Altera Agilex 3 is a power- and cost-optimized FPGA and SoC FPGA family for compact embedded and intelligent-edge systems. It combines programmable logic with connectivity options such as PCIe 3.0 x4 and transceivers up to 12.5 Gbps; SoC versions also integrate dual Arm Cortex-A55 processors. Altera says the family delivers up to 1.9× higher fabric performance and up to 38% lower total power than its previous generation, but those are vendor claims—not guarantees for every design.
What is Agilex 3?
Agilex 3 extends Altera’s Agilex portfolio toward designs with tighter power, thermal, cost, and board-space limits. An FPGA lets designers configure hardware logic for a particular workload, which can provide deterministic response and hardware acceleration alongside or instead of relying solely on a general-purpose processor.
The family targets embedded and intelligent-edge equipment, including robotics, factory automation, industrial control, machine vision and video/broadcast systems. Altera also identifies medical electronics, test and measurement, data-center edge functions, and defense systems as application areas. Whether a device is suitable depends on the specific workload, interfaces, package, and power budget.
What performance and power improvements does Altera claim?
Altera’s product materials claim up to 1.9× higher fabric performance and up to 38% lower total power than the previous generation. These are maximum comparative claims from Altera, not independently established results or predictions for every part and workload. Actual power and performance depend on the selected device, design, operating conditions, and implementation.
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- Designed for students and beginners looking to understand Digital Logic, fundamentals of FPGAs
- Features the Xilinx Artix 7 FPGA compatible with Vivado Design Suite WebPACK Edition (free download available from Xilinx)
- On board user interfaces include 16 user switches, 16 LEDs, 5 user pushbuttons, and a
- Expansion opportunities with four Pmod ports including 3 standard 12-pin Pmod ports and 1 dual
- Does NOT ship with micro USB cable
Altera attributes the family’s positioning to Intel 7 process technology, second-generation Hyperflex architecture, increased system integration, fixed low core voltage, power islands, and power gating. Agilex 3 uses a monolithic die architecture intended to support higher integration and smaller packages.
Which Agilex 3 devices include processors?
Agilex 3 includes FPGA and SoC FPGA variants. The SoC variants integrate a dual-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor subsystem with programmable logic. That combination can suit designs that need software-controlled functions alongside configurable hardware, but the processor subsystem is not part of every Agilex 3 device.
Rank #2
- Altera 10M04SA FPGA with 4,000 Logic Elements. This FPGA Development Kit requires an external JTAG Programmer. The MAX10 FPGA is a great chip to learn FPGA programming with. The MAX10 includes the configuration flash, 12 bit ADC, 20KByte of SRAM and low voltage regulators on chip.
- The board includes a 50MHz Oscillator to provide high speed control over internal gates of the MAX 10 FPGA. With 4K Logic Elements, the User can create powerful projects. The MaxProLogic is 100% compatible with the Free Quartus Prime Lite software from Altera. Just download the Quartus software from Altera, and the User can create projects, compile the code, simulate the project in a digital simulator, then download to the MAX 10 using an external programmer.
- 8 Analog Input Channels; 12 bit; 1MSamples/Second. 65 Available I/O’s at connectors. A full datasheet of the MaxProLogic is available that describes all the hardward connections. Schematic is available to give the User further information about the hardware.
- 8 Green User configurable LEDs, On/Off controller. 1 Power Pushbutton Switch; 1 User Configurable Pushbutton Switch. Source code is available to assist the user in understanding how get up and running with the MaxProLogic board.
- Complete Development Kit with tutorials and source code. Please visit the MaxProLogic product page under the earthpeopletechnology website to access all schematics, user manual, data sheets and project files. The MaxProLogic tutorials will get the beginner up and learning Programmable Logic very quickly.
The family also includes enhanced DSP with an AI Tensor block. This provides hardware resources for signal-processing and AI-related workloads; the presence of those resources alone does not establish application-level AI performance. Evaluate the specific device’s capabilities against the model, throughput, latency, and power requirements of your intended workload.
What interfaces and memory does Agilex 3 support?
Altera’s overview describes the following family-level connectivity envelope. “Up to” values are maximums across the family, not a promise that every device or package exposes every interface at its maximum rate.
