DSP Development Kit, Stratix III Edition vs. Stratix III FPGA Development Kit

[Altera_Forum]

Dear all,  

 can anyone tell me what is the main difference between dsp development kit, stratix iii edition (http://www.altera.com/products/devkits/altera/kit-st3-dsp.html) with stratix iii fpga development kit (http://www.altera.com/products/devkits/altera/kit-siii-host.html)? When I browse through their specifications and reference manual, it seems that they are same development board and come together with the HSMC interface as well, but with the cost difference of $400.  Meanwhile, does dsp builder fully support the dsp development kit, stratix iii edition? When I browse through Altera DSP Builder cite (http://www.altera.com/products/software/products/dsp/dsp-builder.html), this kit is not in the development kits supported by DSP Builder.  I am also wondering can the stratix iii ep3sl150f1152 fpga migrate to the hardcopy device if the design has been finalized?  I am currently looking for a development kit suitable for DSP & Biomedical application, specifically in cardiac management. It seems that the Stratix III DSP Development kit offers an interesting solution and meet my budget. If you have any other better recommendation, please kindly share with me.  Thank you. [h=4][/h]

[Altera_Forum]

Both kits have the same main board. The only difference is that the DSP development kit includes the HSMC daughterboard with the ADCs and DACs. The Stratix III development kit has the HSMC connectors, but not the daughterboard, and as such can't directly aquire or generate analog signals. 

As for the DSP builder, in theory it should support the Stratix III DSP kit, but note that it isn't included with the kit and would need to be bought separately. If you think you need it then you can ask to your distributor before ordering it to confirm that your kit is supported by DSP builder. Once finalized, you can freeze your design in an Hardcopy III. But again I think that to be sure you should contact your distributor to confirm that a Hardcopy would be compatible with your requirements.

[Altera_Forum]

Dear Dai, 

 Really thanks a lot of your reply. It give me more confidence to proceed to buy the board. Thank you.