Xilinx Announces 8.1i Release of WebPACK - Industry's Only Free Fully Featured Design Suite

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Xilinx, Inc. (Nasdaq: XLNX) today announced the immediate availability of ISE WebPACK(TM) 8.1i -- the latest version of the company's free* downloadable development system. The new version now includes all the features of ISE Foundation with full support for embedded, DSP and real-time debug design flows. Also featured in the 8.1i release is support for all members of the Spartan(TM)-3E family, the industry's lowest cost FPGA, and additional support for Virtex(TM)-4 FPGA devices. WebPACK 8.1i's ISE Fmax Technology reduces overall design costs by providing up to a full speed grade in cost savings and up to 70 percent faster performance than competing FPGA products. WebPACK 8.1i includes ISE Simulator(TM) for both PC and Linux platforms, and an enhanced user interface for Linux and Windows platforms. ISE WebPACK 8.1i is available for immediate download at http://www.xilinx.com/webpack.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020822/XLNXLOGO ) Full power of ISE at No Cost

ISE WebPACK 8.1i now incorporates all features available in the ISE Foundation software package. With the addition of CoreGenerator(TM), FPGA Editor(TM) and support for multiple simulators, ISE WebPACK now offers the most-complete zero cost design environment to the company's rapidly growing base of over 200,000 designers. New features in ISE WebPACK 8.1i include: * Xilinx CORE Generator System: Offers an optimized, predefined set of

building blocks for common functions - simplifying design steps,

enabling faster design completion. * FPGA Editor: Allows designers to view and change post-implementation

routing and placement. * ISE Simulator Lite: A complete VHDL/Verilog simulator. * MXE-III Starter: Optional ModelSim Xilinx Edition-III starter version,

based on the popular Mentor Graphics ModelSim family of HDL simulators. ISE Fmax Technology

The 8.1i release of WebPACK also features the new ISE Fmax Performance Technology with enhanced physical synthesis capabilities to improve performance and timing closure for all leading Xilinx device families including Virtex-4, Spartan-3, Spartan-3E and CoolRunner-II architectures. Using ISE 8.1i software, designers can boost performance by an average of 10 to 37 percent as compared to previous ISE releases and up to 70 percent over competing solutions using Virtex-4 FPGAs. ISE 8.1i also delivers enhancements to the industry's only partial reconfiguration technology, enabling lower cost, size, and power consumption. Linux support

By providing support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, Xilinx has combined the low-cost benefits of the industry's most easily accessible design environment with the fastest growing EDA design platform. Linux is recognized as a stable, low-cost, high-performance alternative to other higher cost development environments and allows designers to maximize corporate resources. Xilinx now augments the industry's lowest-cost and lowest-power FPGA and CPLD solutions with the most extensive front-to-back Linux support of any major PLD vendor. ISE WebPACK 8.1i includes ISE simulator Lite on Linux providing Xilinx users with a free HDL simulator. Award Winning Website Support

Included with this robust set of easy to use tools is access to the Xilinx support website (support.xilinx.com), rated one of the 2005 World's 10 Best Support Websites by the Association of Support Professionals. Designers can also access programmable systems training through Xilinx Education courses on FPGA design, DSP, Embedded Processing and High-Speed Connectivity. Pricing and Availability

ISE WebPACK 8.1i is available for immediate download at http://www.xilinx.com/ise/webpack or on DVD for a nominal shipping/handling fee at the Xilinx.com online store. About Xilinx

Xilinx is the worldwide leader in complete programmable logic solutions. For more information, visit http://www.xilinx.com. #0610 * no license fee; software is licensed to customers subject to applicable terms and conditions