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Rank #3
- Altera Cyclone IV FPGA includes 6,000 Logic Elements with two clock multipliers. The Cyclone IV FPGA is the perfect balance of inexpensive cost versus plentiful logic cells, 20KBytes of SRAM, and General Purpose Input/Output pins. This is a great board to learn how to program FPGA's.
- Built in programmer cable allows configuring the FPGA with a single USB-C cable. The DPL can be powered from the USB cable or from the Barrel Connector. A separate JTAG header can also be used to program the FPGA using a compatible USB Blaster cable.
- 6x6 LED Array allows character and animations to be displayed at ultra fast speed. LED blocks can be individually turned on/off to allow LED signals to be used as I/O's
- 70 Inputs/Outputs originating at the FPGA are available at Stackable Headers organized around the edge of the board. The user can configure these I/O's using the FPGA project code.
- The DPL contains two oscillators, 66MHz and 100MHz. The 66MHz oscillator is used to provide clocking for the EPT ActiveHost USB communications core. The 100MHz oscillator can be used by the user clocked up using one of the onboard Clock-DLL modules.
| Feature | Published capability |
|---|---|
| GTS transceivers | Up to 12.5 Gbps |
| PCI Express | PCIe 3.0 x4 |
| LVDS | Up to 1.25 Gbps |
| MIPI D-PHY | Up to 2.5G |
| External memory | LPDDR4 and LPDDR5, up to 2,133 Mbps |
| General-purpose I/O | 1.0 V to 3.3 V |
Check the exact device and package documentation before designing around an interface or rate: the family overview does not mean every ordering option supports every listed feature.
How should you compare Agilex 3 with another FPGA or SoC?
Compare the complete design requirements, not just headline fabric or power figures. A practical shortlist should cover:
Rank #4
- Altera 10CL016 FPGA with 16,000 Logic Elements. This FPGA Development Kit requires an external JTAG Programmer. The Cyclone 10 FPGA is a powerful mid-range chip from Altera. It contains 504 Kbits of SRAM Memory. This chip is perfect for implementing soft core processors such as a RISC-V.
- The CycloFlex includes Three Seven Segment Displays which are directly drivable from FPGA I/O pins. 65 Inputs/Outputs from the FPGA available at board connectors. There are seven Green User LEDs that can be controlled directly from FPGA pins. One RGB LED is also included. Two Pushbuttons are available for input to user code.
- One 50MHz oscillator provides all precision clocking needs on the CycloFlex Board. The FPGA includes four DLL's that provide both frequency multiplier and divider. This provides a broad range for clocking options for user code.
- There are two power options for the CycloFlex: USB-C connector or Barrel Connector. The USB-C options allows +5VDC through the USB 2.0 specification. Any USB-C charger or Laptop will properly power the CycloFlex. The Barrel Connector accepts +4.5 to +5.5VDC at 3Amps.
- The CycloFlex Development Kit comes complete with downloadable User Manual, Data Sheet, Drivers, Schematics, and compiled, source code, projects. The downloadable DVD has an entire tutorial on Getting Started with FPGA. It walks the user through getting the ModelSim/Questa simulation tool setup. It has guides to creating simple code for FPGAs through more advanced Test Benches. It also includes full projects with source code to communicate with the CycloFlex from a Windows PC.
- Power at the workload: estimate total and dynamic power for your design and operating conditions, rather than treating the family-level maximum claim as a device-level result.
- Logic and DSP needs: confirm that the selected device provides enough fabric and signal-processing resources for the workload.
- Connectivity: match transceiver rates, PCIe, memory, camera/display, and other required interfaces to the exact device and package.
- Processor integration: decide whether you need an SoC variant with dual Cortex-A55 cores or a standalone FPGA.
- Physical and thermal fit: compare package dimensions, I/O count, board area, and cooling requirements for the target system.
- Development readiness: check tool-chain and IP support, development-kit access, and the maturity of the specifications for the device you plan to use.
Can you order or evaluate Agilex 3?
Altera’s March 10, 2025 Embedded World announcement said Agilex 3 FPGAs were available for ordering. The current product page provides Products & Ordering and Dev Kits paths. Availability and evaluation options can vary by device and region, so use Altera’s Agilex 3 product page to identify the relevant ordering and development-kit resources.
Before committing a design, verify the exact ordering code and latest data sheet. Altera’s August 11, 2026 data sheet lists a mix of final and preliminary device/package combinations and states that preliminary or advance specifications may change. A preliminary listing is not the same as a finalized specification.
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