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I won't be sad. Not just because RISC-V's CPU is still not all there (but could be in another generation or two), but also the software, the lack of backwards c

I won't be sad. Not just because RISC-V's CPU is still not all there (but could be in another generation or two), but also the software, the lack of backwards compatibility with older Pis, the increased cost of that chip that even with 2 additional CPU cores doesn't quite beat the Pi 4, it's just not tenable right now. There's also no way the Pi Foundation will use it, as the moment they use a standard chip instead of something proprietary Broadcom, they lose a lot of their unique value and become interchangeable with any other board. "standard RISC-V boot process rather than bespoke garbage" AKA It has UEFI. You can get UEFI on a Raspberry Pi as well with TianoCore, even if it isn't quite as complete and requires Pi-specific because ARM is a mess. However, ARM has a specification for that, SystemReady, which is slowly rolling out. If the Raspberry Pi 5 were SystemReady compliant at a higher level (one can dream), then we could have unified images just like a PC. Also, be careful what you wish for. RISC-V, despite all the hype, is just an instruction set. UEFI compatibility is optional. Open-source drivers are optional. Not having Secure Boot is optional. If you want to add your own proprietary instructions, you can do so. Apple could remake their own M1 with RISC-V while having the drivers and firmware support be just as complicated as with ARM and not one ounce simpler. Heck, Apple could switch the iPhone's next chip out with RISC-V and still keep their App Store monopoly and iOS-only boot process intact. "standard usb-pd power supplies" The Raspberry Pi 4 fixed that problem in an unannounced hardware revision years ago. Revision 1.2 in 2020. "competitively priced with options under $100" AKA 3 times as expensive as they need to be. Not good enough. It's hard enough for kids to fork over $35, let alone $90. By $90 it's a completely different product for a completely different market.

snvzz 4y ago
>the increased cost of that chip that even with 2 additional CPU cores doesn't quite beat the Pi 4 The 2 additional CPU cores throw me off. I don't know what chip you're talking about there. >Not just because RISC-V's CPU is still not all there (but could be in another generation or two), If you're thinking performance, Ventana's Veyron should be available in 2023H2 in server form. While we don't know how competitive that will be, there's also Tenstorrent Ascalon (Jim Keller's team). That's releasing next year (2024), with performance competitive with (projected) Zen5. There's no gap left to close at that point. Of course, if the target is just a "Pi 4", the LM4A that's releasing the present month does already significantly outperform it. Whereas the already available VisionFive2 (JH7110 SoC) lands somewhere between Raspberry Pi 3b+ and 4b CPU performance, with a GPU that's some 4x the throughput, and much faster RAM and I/O. >The Raspberry Pi 4 fixed that problem in an unannounced hardware revision years ago. Revision 1.2 in 2020. AIUI, what they fixed is a spec violation. They still require 5v at very high current. This is e.g. in contrast to the VisionFive2, which will take any usb-pd phone charger and will negotiate 12v, yet will also work with one of these 5v rpi supplies. >Also, be careful what you wish for. RISC-V, despite all the hype, is just an instruction set. A high-quality RISC ISA you don't need to pay a license to use, and which has put serious efforts in having high-quality boot and platform specs in place before significant hardware availability. >AKA 3 times as expensive as they need to be. Not good enough. I get the feeling you have not looked at availability and pricing of Raspberry Pi products recently. Where recently is quite generous.

snvzz 4y ago

>the increased cost of that chip that even with 2 additional CPU cores doesn't quite beat the Pi 4 The 2 additional CPU cores throw me off. I don't know what chip you're talking about there. >Not just because RISC-V's CPU is still not all there (but could be in another generation or two), If you're thinking performance, Ventana's Veyron should be available in 2023H2 in server form. While we don't know how competitive that will be, there's also Tenstorrent Ascalon (Jim Keller's team). That's releasing next year (2024), with performance competitive with (projected) Zen5. There's no gap left to close at that point. Of course, if the target is just a "Pi 4", the LM4A that's releasing the present month does already significantly outperform it. Whereas the already available VisionFive2 (JH7110 SoC) lands somewhere between Raspberry Pi 3b+ and 4b CPU performance, with a GPU that's some 4x the throughput, and much faster RAM and I/O. >The Raspberry Pi 4 fixed that problem in an unannounced hardware revision years ago. Revision 1.2 in 2020. AIUI, what they fixed is a spec violation. They still require 5v at very high current. This is e.g. in contrast to the VisionFive2, which will take any usb-pd phone charger and will negotiate 12v, yet will also work with one of these 5v rpi supplies. >Also, be careful what you wish for. RISC-V, despite all the hype, is just an instruction set. A high-quality RISC ISA you don't need to pay a license to use, and which has put serious efforts in having high-quality boot and platform specs in place before significant hardware availability. >AKA 3 times as expensive as they need to be. Not good enough. I get the feeling you have not looked at availability and pricing of Raspberry Pi products recently. Where recently is quite generous.