Logic capacity and I/O — what the numbers mean for your design
At 15408 logic elements, this part sits in the middle of the Cyclone IV E density stack — enough for a soft-core processor plus peripheral logic, a modest video scaler, or a multi-axis motion controller. The 165 I/O break out to most of the 256 balls; you get flexibility for parallel buses and general-purpose expansion without the routing pain of a larger BGA. The 516096-bit RAM block count supports small FIFOs, coefficient tables, or line buffers for a VGA-resolution display. If your design needs more memory or I/O, the Cyclone IV E family scales up, but for this density tier the balance is practical.
Active lifecycle — no LTB pressure on this BOM line
The EP4CE15F17I7N carries an Active product status. That means Intel continues to manufacture and support it — no last-time-buy clock ticking, no forced redesign for obsolescence. For a production BOM that needs a proven, cost-optimized FPGA, this part is a stable choice. Sourcing through independent distribution keeps the supply chain flexible; we quote to order against an RFQ with current availability and pricing confirmed at quote time.
