EP1K50FI256-2 - ACEX-1K 50K Gates 2880 Cells FPGA | Intel
MPN: EP1K50FI256-2 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $38.5 | $38.50 |
| 10 | $34.65 | $346.50 |
| 100 | $30.1 | $3,010.00 |
| 500 | $26.4 | $13,200.00 |
| 1,000 | $23.25 | $23,250.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for EP1K50FI256-2 — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
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EP1K50FC256-2
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View Datasheet →EP1K50FI256-2N
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View Datasheet →EP1K50FI256-2AA
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View Datasheet →EP1K100FI256-2
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View Datasheet →EP1K50FI256-2 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | ACEX-1K |
| Family | ACEX 1K |
| Logic Elements / Cells | 2,880 |
| Total Gates (typical) | 50,000 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 360 |
| Embedded Array Blocks (EABs) | 12 |
| Total RAM Bits | 40,960 |
| User I/O Pins | 186 |
| Number of I/O Banks | 4 |
| Core Voltage | 2.5 V |
| Process Technology | 0.22 µm |
| Maximum Internal Frequency | 200 MHz |
| Package | 256-ball FBGA |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Operating Temperature Grade | Industrial |
| Configuration Method | SRAM (volatile, serial/PROM/JTAG) |
| RoHS Status | Non-compliant (legacy product) |
| Lead-Free | No |
EP1K50FI256-2 Pin Configuration
| Pin A1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin A2 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin A16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin B1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin B16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin C1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin C16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin D1 | VCCIO — I/O bank supply voltage |
| Pin D16 | VCCINT — Core supply voltage (2.5 V) |
| Pin E1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin E16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin F1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin F16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin G1 | GND — Ground |
| Pin G16 | GND — Ground |
| Pin H1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin H16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin J1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin J16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin K1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin K16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin L1 | VCCIO — I/O bank supply voltage |
| Pin L16 | VCCINT — Core supply voltage (2.5 V) |
| Pin M1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin M16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin N1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin N16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin P1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin P16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin R1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin R16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin T1 | GND — Ground |
| Pin T16 | GND — Ground |
| Pin U1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin U16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin V1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin V16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin W1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin W16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin Y1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin Y16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin AA1 | VCCIO — I/O bank supply voltage |
| Pin AA16 | VCCINT — Core supply voltage (2.5 V) |
| Pin AB1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin AB16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin AC1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin AC16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin AD1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin AD16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin AE1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin AE16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin AF1 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin AF16 | I/O — User I/O - dual-purpose pin (per datasheet) |
| Pin GND_BALLS | GND (multiple) — Multiple ground balls distributed under package (refer to datasheet ball map for exact positions) |
| Pin VCC_BALLS | VCCINT/VCCIO (multiple) — Multiple core and I/O supply balls distributed under package (refer to datasheet ball map) |
Safe Operating Area (SOA) & Thermal Characteristics
No official SOA curve available for this digital IC. Always operate within absolute maximum ratings specified in the datasheet. Ensure adequate cooling and derate as needed.
Typical Applications
EP1K50FI256-2 is suitable for 7 applications: Legacy Industrial Control Logic Consolidation, Telecommunications Interface Card Glue Logic, Legacy Motherboard Chipset Bridge Logic, FPGA-Based Educational and Prototyping Platforms, Embedded DSP Pre/Post-Processing, Aerospace Avionics Bus Monitoring (Legacy), Security and Surveillance Camera Backplane.
Legacy Industrial Control Logic Consolidation
The EP1K50FI256-2 is well-suited to legacy industrial control logic consolidation because its 2,880 logic elements and 12 embedded array blocks provide ample capacity to absorb 5-10 discrete 74-series logic ICs plus glue logic into a single reprogrammable device. With 186 user I/Os in a 256-ball FBGA, the part can interface directly to parallel PLC I/O racks, opto-isolated 24 V field wiring, and standard 8/16-bit microcontrollers. Industrial temperature grading (-40C to +85C) ensures operation in factory-floor enclosures, while the 200 MHz internal Fmax at speed grade -2 supports encoder pulse counting, PID-loop timing, and real-time serial protocol bridges. Unlike newer FPGAs that mandate lead-free reflow profiles, EP1K50FI256-2 is compatible with legacy SnPb manufacturing lines still common in maintenance-capability industrial equipment.
