Early Power Estimator User Guide

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ID 683272
Date 7/16/2021
Public
Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. Early Power Estimator Overview 2. Setting Up the Early Power Estimator 3. Early Power Estimator Worksheets 4. Factors Affecting the Early Power Estimator Spreadsheet Accuracy A. Additional Information for Early Power Estimator User Guide
1. Early Power Estimator Overview x
1.1. Release Information 1.2. Power Model Status for Supported Device Families
2. Setting Up the Early Power Estimator x
2.1. System Requirements 2.2. Download and Install the Early Power Estimator 2.3. Estimating Power Consumption
2.2. Download and Install the Early Power Estimator x
2.2.1. Changing the Macro Security Level in Microsoft Excel 2003 2.2.2. Changing the Macro Security Level in Microsoft Excel 2007 2.2.3. Changing the Macro Security Level in Microsoft Excel 2010
2.3. Estimating Power Consumption x
2.3.1. Estimating Power Consumption Before Starting the FPGA Design 2.3.2. Estimating Power Consumption While Creating the FPGA Design 2.3.3. Estimating Power Consumption After Completing the FPGA Design
2.3.1. Estimating Power Consumption Before Starting the FPGA Design x
2.3.1.1. Entering Information into the Early Power Estimator
2.3.1.1. Entering Information into the Early Power Estimator x
2.3.1.1.1. Manually Entering Values
2.3.2. Estimating Power Consumption While Creating the FPGA Design x
2.3.2.1. Importing a File
2.3.2.1. Importing a File x
2.3.2.1.1. Generate the EPE File 2.3.2.1.2. Import Data into the EPE Spreadsheet
3. Early Power Estimator Worksheets x
3.1. Main Worksheet 3.2. Logic Worksheet 3.3. RAM Worksheet 3.4. DSP Worksheet 3.5. I/O Worksheet 3.6. PLL Worksheet 3.7. Clock Worksheet 3.8. HSDI Worksheet 3.9. XCVR Worksheet 3.10. HMC Worksheet 3.11. IP Worksheet 3.12. HPS Worksheet 3.13. Report Worksheet 3.14. Enpirion Worksheet
3.1. Main Worksheet x
3.1.1. Input Parameter 3.1.2. Thermal Power 3.1.3. Power Tree Design 3.1.4. Thermal Analysis
3.1.4. Thermal Analysis x
3.1.4.1. Not Using a Heat Sink 3.1.4.2. Using a Heat Sink
3.13. Report Worksheet x
3.13.1. Static Power and Dynamic Current per Voltage Rail 3.13.2. Power Up Current 3.13.3. Power Breakout for Multiple Voltage Supplies 3.13.4. Power Regulator Settings
4. Factors Affecting the Early Power Estimator Spreadsheet Accuracy x
4.1. Toggle Rate 4.2. Airflow 4.3. Temperature 4.4. Heat Sink
A. Additional Information for Early Power Estimator User Guide x
A.1. Document Revision History for Early Power Estimator User Guide
1. Early Power Estimator Overview
2. Setting Up the Early Power Estimator
3. Early Power Estimator Worksheets
4. Factors Affecting the Early Power Estimator Spreadsheet Accuracy
A. Additional Information for Early Power Estimator User Guide

3.2. Logic Worksheet

Each row in the Logic worksheet of the EPE spreadsheet represents a separate design module. Enter the following parameters for each design module:

  • Number of combinational adaptive look-up tables (ALUTs)
  • Number of flipflops
  • Clock frequency in MHz
  • Toggle percentage
  • Average fanout
Figure 13. Logic Worksheet of the EPE Spreadsheet
Table 6.  General Settings in the Logic Worksheet
Input Parameter Description
High-Speed Tile Usage
Select the High-Speed Tile Usage setting. This value can be Typical Design, Typical High-Performance Design, or Atypical High-Performance Design.
  • Typical Design represents a design with 10% or more timing margin.
  • Typical High-Performance Design represents an average design with no timing margin. These designs have a few near-critical timing paths.
  • Atypical High-Performance Design represents a 90th percentile design with no timing margin. These designs have many near-critical timing paths.

This primarily impacts static power consumption (PSTATIC) found in the Main worksheet of the EPE spreadsheet. It also has a small impact on the dynamic power consumed by the logic resources entered in the Logic worksheet of the EPE spreadsheet.

This option is only available for Arria V GZ, Stratix III, Stratix IV, and Stratix V devices.
Table 7.  Logic Worksheet Information
Column Heading Description
Module Specify a name for each module of the design. This is an optional entry.
#Combinational ALUTs/#LUTs

Enter the number of combinational ALUTs or look-up tables (LUTs).

This is the “Combinational ALUTs” value from the Quartus II Compilation Report Resource Usage Summary section.

For Arria II, Arria V GZ, Stratix III, Stratix IV, and Stratix V devices, each adaptive logic module (ALM) contains up to two combinational ALUTs. Smaller ALUTs consume less power than larger ALUTs, but the device can fit more of them. The total number of ALUTs in the design must not exceed (the number of ALMs) × two.

#FFs

Enter the number of flipflops in the module.

This is the sum of “Register ALUTs” and “Dedicated logic registers” from the Quartus II Compilation Report Resource Usage Summary section.

Clock routing power is calculated separately on the Clock worksheet of the EPE spreadsheet.
Clock Freq (MHz)

Enter a clock frequency (in MHz). This value is limited by the maximum frequency specification for the device family.

100 MHz with a 12.5% toggle means that each LUT or flipflop output toggles 12.5 million times per second (100 × 12.5%).

Toggle%

Enter the average percentage of logic toggling on each clock cycle. The toggle percentage ranges from 0 to 100%. Typically, the toggle percentage is 12.5%, which is the toggle percentage of a 16-bit counter. To ensure you do not underestimate the toggle percentage, use a higher toggle percentage. Most logic only toggles infrequently; therefore, toggle rates of less than 50% are more realistic.

For example, a T-flipflop (TFF) with its input tied to VCC has a toggle rate of 100% because its output is changing logic states on every clock cycle. Refer to the 4-Bit Counter Example.

Average Fanout Enter the average number of blocks fed by the outputs of the LUTs and flipflops.
Thermal Power (W)–Routing

This shows the power dissipation due to estimated routing (in watts).

Routing power depends on placement and routing, which is a function of design complexity. The values shown represent the routing power based on experimentation of more than 100 designs.

For detailed analysis based on your design’s routing, use the Quartus II Power Analyzer.
Thermal Power (W)–Block

This shows the power dissipation due to internal toggling of the ALMs (in watts).

Logic block power is a combination of the function implemented and the relative toggle rates of the various inputs. The EPE spreadsheet uses an estimate based on observed behavior across more than 100 real-world designs.

For accurate analysis based on your design’s exact synthesis, use the Quartus II Power Analyzer.
Thermal Power (W)–Total This shows the total power dissipation (in watts). The total power dissipation is the sum of the routing and block power.
User Comments Enter any comments. This is an optional entry.
Figure 14. 4-Bit Counter Example

The first TFF with the cout0 LSB output has a toggle rate of 100% because the signal toggles on every clock cycle. The toggle rate for the second TFF with cout1 output is 50% because the signal only toggles on every two clock cycles. Consequently, the toggle rate for the third TFF with cout2 output and fourth TFF with cout3 output are 25% and 12.5%, respectively. Therefore, the average toggle percentage for this 4-bit counter is (100 + 50 + 25 + 12.5)/4 = 46.875%.

For more information about logic block configurations of the supported device families, refer to the “Logic Array Blocks and Adaptive Logic Modules” chapter of the respective device handbook.

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