Is Trenz a reputable source for FPGA eval kits (TEF1001)

[matthuszagh]

I'm starting a project using a Xilinx Kintex-7 160T FPGA. Before I design this system myself I'd like to prototype it with guaranteed-working hardware. Trenz sells an eval board that is nominally suitable (TEF1001, https://shop.trenz-electronic.de/en/TEF1001-02-B2IX4-A-PCIe-FMC-Carrier-with-Xilinx-Kintex-7-160T-4-Lane-PCIe-GEN2-DDR3-SODIMM-ECC?c=524) and reasonably priced. The only other suitable option I've found is the KC705 from Xilinx, which is nice but much more expensive (it uses an upgraded FPGA too, but that's ok with me).

Does anyone have any experience with Trenz in general, and their eval kits in particular? Especially interested to know if anyone has used this particular eval board.

[KE5FX]

I've never used one of Trenz's products but I've always liked how accessible their product documentation is.  They've been around forever and I wouldn't hesitate to use them if I needed to. 

AFAIK the free Vivado edition doesn't support the XC7K325T, only the XC7K160T.  So if you go with the KC705 board and don't already have a paid-up Vivado license, make sure it still has a valid entitlement certificate for Vivado.   The KC705 I bought several years ago for a specific project came with an ISE 14 certificate, and I'm sure I'd be up the creek if I needed to use it today.

[matthuszagh]

AFAIK the free Vivado edition doesn't support the XC7K325T, only the XC7K160T.  So if you go with the KC705 board and don't already have a paid-up Vivado license, make sure it still has a valid entitlement certificate for Vivado.   The KC705 I bought several years ago for a specific project came with an ISE 14 certificate, and I'm sure I'd be up the creek if I needed to use it today.

That's my understanding too. The eval kit does come with a Vivado license, with 1 year of updates. Their documentation seems a bit contradictory on whether this means the license expires after 1 year, or just that you can no longer update Vivado/ISE/whatever. For example, in the UG973 they state (emphasis mine)

When you purchase a design tool edition or IP product from Xilinx, you are purchasing a license to use and receive updates for that product for one year.

But, in the forums (https://support.xilinx.com/s/question/0D52E00006hpm3LSAQ/question-about-license-for-zcu111-evaluation-kit-license-length?language=en_US) they clarify that the 1 year is just for updates, the license tied to a specific version of Vivado/etc. is permanent. So you might be stuck with old software, but at least you'll still be able to use it without shelling out more money.

In any event the Trenz option looks like a better deal, if only either of this would become available again...