The MAX II is a nice device, but the lack of RAM does let it down
some. The on board slow flash gives 1K EEPROM but this is not large
enough for many designs. SRAM chips are quite cheap for small
capacities, but there needs to be a pin budget of around 20+ pins to
interface to them.

RAM is the only thing 'missing' from the MAX IIZ. The smaller die size
argument is a bit silly, 1/4 of the macrocell area could be replaced
by a reasonable self refresh DRAM, with single ported access.

cheers jacko