Ahead-looking: Regardless of some setbacks and common uncertainty concerning the future, the RISC-V instruction set structure (ISA) is slowly rising its presence within the open-source market. Now, there is a new RISC-V laptop computer primarily based on Ubuntu, one of the used Linux working programs.

Hong Kong producer DeepComputing launched a laptop computer constructed across the RISC-V ISA. The DC-Roma RISC-V Laptop computer II expands the {hardware} capabilities provided by the earlier era and is touted because the world’s first RISC-V laptop computer able to working the Ubuntu Linux working system.

The DC-Roma RISC-V Laptop computer II system makes use of the K1 SoC developed by Chinese language firm SpacemiT, whereas the earlier “Roma” mannequin used a JH7110 SoC created by StarFive. The K1 structure consists of eight 64-bit RISC-V CPU cores working at as much as 2 GHz, ok to ship “enhanced efficiency” and vitality effectivity.

The brand new RISC-V laptop computer specs embody as much as 16 GB of LPDDR4X RAM, a 1 TB SSD, a 1080p show, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity. Whole battery life is estimated to be 8 hours, and its 8-pin interface for add-in playing cards is designed to supply builders with a neater solution to compile and take a look at their code.

The Roma will ship with Ubuntu desktop 23.10 pre-installed, which DeepComputing claims provides a extra secure and environment friendly working surroundings in one of the well-known person interfaces within the Linux world. The laptop computer’s chassis is a “full-metal” design that ought to improve warmth dissipation and robustness in opposition to exterior (mechanical) stress.

Preorders open for the DC-Roma “2.0” in three days. Nonetheless, DeepComputing has not supplied pricing specifics. Ubuntu and the Hong Kong producer boast concerning the new laptop computer’s options and “highly effective AI capabilities.” DeepComputing claims the K1 is the primary SoC on the planet to help RISC-V high-performance computing RVA 22 Profile RVV 1.0 with a 256-bit width.

Canonical stated RISC-V is changing into a aggressive ISA in “a number of markets.” Porting Ubuntu to RISC-V would make it the reference platform for early adopters and builders. Regardless of successful approval from some high-profile chipmakers, RISC-V nonetheless has a lot to show in opposition to competing ISA applied sciences corresponding to Arm or x86. The DC-Roma RISC-V Laptop computer II may very well be an intriguing (hopefully cheap) introduction to open-source ISA for Linux-based builders.