The very first laptop with RISC V processor has just been announced (and it is better not to buy it)

What invites us to be cautious in the purchase of this portable PC is less the fledgling technology of RISC V, of which we know the hardware and software limits, than the hallucinated marketing discourse of the Chinese companies responsible for its development.

The first portable PC operating with a RISC V processor could see the light of day this year. The name of this development platform developed by Chinese companies Xcalibyte and DeepComputing is ROMA. A machine that would integrate a “never launched” processor – engraved in 28 nm for the normal version and 12 nm for the pro version – supported by 16 GB of LPDDR4 (X) RAM and up to 256 GB of SSD. The PC would be easy to update on the processor side, since the two versions of the CPU would be mounted on a module (system on a module, SOM) which is removed and inserted like a RAM strip (like a Raspberry Compute Module).

With the global enthusiasm for this open architecture in the face of the “monopolies” of x86 and ARM, you may be thinking “ It’s the right time to buy the laptop of the future! “. Well, calm down and save your money for now. Because if this machine currently in pre-order could well see the light of day, we must keep a cool head.

The first reason is that, unless you are a developer, there is very little chance that you can do anything with this machine: the software ecosystem is almost non-existent, the versions of Linux barely stable, the same for the support. It is a machine of pioneers, geared towards education and the development of low-level programs. A device that has the main benefit of being easier to transport than the only towers available with this type of chip. Chips whose performances are for the time being at the level of the daisies.

But even if you are one of the few users who have an interest in starting work on a RISC V processor, still wait a bit. Because the least we can say is that for now, this machine smells of sulfur.

Potpourri of marketing catchphrases

Let’s already put aside that the two Chinese companies (Deep Computing and Xcalibyte, which belong to the same person) who combine to develop the machine are unknown to the battalion. Add to this a legitimate doubt as to the nature of the processor of the Pro version. A component still “never announced”, therefore launched for the first time with this machine. Who else would integrate GPU and NPU for video and AI – but which architectures? Once again, since RISC V is an open architecture, we can imagine that the companies have made an agreement with a local brand, like StarFive and its Dubhe, but given the absence of tangible information, we must again stick to our guards.

But ultimately, the most worrying is a sentence from the press release that can be found on the official blog of the RISC V foundationwhich aggregates marketing words in such a ridiculous way that it is worth writing in English: ” A Web3-friendly platform with NFT creation and publication plus integrated MetaMask-style wallet, ROMA will create an even more integrated experience with future AR glasses and AI speakers operating entirely on RISC-V software and powered by RISC-V hardware”. Yes, this “Web3 ready” machine will be ready for NFTs, MetaMask wallets, augmented reality glasses and AI-enhanced headphones (but what are they?). And if you find this sentence au gratin, we spare you the one on the metaverse…

RISC V will come from China

We are accustomed to seeing the failings of Chinese-style marketing – if you think Americans are overselling their products, take a look at the advertisements of Middle Kingdom brands! – one can imagine that the Roma engineers left the reins of communication to marketing professionals on amphetamines.

From a technical and strategic point of view, it seems logical that the first portable PC integrating a RISC V chip comes from China, this country aggregating both industrial know-how, production plants and the need, more than the USA or Europe. EU, to push alternative processor architectures to x86 and ARM. But even with that in mind, the technical gray areas and the hallucinated discourse around this first machine call for the greatest caution.

Source :

The Register