Well, the RISC-V instruction set is open source, but that doesn’t imply a system architecture standard. So there’s not going to be one. The x86 PC became an industry standard basically by accident, an accident that is unlikely to happen again. Hell, even CP/M, the DOS before DOS had to come in different flavors for different manufacturers because the several manufacturers that supported it didn’t build compatible computers.
Microsoft has so much inertia on x86 that it’s probably not going anywhere, and RISC-V will become the new ARM, same cores slapped into whatever the hell the company wanted to build that day. With no standard platforms, there will be no modular accessories. What you’ll get are sealed shut devices with no user serviceability, the RAM and storage soldered to the board and the bootloader stored in on-chip ROM.
Milk-V Oasis Mini ITX board was going to have replaceable RAM, M.2 slot for SSD, and 4x SATA slots. The only reason it didn’t release was because of Sophgo sanctions (They make the SG2380 which was the Oasis was based on)
Sure, it’s technologically possible. Is there even an inkling of a plan to go from “dev kit” to “widely available consumer product?” Because basically the only “widely available consumer products” are locked down playpens like iPhones and such. Even a lot of x86 devices are going to the soldered everything approach.
Is there even an inkling of a plan to go from “dev kit” to “widely available consumer product?”
It’s not a dev kit, it’s meant to be a regular PC with upgradable storage, RAM, and PCIe slot for $120. Milk-V and other RISC-V companies already have widely available consumer products (Milk-V Mars, Banana Pi, etc.), they’re just usually SBCs because that’s what’s easiest to produce and RISC-V is early in development. Remember that the first standard with Vector instructions just came out a few months ago (RVA23), and there’s no point in trying to seriously compete with X86/ARM PCs until you have that.
Even a lot of x86 devices are going to the soldered everything approach.
That right there tells you this is not a RISC-V/ARM problem. It’s just that everyone knows on-SOC memory performs better than DIMM, and manufacturers are starting to offer these to compete with Apple M chips.
How come?
Well, the RISC-V instruction set is open source, but that doesn’t imply a system architecture standard. So there’s not going to be one. The x86 PC became an industry standard basically by accident, an accident that is unlikely to happen again. Hell, even CP/M, the DOS before DOS had to come in different flavors for different manufacturers because the several manufacturers that supported it didn’t build compatible computers.
Microsoft has so much inertia on x86 that it’s probably not going anywhere, and RISC-V will become the new ARM, same cores slapped into whatever the hell the company wanted to build that day. With no standard platforms, there will be no modular accessories. What you’ll get are sealed shut devices with no user serviceability, the RAM and storage soldered to the board and the bootloader stored in on-chip ROM.
https://community.milkv.io/t/introducing-the-milk-v-oasis-with-sg2380-a-revolutionary-risc-v-desktop-experience/780/122
Milk-V Oasis Mini ITX board was going to have replaceable RAM, M.2 slot for SSD, and 4x SATA slots. The only reason it didn’t release was because of Sophgo sanctions (They make the SG2380 which was the Oasis was based on)
Sure, it’s technologically possible. Is there even an inkling of a plan to go from “dev kit” to “widely available consumer product?” Because basically the only “widely available consumer products” are locked down playpens like iPhones and such. Even a lot of x86 devices are going to the soldered everything approach.
It’s not a dev kit, it’s meant to be a regular PC with upgradable storage, RAM, and PCIe slot for $120. Milk-V and other RISC-V companies already have widely available consumer products (Milk-V Mars, Banana Pi, etc.), they’re just usually SBCs because that’s what’s easiest to produce and RISC-V is early in development. Remember that the first standard with Vector instructions just came out a few months ago (RVA23), and there’s no point in trying to seriously compete with X86/ARM PCs until you have that.
That right there tells you this is not a RISC-V/ARM problem. It’s just that everyone knows on-SOC memory performs better than DIMM, and manufacturers are starting to offer these to compete with Apple M chips.