Using PCIe pins as GPIO on Cyclone IV GX FPGA Development Kit

[Altera_Forum]

Hi,  

I am looking into purchasing the Cyclone IV GX FPGA Development Kit from Terasic but was wondering if the following is possible.  I need to physically interface to another FPGA board that has a min PCIe slot. However the communication protocol over which the two boards  will communicate will not be PCIe. The protocol will be proprietary but will mimic a bus that is closest to SPI. My question is, can I use the PCIe pins on  Cyclone IV GX FPGA Dev Kit as GPIO (general purpose Input/Output lines)? If this is possible, are there any special hooks/trick I need to consider or implement other than just simply assigning  specific pin to my signal? All feedback is welcome, and thank you!!!

[Altera_Forum]

I don't know for that kit specifically, but in general, if you are not using the specialized function of a dual-purpose pin, you can use it as a GPIO. Don't worry: Quartus will let you know if you can't do it! 

 A better thing to check is how the pins you want to use are brought out of the device on the dev kit (connectors, vias, etc.).