Xilinx delivers latest ISE with lower memory requirements and new OS support

Xilinx has announced immediate availability of the ISE 9.2i (Integrated Software Environment) design tools, the latest release of its widely-used design solution. Improvements in the ISE 9.2i release reduce memory requirements by an average of 27 percent while providing expanded support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP x64, and Red Hat Enterprise WS 5.0 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. To simplify multi-rate DSP designs with a large number of clocks typically found in wireless and video applications, ISE 9.2i software features breakthrough advancements in place and route and clock algorithms offering up to a 15 percent performance advantage.

ISE 9.2i software is powered by the company's latest SmartCompile technology, which cuts implementation runtimes by up to 6X while maintaining exact design preservation of unchanged logic. The new release also provides the most advanced design solution for the latest line of Xilinx 65nm Virtex-5 high-performance FPGAs and 90nm Spartan-3 generation high volume FPGAs. Xilinx has been delivering the benefits of 65nm FPGAs since May 2006 with production qualified devices available now. Visit www.xilinx.com/virtex5 for more information.

Lower memory requirements
Through algorithmic improvements in memory usage, ISE 9.2i design tools radically improve utilization of computing resources, providing users with greater design flexibility. This reduction in memory usage enables users to design with higher density FPGAs with the more widely available 32-bit version of Microsoft Windows XP in lieu of the previously required 64-bit operating system.

"With broad availability of our feature-rich high-performance 65nm Virtex-5 FPGAs, customers are demanding more from their design platform," said Bruce Talley, vice president of the Design Software Division at Xilinx. "ISE 9.2i, which combines advanced tools like SmartCompile technology with better usage of their computing hardware, provides faster timing closure and higher quality of results for a better time-to-market solution."

Embedded processing and debug
Improvements in ISE 9.2i software permit greater flexibility for designs which leverage embedded processors. Tighter integration with Platform Studio (Xilinx integrated development environment for embedded design) allows embedded users improved access to the design closure tools residing within the ISE design environment.

The ISE 9.2i design suite is accompanied by the release of ChipScope Pro 9.2 debug and verification software. Available as an add-on option, the ChipScope Pro 9.2 solution reduces verification cycles by up to 50 percent. Also included is the newest release of the ChipScope Pro Serial IO Toolkit, providing simplified debugging of high-speed serial IO designs for Virtex-4 FX and Virtex-5 LXT and SXT FPGAs.

Pricing and availability
ISE software delivers programmable logic design solutions to over 300,000 users worldwide with an intuitive, front-to-back design environment for all Xilinx product families, including Virtex-4 and Virtex-5 platform FPGAs, Spartan-3 generation FPGAs, and CoolRunner-II CPLDs.

All versions of ISE 9.2i software packages support Windows XP, Windows XP x64, Windows Vista Business and Linux Red Hat Enterprise WS. ISE Foundation also supports Solaris 2.9.

ISE 9.2i Foundation, ChipScope Pro 9.2, and ChipScope Pro Serial I/O Toolkit configurations are immediately available with prices ranging from US$495 to $2495. Full-featured 60-day evaluation versions can be downloaded from the Xilinx web site at no charge. For more information about the ISE 9.2i software suite, visit www.xilinx.com/ISE.