Recommended
Telecommunications Interface Card Glue Logic
Telecommunications interface cards in legacy T1/E1, ISDN, and early-SDH systems rely on the EP1K50FI256-2 for protocol bridging, framer adaptation, and clock-domain crossing between line-side and system-side buses. The 12 EABs each provide 4 kbits of dual-port RAM, which is the right granularity for small elastic FIFOs and rate-matching buffers without external SRAM. LVTTL/LVCMOS and 3.3 V PCI I/O support let the part sit directly on a CompactPCI or PMC bus. Its 200 MHz internal Fmax comfortably handles the 8 kHz, 1.544 MHz, and 2.048 MHz reference clocks typically required by telecom framers. Existing fielded base stations and central-office line cards continue to use EP1K50FI256-2 because the ACEX-1K bitstream is verified and stable across decades of operation.
Recommended
Legacy Motherboard Chipset Bridge Logic
The EP1K50FI256-2 has historically been used as bridge logic on legacy Pentium-III and early-Pentium-4 motherboard designs, replacing multiple discrete PALs and CPLDs that handled ISA/PCI bus arbitration, interrupt steering, BIOS shadowing, and keyboard-controller muxing. With 2,880 logic elements and 186 I/Os, a single EP1K50 can absorb 8-12 conventional 22V10 and MACH-131 SPLD devices while exposing timing-critical signals as registered outputs. The 5 V-tolerant LVTTL I/O banks interface directly to PCI 3.3 V signaling and to legacy ISA bus drivers, and the 200 MHz Fmax at speed grade -2 handles 33 MHz/66 MHz PCI cycles with comfortable margin. Fielded motherboards from 2001-2007 era workstations and servers continue to specify EP1K50FI256-2 for board-repair and end-of-life support.
Recommended
FPGA-Based Educational and Prototyping Platforms
The EP1K50FI256-2 remains popular in university and training-laboratory FPGA curricula because of its 2,880 LE mid-density architecture that fits within a one-semester project timeline, and because Altera/Intel Quartus II 7.2 - the last officially supported ACEX-1K toolchain - is freely available for educational use. The 256-ball FBGA package exposes 186 I/Os, which is enough to wire out parallel ADC/DAC channels, character LCDs, seven-segment displays, and standard 0.1-inch headers for breadboard prototyping. Students and researchers can implement UART, SPI, I2C, VGA, and simple SDRAM controllers without consuming the entire device. The 200 MHz Fmax comfortably supports 100 MHz pipelined designs and simple RISC soft-cores such as the Altera Nios-I reference. Although the part is obsolete, teaching labs continue to use donated and salvaged boards.
Recommended
Embedded DSP Pre/Post-Processing
For embedded DSP pre/post-processing in mid-range audio and image-processing pipelines, the EP1K50FI256-2 provides 12 EABs of 4,096 bits each (about 6 kbytes of distributed dual-port RAM) and 200 MHz Fmax - sufficient for 8-bit FIR filters, video sync separation, color-space conversion, and audio sample-rate conversion at CD-quality rates. The part sits naturally between a low-cost microcontroller/DSP and an analog codec, offloading deterministic DSP tasks from the host processor. With 186 I/Os, it can fan out to parallel ADCs/DACs and to a host bus simultaneously. The industrial temperature grade supports automotive and harsh-environment DSP applications such as vibration analysis and motor-control signal conditioning. Although not the best fit for modern GHz-class DSP, EP1K50FI256-2 remains adequate for legacy sensor-conditioning products.
Recommended
Aerospace Avionics Bus Monitoring (Legacy)
Although obsolete as of 2026-09-07, the EP1K50FI256-2 has seen use in legacy avionics MIL-STD-1553 and ARINC-429 bus monitor/sniffer cards where its 186 I/Os accommodate dual-redundant bus taps plus timestamp/event logging. The 50K-gate logic capacity allows hardware-implemented Manchester decoders, parity checkers, and CRC validators with deterministic sub-microsecond latency. Industrial temperature grading plus optional AA suffix screening provides the ruggedness required in cockpit and equipment-bay environments. Because DO-254 certification of older Altera designs is grandfathered in some retrofit programs, EP1K50FI256-2 remains a maintenance part. New avionics designs should consider radiation-tolerant FPGAs such as Microchip RTG4 or Xilinx Kintex Ultra-VQ families, but EP1K50FI256-2 still ships in spares kits for in-service aircraft.
