OpenCL SDK for Quartus Prime 15.1

[Altera_Forum]

Hello, 

 While searching for OpenCL SDK, the only link I found is "bundle" version 17.1 (combined with Quartus Prime) ... about 20Gb Does exist "alone" version of the OpenCL SDK, that matches Quartus Prime 15.1.  Thanks in advance. Pavel.

[Altera_Forum]

You can choose the software version in the download page where it says "Select release". here (http://dl.altera.com/15.1/?edition=standard&platform=linux&download_manager=direct) is a direct link to the page for Quartus Prime Standard 15.1. You can find a link to the OpenCL SDK-only installer from the "Additional Software"tab. If you need Quartus Prime Pro (Arria 10 only), change "standard" to "pro" in the link.

[Altera_Forum]

Sorry, I don't see any link in you message. 

Do you mean this link ? http://dl.altera.com/opencl/15.1/?edition=standard&download_manager=dlm3 If it's the case, where is "Additional Software" tab ? Regards

[Altera_Forum]

The link is embedded in the word "Here" in my previous reply. I guess I should have put it separately to be more clear. 

 Your own link is also correct, it directly gives you the OpenCL SDK. Log in using ID and pass (create an account if you don't have one or else you cannot download anything) and choose the "Direct Download" option. You will be able to get the download link, then.

[Altera_Forum]

Thanks. 

Indeed I was inattentive. A couple of additional questions, if you permit: 1. Does OpenCL SDK need an additional license, or Quartus Prime license is sufficient ? 2. Are 16.1 (eventually 17.1) versions of the OpenCL SDK more "advanced" that 15.1 (e.g. probably they support standard 2.0 of OpenCL) 3. Probably stupid question ... nevertheless: Is it possible to "marry" OpenCL 17.1 with Quartus 15.1 ? Thanks once more.

[Altera_Forum]

1. The OpenCL SDK requires a separate license, at least up until v17.1. The changelog of v17.1 says "Removed requirement for Intel FPGA SDK for OpenCL license.", but I think you will still need a license for compilation and they have just removed the license check for running pre-compiled kernels. 

 2. The major difference between them is better quality of generated hardware in terms of performance and area utilization. There are also some new features and pragmas added in newer versions, significant improvements in area report, and many bug fixes. OpenCL support features have also improved to some extent, but it is still far from fully supporting OpenCL 2.0 (or even 1.2). I would strognly advice against using anything below v16.1.2.  3. That will very likely not work. Even minor differences in Quartus and AOC versions generally result in compilation failures. Furthermore, a newer version of AOC will require a compatible BSP that will include IP Cores that are not compatible with older versions of Quartus.  If there a specific reason why you want to stick to Quartus v15.1?

[Altera_Forum]

Thanks, clear. 

  --- Quote Start ---  If there a specific reason why you want to stick to Quartus v15.1?  --- Quote End ---   No ... just question of resources: my PC is 16Gb RAM & 256Gb SSD (that is almost full). It seems that v17.1 (especially OpenCL SDK) is more hungry for resources. Isn't it ?

[Altera_Forum]

Memory largely mostly depends on your target FPGA. Space usage also mostly depends on the devices that you install. If you are targetting the same device, updating to the newer versions of Quartus should not require much extra memory or space. Note that 16 GB of memory will not be enough for most designs on Stratix V and Arria 10. Also each OpenCL project takes up 1-2 GB of storage. 

 Altera's official recommendations can be found here:  http://dl.altera.com/requirements/17.1/  Finally, you should remember that for every version of Quartus you might want to use, you need a compatible BSP. At the end of the day, unless you are using one of Altera's reference bords, the newest version of Quartus you can use depends on the version of the BSP your board manufacturer provides.