NLNet Funds Development of a Libre RISC-V 3D CPU


Always cool to see RISC-V moving forward.

"This processor, which will be quad core dual issue 800mhz RV64GC and capable of running full GNU/Linux SMP OSes, with 720p video playback and embedded level 25fps 3D performance in around 2.5 watts at 28nm, is designed to address that imbalance. Links and details on the Libre RISC-V SoC wiki. "

Correct me if I'm wrong but that doesn't seem very impressive. I guess for set boxes and IoT it will do fine but for consumer devices like phones and tablets it a bit to slow for me :p
 
720p is ok for small devices. The Pyra has a 720p screen btw.
I don't know about 800MHz, it's a different architecture.
 
"25fps 3D performance" is a weird stat with no context, that could be Super Tux Kart or Crysis. And 28nm is disappointing, though not unexpected.

That being said, communities like this and the RPi one have proved time and time again that if the community is healthy they can make hardware punch well above its weight. And I expect a healthy community around a fully open source computer.

Plus it's probably just a starter to prove that it can be done. It's probably wise to limit scope on the first try. I'm sure they'll put out more capable hardware once this is out the door.
 
I could totally see this being a good choice for RPi, didn't they wish to make a risc-v Pi? Or was that just my imagination?
I could even see it as a low-powered option for the Pyra for those who want to do risc-v development or run with a open source architecture and don't mind the performance lost.

"25fps 3D performance" is a weird stat with no context, that could be Super Tux Kart or Crysis. And 28nm is disappointing, though not unexpected.

Yes the graphical stat doesn't tell us anything. Maybe they mean that when using all effects possible with max polygon count it runs at 25fps? Of course wouldn't someone just be able to get more polygons with slower frame rate? Why would the frame rate even be a good measure for it's power anyways? FPS doesn't really tell me much about the hardware capabilities as much as it tells me about performance of a specific application. It is said the amount of polygons it could produce per second then there would be a little more to grasp (all thou even that isn't a perfect measurement either)

None the less I'm always excited whenever I hear news about risc-v :)
 
They just didn't want to say glxgears, because everyone knows in their heart that the only true video benchmark is glxgears.

Always cool to see RISC-V moving forward.

"This processor, which will be quad core dual issue 800mhz RV64GC and capable of running full GNU/Linux SMP OSes, with 720p video playback and embedded level 25fps 3D performance in around 2.5 watts at 28nm, is designed to address that imbalance. Links and details on the Libre RISC-V SoC wiki. "

Correct me if I'm wrong but that doesn't seem very impressive. I guess for set boxes and IoT it will do fine but for consumer devices like phones and tablets it a bit to slow for me :p

You are indeed wrong, it is very impressive. It wouldn't be the speed alone that impressed anyone anyhow.
 
I like the idea, so I'll support it even if it inferior to other SoCs. At least with the assumption there is no binary blob as driver, and it's all opensource.
 
Yeah, it might be worth ordering one of these when it's available. Not sure it's quite a candidate for a replacement Pyra board though, but a raspberry pi type thing for anything up to about 100 euro, yeah, I could go for that.
 
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