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I didn't clearly explain what I wanted, sorry. I agree that similar hardware isn't cheap. It also applies to other architectures. For instance, according to htt

I didn't clearly explain what I wanted, sorry. I agree that similar hardware isn't cheap. It also applies to other architectures. For instance, according to https://www.tomshardware.com/news/ampere-64-core-arm-workstation-runs-windows https://www.tomshardware.com/news/ampere-64-core-arm-worksta..., > ... for now, Ampere's AADP workstation is available for orders starting at $3,250 for a 32-core version with 32 GB of DDR4 and $5,658 for a 128-core version with 128 GB of memory. Meanwhile, the devkit itself starts at $2,003. What I meant was that I'd buy a RISC-V equivalent of https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/J5040-ITX/ https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/J5040-ITX/ (a random popular example): an under $200 motherboard with a built-in low-end desktop CPU, usually quad-core. With good Linux support, I'd use it to upgrade some Core 2 Duo and similar PCs while keeping the same case, PSU, storage, GPU (if possible and practical), and peripherals.

snvzz 3y ago
>I'd buy a RISC-V equivalent of A new SiFive devboard is due this summer. Note that while each of their devboards has been cheaper than the previous one, but I do not expect it to be under $300. It might even cost a couple hundred more. They do include RAM instead of socketing it, so that makes up for some of the difference. The boards so far use standard smaller ATX form factors. IIRC, new board is meant to be based on P550 CPU, which still doesn't have V extension, so I will personally skip. The ratified V specification is about the minimum I want if I am going to spend more than $150. Right now, VisionFive 2 from Starfive and the newer LM4A stuff from Sipeed are about as good as it gets. During the second half of the year, new options will appear. Next year, there's a lot that we already know of that will happen, like Tenstorrent Ascalon, competitive with Zen5.
brucehoult 3y ago
It's hard to find good benchmarks comparing them, but the J5040 looks to be between 10% and 30% faster than the 2.3 GHz Arm A72s in the Kirin 950. The TH1520 SoC used in the Sipeed LM4A module / Lichee Pi 4A SBC (and others to be announced soon) has C910 cores which are very comparable to A72. The chip is spec'd for 2.5 GHz but in this application it is derated to 2.0 GHz, presumably due to (lack of) cooling. Once full software support arrives, these RISC-V machines should be hard to tell from the J5040 without running them side by side. There are much faster RISC-V machines coming this year, but I don't think you're going to be able to buy them for $119. Probably $500-$1000.

snvzz 3y ago

>I'd buy a RISC-V equivalent of A new SiFive devboard is due this summer. Note that while each of their devboards has been cheaper than the previous one, but I do not expect it to be under $300. It might even cost a couple hundred more. They do include RAM instead of socketing it, so that makes up for some of the difference. The boards so far use standard smaller ATX form factors. IIRC, new board is meant to be based on P550 CPU, which still doesn't have V extension, so I will personally skip. The ratified V specification is about the minimum I want if I am going to spend more than $150. Right now, VisionFive 2 from Starfive and the newer LM4A stuff from Sipeed are about as good as it gets. During the second half of the year, new options will appear. Next year, there's a lot that we already know of that will happen, like Tenstorrent Ascalon, competitive with Zen5.

brucehoult 3y ago

It's hard to find good benchmarks comparing them, but the J5040 looks to be between 10% and 30% faster than the 2.3 GHz Arm A72s in the Kirin 950. The TH1520 SoC used in the Sipeed LM4A module / Lichee Pi 4A SBC (and others to be announced soon) has C910 cores which are very comparable to A72. The chip is spec'd for 2.5 GHz but in this application it is derated to 2.0 GHz, presumably due to (lack of) cooling. Once full software support arrives, these RISC-V machines should be hard to tell from the J5040 without running them side by side. There are much faster RISC-V machines coming this year, but I don't think you're going to be able to buy them for $119. Probably $500-$1000.