Early Power Estimator User Guide

ID 683272
Date 7/16/2021
Public
Document Table of Contents

1. PowerPlay Early Power Estimator Overview

This user guide describes the PowerPlay Early Power Estimator (EPE) support for Arria® II, Arria V, Cyclone® III, Cyclone IV, Cyclone V, Stratix® III, Stratix IV, Stratix V, and MAX® 10 device families. This user guide provides guidelines to use the PowerPlay EPE at any stage of the FPGA design and provides details about thermal analysis and the factors that contribute to FPGA power consumption. You can calculate the FPGA power with the Microsoft Excel-based PowerPlay EPE spreadsheet. For more accurate power estimation, use the PowerPlay Power Analyzer in the Quartus® II or Quartus Prime software.

Intel recommends switching from the PowerPlay EPE spreadsheet to the PowerPlay Power Analyzer in the Quartus II or Quartus Prime software once the design is available. The PowerPlay Power Analyzer has access to the implemented design details to produce more accurate results.

Intel recommends using these calculations as an estimation of power, not as a specification. You must verify the actual power during device operation as the information is sensitive to the actual device design and the environmental operating conditions.

The features of the PowerPlay EPE spreadsheet include:
  • Estimating the power consumption of your design before creating the design or during the design process
  • Importing device resource information from the Quartus II or Quartus Prime software into the PowerPlay EPE spreadsheet with the use of the Quartus II or Quartus Prime-generated PowerPlay EPE file
  • Performing preliminary thermal analysis of your design