2.2. Estimating Power While Creating the FPGA Design
If your FPGA design is partially complete, you can import a .qptc file (<revision name>.qptc) generated by the Quartus® Prime software into the Power and Thermal Calculator. After importing the information from the .qptc file into the PTC, you can edit the Intel® FPGA PTC data to reflect the device resource estimates for your final design.
If you have run the Quartus® Prime Power Analyzer (QPA), it produces a .qptc file. (See the menu in the Quartus® Prime software.)
By default, this file has a name that matches the project revision name. If you want to specify a custom name for the .qptc file, you can do so either through the Quartus® Prime software (see ) or use the following assignment in the .qsf file:
set_global_assignment -name POWER_AND_THERMAL_CALCULATOR_EXPORT_FILE <filename>
When you open the PTC with an Quartus® Prime project (either from the Tools menu, or if you specified a project on the quartus_ptc command line) the PTC looks for this .qptc file and attempts to open it. If the .qptc file is not found, an error message occurs. After dismissing the error message, you are free to use the PTC to enter design information manually.
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Importing a File
Importing a .qptc file saves you time and effort otherwise spent on manually entering all the information into the PTC. You can also manually change any of the values after importing a file. You can create a .qptc file for an Agilex™ FPGA portfolio devices-based or Stratix® 10-based design, by running the Quartus® Prime Power Analyzer (see the menu in the Quartus® Prime software).
Importing Data into the Power and Thermal Calculator
You must import the .qptc file into the PTC before modifying any information. Also, you must verify all your information after importing a file. Importing a file from the Quartus® Prime software populates all input values based on your design and design settings that were specified in the Quartus® Prime software. Alternatively, you can import values exported from an earlier version of the PTC.
To import data into the PTC, follow these steps:
- On the File menu, click Open and then Browse to an existing Intel® FPGA .qptc file generated by the current or earlier version of the PTC or the Quartus® Prime software. Click Open.
- After the file is imported into the PTC, the cursor changes from busy to normal. If a problem occurs during import, the PTC displays the PTC Import Warnings dialog box. Analyze each unexpected warning to understand the cause. Manually modify the corresponding fields in the PTC after the import completes.
Importing .qptc Data for Stratix® 10 Devices into the Power and Thermal Calculator for Agilex™ FPGA Portfolio Devices
If you want to import a data file originally exported from the Quartus® Prime software for a design targeting Stratix® 10 devices, for use in the Agilex™ FPGA portfolio devices version of the Power and Thermal Calculator, follow these steps:
- In the Stratix® 10 version of the Power and Thermal Calculator, open the existing .qptc file generated by the Quartus® Prime software based on a design targeting an Stratix® 10 device.
- Save the file as a .ptc file, and exit the Stratix® 10 Power and Thermal Calculator.
- Launch the Power and Thermal Calculator, select Open an existing PTC design file, navigate to the .ptc file created in step 2, and click the Override family in design file..
Figure 2. Override Device Selection
- Select the appropriate Agilex™ FPGA portfolio device and modify resources and other settings to reflect your planned design targeting the Agilex™ FPGA portfolio devices.
Importing an Early Power Estimator file from an Earlier Version to the Power and Thermal Calculator (For Stratix® 10 devices only)
If you want to import a .csv file originally exported from the Quartus® Prime software version 19.4, or from the Early Power Estimator spreadsheet version 19.4, for a design targeting an Stratix® 10 device, for use in the Stratix® 10 version of the Power and Thermal Calculator version 20.3 or later, follow these steps:
- Open the Early Power Estimator .csv file exported from the 19.4 version of the Quartus® Prime software or Early Power Estimator spreadsheet in the Stratix® 10 version of the Power and Thermal Calculator.
- Save the file as a .ptc file, and exit the Stratix® 10 Power and Thermal Calculator.
Appending an Imported .ptc or .qptc File to An Existing Design in the Power and Thermal Calculator
With a design open in the PTC, you can use the command to import an external .ptc or .qptc file and append the imported content to the current file.
Unlike the command, does not overwrite existing content; rather, imported rows are appended as new rows in the relevant tables.
Tables that cannot have multiple rows are not affected, even if they are specified in the imported profile; the PTC displays a warning message if a single-value row in the imported profile is different from the value in the PTC before the Import Design operation was performed.
Note:
Some general guidelines about the import process:
- A .qptc file created for an Agilex™ FPGA portfolio device or Stratix® 10 design, can always be imported into the PTC for use with the same device family.
- A .ptc file created for an Stratix® 10 design can be imported into the PTC for use with the similar design targeting an Agilex™ FPGA portfolio device.
- A .qptc file created for an Agilex™ FPGA portfolio device design, cannot be imported into the PTC for use with an Stratix® 10 design.
- Some power-consuming resources — such as transceivers — of an original Stratix® 10 design might not be carried through the import process.