[Discuss] Is RISC-V ready for prime time?

[Dale R. Worley]

discuss-request at lists.blu.org writes:
> From: Dan Ritter <dsr at randomstring.org>
> Sorta but not really?
>
> https://frame.work/products/deep-computing-risc-v-mainboard is
> the closest thing to that, I think, and the caveats are
> significant:

I was thinking that in order to get a processor family "ready for prime
time" in consumer-type systems, you not only have to get the CPU
architecture (as it is usually thought of) working, but also a lot of
hardware/kernel/software conventions regarding how it interacts with the
memory, power control, I/O devices, BIOS, etc.  Those aren't interesting
from an academic point of view, so you can't get the universities to do
the work.  But with RISC-V, there's no manufacturer with a monopoly on
the CPU chips that will make enough money with its success to
sponsor/subsidize all that interface work.

Dale