Part number guide
How to read an Intel (Altera) FPGA part number
An Intel (Altera) ordering code is a run of fields with no separators: family, variant, hard-IP option, member, package, temperature, speed and suffix. Every field changes what you receive, and two codes that differ by one letter can be different silicon.
The field definitions below are taken from Intel's own ordering-code figures. Cyclone V is the worked scheme; later families such as Arria V and Stratix V follow the same pattern with their own member codes.
Anatomy of an ordering code
5CEFA9F23I7N — a Cyclone V E with 301K logic elements in a 484-pin FineLine BGA, industrial temperature, speed grade 7, lead-free.
Every field, Cyclone V
| Family signature |
|
| Family variant |
|
| Embedded hard IP |
|
| Member code |
|
| Transceiver count |
|
| Package type |
|
| Package code |
|
| Temperature |
|
| Fabric speed grade |
|
| Processor cores |
|
| Suffix |
|
Pin count or body size? The package-code rule
The digits after the package letter mean different things in different generations. Read them the wrong way and a 484-pin part looks like a 23-pin one.
Digits are the pin count
F484 = 484 pins
- Cyclone, Cyclone II, Cyclone III
- Stratix, Stratix II, Stratix III, Stratix GX, Stratix II GX
- Arria GX
- MAX II, MAX V
- APEX II
Digits are a package code
F23 = 484 pins
- Cyclone IV, Cyclone V
- Arria II, Arria V
- Stratix IV, Stratix V
- Stratix 10
In the newer scheme the code tracks the body size in millimetres — F17 is a 17 mm package, F23 is 23 mm — so the pin count has to come from the package table, not the part number.
Worked examples
| 5C | Family signature: Cyclone V |
| E | Family variant: enhanced logic/memory |
| F | Embedded hard IP: no hard PCIe, up to 2 hard memory controllers |
| A9 | Member code: 301K logic elements |
| F23 | FineLine BGA, package code 23 = 484 pins |
| I | Industrial (TJ −40 °C to 100 °C) |
| 7 | FPGA fabric speed grade 7 |
| N | Lead-free packaging |
On Cyclone V the two digits after the package letter are a package code, not the pin count: F23 is the 484-pin FineLine BGA, 23 mm across.
| 5C | Cyclone V |
| E | Enhanced logic/memory |
| B | Embedded hard IP: no hard PCIe or hard memory controller |
| A4 | 49K logic elements |
| F23 | 484-pin FineLine BGA |
| C | Commercial (TJ 0 °C to 85 °C) |
| 7 | Speed grade 7 |
| N | Lead-free |
The letter after the variant matters: an A4 with B has no hard memory controller, the same A4 with F has one. Same logic, same package, not the same part.
| EP4CE | Cyclone IV E |
| 22 | Device: EP4CE22 (22,320 logic elements) |
| F17 | FineLine BGA, 17 mm body — 256 pins |
| C | Commercial |
| 8 | Speed grade 8 |
| N | Lead-free |
Cyclone IV already uses the body-size package code: F17 is 17 mm, not 17 pins.
| EP2C | Cyclone II |
| 35 | Device: EP2C35 (33,216 logic elements) |
| F484 | FineLine BGA, 484 pins |
| C | Commercial |
| 8 | Speed grade 8 |
| N | Lead-free |
Older families write the pin count itself: F484 is 484 pins. The same package in a Cyclone IV or V code would be F23.
What the part number does not tell you
- Usable I/O. The pin or ball count is the whole package. User I/O is always lower and differs between devices in the same package.
- Lifecycle status. Nothing in an ordering code says whether a part is active, not recommended for new designs, or discontinued. That comes from the manufacturer's product change notices.
- Whether it was ever built. A code can be perfectly well formed and describe a combination that was never offered. Valid syntax is not evidence of a real part.
- Date code or revision. Not encoded. If a build needs a specific one, state it on the order.
Check a specific part
Every part page carries the specifications and package details for that exact code. Search a part number, or send one for stock and pricing — including obsolete and end-of-life devices.
Field definitions from Intel's Cyclone V Device Overview ordering-code figures. Verify against the manufacturer's current documentation before ordering. Intel, Altera, Cyclone, Arria, Stratix and MAX are trademarks of their respective owners.