. SX-A devices will be available in variety of plastic flat pack and ball grid array packages. The SX-A family is fully supported by Actel's Designer place and route software. An optional PCI evaluation board is available at $995 for prototyping and driver development. The evaluation board plugs into standard PC's and will operate with either Win 95/98 or NT operating systems. If purchased separately, the price of the soft PCI core is $4,995 when restricted to Actel devices. An unrestricted version is available for $19,995. The deliverables include the RTL soft core in both VHDL and Verilog code, test-bench to verify compliance, synthesis and simulation scripts as well as complete documentation.

About Actel

Actel is dedicated to becoming the field programmable gate array (FPGA) provider of choice. The company's FPGAs are used by manufacturers of communications, computer, consumer, industrial control, military/aerospace, and other electronic systems to bring complex, high-density digital designs to market rapidly. Actel, the world's leading supplier of FPGAs based on antifuse technology, has recently introduced ProASIC, the industry's first family of reprogrammable FPGAs based on Flash technology, and is readying a new line of reprogrammable SRAM-based FPGAs for introduction later this year. The company is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol ACTL and is located at 955 East Arques Avenue, Sunnyvale, California, 94086-4533. Telephone: 888-99-ACTEL (992-2835). Internet: http://www.actel.com.

Editor's Note: The Actel name and logo are registered trademarks of Actel Corporation. All other trademarks and servicemarks are the property of their respective owners.