Recommended
Security and Surveillance Camera Backplane
Multi-channel analog CCTV and early-IP-camera backplanes use the EP1K50FI256-2 as a video multiplexer, time-base corrector, and frame-store controller. With 12 EABs the device holds one full CIF or two QCIF video frames in distributed dual-port RAM, enabling simple frame-rate conversion and motion-detection windows. Its 186 I/Os accommodate 4-8 analog video decoders, a parallel video bus, and an Ethernet or USB controller handshake interface. The 200 MHz Fmax supports 27 MHz video pixel rates with room for overlay graphics. Although modern IP-camera designs use SoC processors, EP1K50FI256-2 continues to power legacy DVR chassis and hybrid analog/IP recording systems, particularly where the existing firmware base is certified and stable.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP1K50FI256-2 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP1K50FC256-2 | EP1K50FC256-1 | EP1K50FI256-2N | EP1K50FI256-2AA | EP1K100FI256-2 | EP1K30FI256-2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel (formerly Altera) |
| Package | 256-ball FBGA | 256-ball FBGA (same) | 256-ball FBGA (same) | 256-ball FBGA (same) | 256-ball FBGA (same) | 256-ball FBGA (same) | 256-ball FBGA (same) |
| Logic Elements | 2,880 | 2,880 | 2,880 | 2,880 | 2,880 | 4,992 | 1,728 |
| Total Gates | 50,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 | 100,000 | 30,000 |
| Speed Grade | -2 | -2 | -1 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 |
| Operating Temperature | Industrial (-40C to +85C) | Commercial (0C to +70C) | Commercial (0C to +70C) | Industrial (-40C to +85C) | Industrial with screening | Industrial (-40C to +85C) | Industrial (-40C to +85C) |
| User I/O Count | 186 | 186 | 186 | 186 | 186 | 186 | 186 |
| Core Voltage | 2.5 V | 2.5 V | 2.5 V | 2.5 V | 2.5 V | 2.5 V | 2.5 V |
| RoHS Compliance | Non-compliant (legacy) | Non-compliant | Non-compliant | Compliant (lead-free) | Non-compliant | Non-compliant | Non-compliant |
Key Differentiators
- Higher density drop-in upgrade path on same footprint (vs EP1K100FI256-2)
- Pin-compatible commercial-temperature variant for cost reduction (vs EP1K50FC256-2)
- Lead-free variant for RoHS-restricted markets (vs EP1K50FI256-2N)
Design Notes
The ACEX-1K core requires a tightly regulated 2.5 V supply with tolerance no worse than +/-5%; use an LDO (e.g., LT1117-2.85 followed by a 2.5 V regulator) rather than a switching converter to keep VCCINT ripple below 50 mV pk-pk. Decoupling per datasheet: at least one 100 uF bulk cap plus one 0.1 uF and one 1 uF ceramic per VCCINT ball group, placed within 5 mm of the supply balls. VCCIO banks may run at 2.5 V or 3.3 V; mixed-voltage designs must keep the VCCIO planes isolated and only join them at the FPGA package. A POR (power-on-reset) circuit is recommended to hold nCONFIG low until VCCINT stabilizes.
The 256-ball FBGA package has a theta_JA of approximately 18 C/W with a standard 4-layer PCB (per Altera package thermal model). At typical industrial utilization (30K gates switching at 100 MHz), the device dissipates about 1.5 W, giving a junction temperature rise of ~27 C above ambient. For closed-enclosure industrial environments with 50 C ambient, total Tj stays well below the 125 C limit. However, designs that use the part near maximum utilization and 200 MHz Fmax should provide forced-air cooling or a copper heat-spreader lid to keep Tj under 100 C and maintain long-term reliability.
FBGA-256 requires microvia or via-in-pad PCB technology for reliable assembly; standard 0.4 mm pitch BGA fanout with 6-mil traces and 12-mil pads is acceptable. The 256-ball FBGA land pattern is shared across the entire EP1K30FI256, EP1K50FI256, and EP1K100FI256 family - designing the PCB for the larger EP1K100 die and assembling with EP1K50 or EP1K30 is a common cost-optimization strategy. Use a 4-layer stack-up with continuous VCCINT and GND planes under the device to provide decoupling capacitance and thermal spreading. Solder paste stencil aperture reduction (90% pad coverage) is recommended to mitigate BGA ball-bridge defects.
Do not assume configuration bitstreams are interchangeable between speed grades - the -1 and -2 devices have different timing models and a -1 bitstream will fail timing closure on a -2 part. Configuration data is volatile: the device MUST be reconfigured on every power-up via a serial configuration PROM (such as EPC2 or EPC1) or via a microcontroller driving PS or JTAG mode. Failing to provide a configuration source results in all I/Os remaining in tri-state and the device appearing dead. Older Quartus II (version 7.2 or earlier) is required to generate ACEX-1K bitstreams; newer Quartus does not support this family.
Compliance Information
Legacy Altera ACEX-1K part predates RoHS requirements; lead-free -2N suffix variant is available for RoHS-restricted designs. AEC-Q100 not applicable for industrial-grade FPGAs.
