{"id":1405,"date":"2026-02-26T10:25:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T01:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rtlearner.com\/?p=1405"},"modified":"2026-02-26T10:50:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T01:50:04","slug":"fpga-power-analysis-saif-file-vivado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rtlearner.com\/en\/fpga-power-analysis-saif-file-vivado\/","title":{"rendered":"[FPGA Practical Design] Finding the Real Power Consumption with SAIF Files"},"content":{"rendered":"

When designing an NPU at a low-power AI semiconductor startup, you stake your life on the goal of \"achieving maximum performance with minimum power.\" After finishing the RTL coding and successfully running Synthesis and Implementation, you nervously click the Report Power<\/strong> button in Vivado.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever been horrified to see the result window proudly display: Total On-Chip Power: 200 W<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every hardware engineer has probably felt a chill down their spine at least once, thinking, \"My low-power architecture is burning 50W? Is the chip going to melt?\" Especially if you are targeting a massive, aircraft-carrier-sized chip like the Versal VP1902, this number feels incredibly threatening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But don't despair just yet. Today, we will uncover the trap of Vivado's power estimation and learn how to find the 'true' power consumption using SAIF files extracted from simulation data.<\/p>\n\n\n