Debian 13 will support RISC-V processors, alongside x86, ARM, and other architectures.
  • HousePanther@lemmy.goblackcat.comEnglish
    59·
    1 year ago

    I love this! I just cannot wait for the day that I can build a RISC or ARM64 desktop in the same way we would an Intel or AMD one. I realize though that this is still a ways out.

    • nyan@lemmy.cafeEnglish
      22·
      1 year ago

      Getting there—the last time I checked, Gentoo had enough stuff with ~riscv keywords to produce a KDE desktop with Firefox, a media player, email, and some other useful software. If Firefox is completely functional, that alone would be enough for some people. Still not user-friendly to install, though, because Gentoo. Debian’s better at that part. Anyway, if you can get the hardware, the software is edging up on “possible”.

      • sab@kbin.social
        18·
        1 year ago

        It’s not long ago Pine64 announced their Pinetab-V with RISC-V infrastructure and absolutely no software support, now people are already running KDE Plasma and watching YouTube videos with it. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but I’m amazed how fast it’s developing.

        I really don’t think we’re that far away from being able to run RISK-V as a daily driver for basic computing.

        And I gotta say, my partner recently got a M1 MacBook Air, and while I have many reservations about the device I’m jealous about the fanlessnes and battery life. So I’d absolutely be interested in being an early adopter.

      • socphoenix@midwest.socialEnglish
        7·
        1 year ago

        FreeBSD has had kde on riscV for a bit now, if they can do it I can’t imagine Debian et all will have much issue once they get the ball rolling.

      • orangeboats@lemmy.world
        2·
        1 year ago

        People are running KDE desktop on the VisionFive 2.

        Arch Linux has had a RISC-V port for quite a while now - FYI, just in case you don’t know, Felix (the guy running the website I linked) is one of the Arch Linux package maintainers.

    • herrvogel@lemmy.world
      9·
      1 year ago

      It’s probably gonna happen sooner than you think, I’m happy to say. You can already buy desktop motherboards that come with decently powerful ARM CPUs. The options are very limited of course and you’re probably not gonna have the best experience, but we’re getting there.

    • TimeSquirrel@kbin.social
      64·
      1 year ago

      A ton of stuff we take for granted will have to be recompiled and you can forget even trying to use Proton to play x86/x64 games without some weird flaky hacks and actual virtualization, since it’s only a translation layer.

  • itsmikeyd@lemmy.mlEnglish
    19·
    1 year ago

    Can somebody ELI5 this to a normal tech person who is aware of the RISC5, but has no idea why everyone is so excited about this?

    • Why is this exciting?
    • Is there a future where this replaces x86 CPUs in the desktop / laptop?
    • Will emulation or translation layers allow x86 applications to run on RISC CPUs?
    • happyhippo@feddit.it
      16·
      1 year ago

      I’m also just a normal tech person, so my answers may be inaccurate.

      My understanding is:

      1. ARM seems superior in the mobile computing domain where efficiency matters more than raw power. I wonder if that’s related to the RISC vs CISC instructions… if that’s the case, having an open architecture alternative to ARM would allow any manufacturer to create their CPU designs without having to pay a hefty fee to ARM. Should bring more competition and won’t keep manufacturers hostage of ARM. If ARMs raises their royalties 1000x, Apple, Qualcomm etc just have to comply for lack of alternatives, and consumers end up paying the price. This won’t be possible with RISC-V
      2. I can definitely see this happening, or at least having the option. OSs and apps will have to build for that new architecture of course, which takes time and money. I’m personally particularly excited about laptops
      3. I guess. I don’t think it’s ever impossible to do this, it’s always a matter of how much of an impact it has on performances

      If I said something stupid, please let me know, I’d like to learn about this!

      • Decker108@lemmy.ml
        111·
        1 year ago

        Just to clarify a few points in #1: CISC has gone largely (entirely?) extinct, so it doesn’t play into this. Arm processors are more efficient than x86, but Risc-v is even more efficient than Arm, giving them an edge in cheap, low power computing. However, some companies have started experimenting with Risc-v for HPC applications, so it’s turning out more versatile than expected. Just this week there was also news of a bunch of companies banding together to develop Risc-v chips for automobile and Telecom, so don’t be surprised if we get Risc-v smartphones and tablets in the near future.

  • BearPear@lemmy.world
    9·
    1 year ago

    So are there any laptops or computers using RISC? First time hearing about this. (edit: fixed typo)

    • Decker108@lemmy.ml
      6·
      1 year ago

      There’s currently only two Risc-v laptops that I’ve heard of: The Alibaba Roma and the Balthazar Personal Computing Device. Most development is currently happening in SBCs and microcontrollers.