Parallel Compilation

Allows you to specify the number of processors the Intel® Quartus® Prime software can use at once to run parallel executables, which reduces execution time.

When you enable parallel compilation, use the Parallel Compilation Report to find information about the average processor use, the maximum number of processors used, and the amount of time the Compiler uses each processor.

Table 1. Parallel Compilation Setting Options
Value Meaning
Use global compilation setting (Default) Sets Parallel compilation to the setting specified under Parallel compilation in the Processing page of the Options dialog box.
Use all available processors Specifies that the Intel® Quartus® Prime software uses all available processors to run parallel executables.
Maximum processors allowed Specifies the number of processors parallel executables can use on a single machine at the same time.

For example, if you have a quad-core processor machine and want to leave one processor free for other tasks, you would specify 3 as the setting of this option. Setting this option to 1 effectively disables parallel compilation.

Currently, only some Intel® Quartus® Prime software executables, such as quartus_fit, are parallel. Therefore, when you set Maximum processors allowed to a value greater than 1, a portion of the Intel® Quartus® Prime software processing still occupies only one processor.

Important: Setting Maximum processors allowed to a number higher than the number of physical processors in your system may degrade the performance of the Intel® Quartus® Prime software by creating more than the optimal number of threads.

This option is available for all Intel FPGA device families supported by Intel® Quartus® Prime software.