3 ms·

>Right now, RISC-V is mainly being used in cheap embedded components. Considering that x86 and ARM also were made for cheap computing, until becoming the domina

by TMWNN 2mo ago

>Right now, RISC-V is mainly being used in cheap embedded components. Considering that x86 and ARM also were made for cheap computing, until becoming the dominant high end processor, history tells us that the cheapest ISA is the one which will become the highest performance one. You surely mean "history tells us that the cheapest and largest-volume ISA is the one which will become the highest performance one". It's not "RISC" having reached x86 levels; it's ARM variants. They did so with volume that for the first time in modern computing massively exceeded x86's. Apple's PA Semi acquisition has resulted in wizardry, but that wizardry would not have been possible without the massive volumes TSMC enjoys. In any case, I'm not convinced that the above is sufficient; there has to be some level of technical superiority (or at least reasonably equal-level) as well. Otherwise, some inexpensive microcontroller that is manufactured at 100X the volume of x86 would have taken off. Does RISC-V have enough "goodness" in its design? I do not know.

hajile 2mo ago
Here's a good one. Qualcomm beat ARM in court and reportedly pays 2-3% royalties where ARM was demanding 5-10% royalties. Qualcomm's ARM license expires around 2028 with an option to extend to 2033 (for some amount of money). If Qualcomm is locked into ARM when renewal comes up, ARM is going to not only name the higher price, but likely charge even more to recover their lost revenue. Qualcomm is already designing their own cores and ARM is charging them billions for the privilege. Increasing net profits 2-3% for simply doing the thing you are doing seems like a very easy choice. Increasing net profits 5-10% (maybe more) after the price hike seems like a fiduciary responsibility. This isn't just talk either. Qualcomm already proposed a RISC-V Znew extension (nearly 300 pages of changes to make the ISA more like ARMv8). They bought Ventana (a company already done with their second very wide RISC-V design). They partnered with other companies to make Quintauris for promoting RISC-V too. There's a non-zero chance we see a RISC-V design from Qualcomm before 2028 and I believe a near 100% certainty of a RISC-V design before 2033.

by TMWNN 2mo ago

hajile 2mo ago

Here's a good one. Qualcomm beat ARM in court and reportedly pays 2-3% royalties where ARM was demanding 5-10% royalties. Qualcomm's ARM license expires around 2028 with an option to extend to 2033 (for some amount of money). If Qualcomm is locked into ARM when renewal comes up, ARM is going to not only name the higher price, but likely charge even more to recover their lost revenue. Qualcomm is already designing their own cores and ARM is charging them billions for the privilege. Increasing net profits 2-3% for simply doing the thing you are doing seems like a very easy choice. Increasing net profits 5-10% (maybe more) after the price hike seems like a fiduciary responsibility. This isn't just talk either. Qualcomm already proposed a RISC-V Znew extension (nearly 300 pages of changes to make the ISA more like ARMv8). They bought Ventana (a company already done with their second very wide RISC-V design). They partnered with other companies to make Quintauris for promoting RISC-V too. There's a non-zero chance we see a RISC-V design from Qualcomm before 2028 and I believe a near 100% certainty of a RISC-V design before 2033.