Alibaba's 16-core RISC-V is the fastest open source CPU yet

[HEXUS]

The 12nm Xuantie 910 runs at up to 2.5GHz and is 40 per cent faster than any of its predecessors.

Read more.

[darcotech]

But can it run Crysis?

OK, OK, I know. I couldn't help myself.

On the more serious note, what kind off desktop tasks this CPU can handle?

[philehidiot]

But can it run Crysis?

OK, OK, I know. I couldn't help myself.

On the more serious note, what kind off desktop tasks this CPU can handle?

Yes, it can. Duh. The Chinese care about nothing other than being able to run Crysis at 60FPS as real, unequivocal proof of world domination. Nuclear testing is sooooo 1960s.

A side by side with Inhel and AMD could be interesting.


P.S. Did anyone hear the story that the US wanted to nuke the moon in order to prove technological superiority to the Soviet Union?

[DanceswithUnix]

On the more serious note, what kind off desktop tasks this CPU can handle?

In terms of performance you can't really tell from basic specs like this, but it sounds like a step up from the Pentium 4 for example. Also the software support for RISC-V seems to be hitting a tipping point but it isn't there yet, and you had better like running Linux.

It should be faster than a Raspberry Pi 4 though, and they already feel decently usable. Lack of open source integrated graphics holds things like this back from being in a raspberry pi clone, but if they could slap a 4 or 8 core cpu onto a mini-ITX board for a sane price then I would buy one in a heartbeat. I'm sure the open source AMD graphics drivers would get tweaked to work on RISC-V pretty fast.

[philehidiot]

In terms of performance you can't really tell from basic specs like this, but it sounds like a step up from the Pentium 4 for example. Also the software support for RISC-V seems to be hitting a tipping point but it isn't there yet, and you had better like running Linux.

It should be faster than a Raspberry Pi 4 though, and they already feel decently usable. Lack of open source integrated graphics holds things like this back from being in a raspberry pi clone, but if they could slap a 4 or 8 core cpu onto a mini-ITX board for a sane price then I would buy one in a heartbeat. I'm sure the open source AMD graphics drivers would get tweaked to work on RISC-V pretty fast.

Oooh, a P4.

I remember those.

Not very fondly.

Handy if you wanted a fried egg with your gaming.

[DanceswithUnix]

Oooh, a P4.

I remember those.

Not very fondly.

Handy if you wanted a fried egg with your gaming.

Yeah, they were very bad. But they were an everyday desktop workhorse not *that* long ago, so a 16 core P4 that doesn't burn your leg off with heat seemed something people can guess at the feel of.

[albert89]

Unless you want to be the target of Chinese gangs or spied
on by the Chinese government then I would pass on this one.
Although the Chinese can combine many of these CPU's and
take the super computer crown, but I don't think that
will happen in my lifetime.

[DanceswithUnix]

Unless you want to be the target of Chinese gangs or spied
on by the Chinese government then I would pass on this one.
Although the Chinese can combine many of these CPU's and
take the super computer crown, but I don't think that
will happen in my lifetime.

Is it better to be spied on by the Americans?

[Tabbykatze]

Unless you want to be the target of Chinese gangs or spied
on by the Chinese government then I would pass on this one.
Although the Chinese can combine many of these CPU's and
take the super computer crown, but I don't think that
will happen in my lifetime.

You know RISC-V is completely open source and 100% open for scrutiny by everyone. That and the HDLs for the alibaba processor are fully purchaseable so no under the radar magic BS grain of rice super computers can sneak in.

Frankly, because your comment is so lacking in merit, it is just racism.

[peterb]

You know RISC-V is completely open source and 100% open for scrutiny by everyone. That and the HDLs for the alibaba processor are fully purchaseable so no under the radar magic BS grain of rice super computers can sneak in.

Frankly, because your comment is so lacking in merit, it is just racism.

