User guide
December 2010 Altera Corporation Altera Transceiver PHY IP Core User Guide
6. PCI Express PHY (PIPE) IP Core
The Altera PCI Express
PHY (PIPE) IP core implements physical coding sublayer 
(PCS) and physical media attachment (PMA) modules as defined by the Intel PHY 
Interface for PCI Express (PIPE) Architecture specification. The PCI Express PHY (PIPE) 
connects to a PCI Express PHYMAC to create a complete PCI Express design. Altera 
supports the Gen1 and Gen2 specifications and ×1, ×2, ×4, or ×8 operation for a total 
aggregate bandwidth of 2–32 Gbps. 
Figure 6–1 illustrates the top-level blocks of the PCI Express PHY (PIPE) for 
Stratix V GX devices. 
f For more detailed information about the PCI Express PHY PIPE transceiver channel 
datapath, clocking, and channel placement, refer to the “PCI Express” section in the 
Transceiver Protocol Configurations in Stratix V Devices chapter of the Stratix V Device 
Handbook.
Device Family Support
IP cores provide either final or preliminary support for target Altera device families. 
These terms have the following definitions:
■ Final support—Verified with final timing models for this device.
■ Preliminary support—Verified with preliminary timing models for this device.
Table 6–1 shows the level of support offered by the PCI Express PIPE IP core for 
Altera device families 
Figure 6–1. PCI Express PHY (PIPE) with Hard IP PCS and PMA in Stratix V GX Devices
PCI Express PIPE PHY IP Core
Avalon-ST Tx and Rx
to ASIC,
ASSP,
FPGA
from
PCI Express
MACPHY
Stratix V FPGA
PCS:
8B/10B
Elastic Buffer
Rx Detection
PMA:
Analog Buffers
SERDES
10-bit Interface
Avalon-MM Cntrl and Status
Avalon-ST PIPE
Avalon-ST Reconfig
HSSI 
Differential PCML
Table 6–1. Device Family Support
Device Family Support
Stratix V devices–hard PCS + hard PMA Preliminary
Other device families No support










