FPGA Power Benchmark Suite
PwrMark is a vendor-neutral, open-source suite of IP cores, reference designs, and ready-to-use bitfiles for systematic FPGA power measurement and benchmarking. It gives FPGA board developers a structured, repeatable way to characterize the power behavior of their products and to compare power efficiency across device families and process nodes.
Licensed by MicroFPGA under dual MIT and commercial license.
PwrMark is designed to stress the FPGA device and board power delivery to maximum capacity.
🔥 Do NOT touch the FPGA, heatsink, or any board components while PwrMark is running!
- The FPGA die and surrounding components will become extremely hot during testing
- Ensure adequate cooling is in place before starting any test
- Allow the board to fully cool down between consecutive test runs
- Verify your power supply and cables are rated for the expected current
- Monitor die temperature — never exceed device Tjunction maximum
- Voltage drooping or PSU shutdown may occur on underpowered setups
PwrMark is a maximum stress tool — treat it with the same respect as a running soldering iron!
"How much current does FPGA product XYZ need?"
This is one of the most common questions FPGA designers and vendors face — and the honest answer is always: it depends. It depends on the device, the design, the clock frequency, the switching activity, and the board-level power delivery chain.
PwrMark was created to turn that vague answer into real, measurable, reproducible data.
Unlike vendor power estimator tools, PwrMark measures total board power from the input rail, including DCDC conversion losses. This is the number that actually matters for system power budgets, PSU sizing, and thermal design — not a theoretical chip-level estimate.
PwrMark is dual licensed:
- MIT License — free for open source projects, evaluation, academic use, and community contributions
- Commercial License — for proprietary products, confidential measurements, for FPGA and board vendors
Commercial licensing and custom bitfile service inquiries: contact MicroFPGA.
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