While not for a moment condoning conspiracy theories about spyware (especially when they refer to Microsoft as M$), and as a supporter of Open Source software, the fact that something is open to scrutiny doesn’t necessarily mean that it is scrutinised closely (I’m thinking of the shellshock bug as an example of a vulnerability on OS software)

However it does mean that if there is any doubt or evidence that there may be malware or vulnerability, the source is available for close scrutiny.

[foolishlywise]

The spying threat begs a question - what would the Chinese gov get by spying on a random person? Gangs I get but lets say 10 million people buy devices that can be spied upon. What would these gangs/gov do with so much data?

Proper threat? Yes. Tangible and workable? Maybe not - although I wouldn't be a happy bunny being spied upon anyway!

[DanceswithUnix]

You know RISC-V is completely open source and 100% open for scrutiny by everyone. That and the HDLs for the alibaba processor are fully purchaseable so no under the radar magic BS grain of rice super computers can sneak in.

Whilst true, that only really works if you download the source and get your own SoC made outside China so you know that what you inspected is what you have in the silicon. That works just fine if you are for example GCHQ who supposedly have their own small fab, but for the rest of us it just comes down to trust.

The reports of Intel's rdrand instruction being flawed on purpose for the benefit of the NSA for example seems a bit far fetched for a chip is designed in Israel, though I can see how if they managed it that would be very beneficial to the NSA whilst remaining subtle and deniable to the general public. Those reports of server boards with bugs embedded in them at Chinese manufacturing plants though, I never did see a shred of real evidence for that, and I never saw a viable route to get any sniffed data out of any data center either.

I hope this cpu does get open sourced though. It strikes me that RISC-V is the most interesting thing happening in computing atm, but I haven't found a board I can really use to play with yet. I'll happily take a Chinese one.

[Tabbykatze]

While not for a moment condoning conspiracy theories about spyware (especially when they refer to Microsoft as M$), and as a supporter of Open Source software, the fact that something is open to scrutiny doesn’t necessarily mean that it is scrutinised closely (I’m thinking of the shellshock bug as an example of a vulnerability on OS software)

However it does mean that if there is any doubt or evidence that there may be malware or vulnerability, the source is available for close scrutiny.

You are correct, OpenSSL had the Heartbleed flaw even though it was open for scrutiny. But Shellshock and Heartbleed were both examples of bad programming practices that led to the vulnerability. It would be much harder to push in back doors as obvious backdoors. You would have to feign ignorance/incompetence and hope no one finds them.

Whilst true, that only really works if you download the source and get your own SoC made outside China so you know that what you inspected is what you have in the silicon. That works just fine if you are for example GCHQ who supposedly have their own small fab, but for the rest of us it just comes down to trust.

The reports of Intel's rdrand instruction being flawed on purpose for the benefit of the NSA for example seems a bit far fetched for a chip is designed in Israel, though I can see how if they managed it that would be very beneficial to the NSA whilst remaining subtle and deniable to the general public. Those reports of server boards with bugs embedded in them at Chinese manufacturing plants though, I never did see a shred of real evidence for that, and I never saw a viable route to get any sniffed data out of any data center either.

I hope this cpu does get open sourced though. It strikes me that RISC-V is the most interesting thing happening in computing atm, but I haven't found a board I can really use to play with yet. I'll happily take a Chinese one.

Well, it is open source, you can run it on an FPGA and examine it already, you don't get the HDL so they could have some magic rice grain in that but it can be fully looked through in a lab environment.

[Spreadie]

Alibaba's 16-core RISC-V is the fastest open source CPU yet

All well and good, but it's pretty much "tallest dwarf".

[DanceswithUnix]

Well, it is open source, you can run it on an FPGA and examine it already, you don't get the HDL so they could have some magic rice grain in that but it can be fully looked through in a lab environment.

I thought it was just an intention to open source so far, I have yet to see the github link.

[badass]

Frankly, because your comment is so lacking in merit, it is just racism.

See here's a problem. Calling out something as racism when it isn't just devalues the word and further reinforces racists views that when they are being accused, it is a load of BS from snowflakes.