Update: 2023: there seems to be a new version “StarFive VisionFive 2 JH7110 64bit SoC”

• with 4GB RAM for 84,49 Bucks
• or 114,49 Bucks for the 8GB RAM version
• CPU performance is between Raspberry Pi3 and Pi34
• also remarkable: price-wise it can compete with the Raspberry 4 and ODROID N2l!
  • checkout this offer INCLUDING WIFI DONGLE for 104,99 Bucks (UNTESTED YET :D)

  • 

    https://www.ebay.de/itm/234961400110

• HINT: there are still massive software hickups X-D (HDMI might not work per default)
• but ExplainingComputers was able to run a customized version of Debian 😀 (Linux Kernel: 5.15.0 (StarFive kernel tag v2.6.0)
  • first time LibreOffice runs on RISC-V hardware 😀

• 

  https://youtu.be/ykKnc86UtXg?t=613

Known Issues:

• 4K resolution is not working in X
• XFCE desktop resizing slowness
• 1080p60 video playback issue
• libreoffice slowness using gtk3
• Mosaic pictures after login
• xeglinfo crashes X server
• Qt modules qtwebengine failed to build
• Firefox hardware acceleration is not working (mind that when browsing or youtube playback)
  
• NWjs Filesystem access APIs failed.
• NWjs mp3 encoder failed to be detected
• Hang after awhile in dual display [MIPI+HDMI]

What’s Next – WIP

• Debian-Installer support – Could support both SD + eMMC boot in single image.
• ipv6 enablement
• NVMe PCIe enablement and test
• u-boot splash screen
• 4K resolution support for X and Wayland
• Improved X Desktop user experience
• Vulkan support
• Firefox hardware acceleration
• 1080p60 video playback
• Gnome Wayland Desktop for improved user experience
• virtual console via HDMI

Link for Image Download: VisionFive v2 Debian

unfortunately: the performance of the CPU is still light years away from the ARM competition 😐 (but it’s a start)

Difference to the VisionFive 1:

Update: 2022: RISC-V Dual Core SoC for 179 bucks!

where to buy? https://shop.allnetchina.cn/collections/starfive/products/starfive-visionfive-ai-single-board-computer

https://riscv.org/blog/2021/03/risc-v-star-rising-from-the-east-introducing-starfive/

https://rvspace.org

keep an eye on: RISC-V SoCs: https://riscv.org/exchange/

2018-04: RISC-V CPUs not affected by spectre & meltdown

“No announced RISC-V silicon is susceptible, and the popular open-source RISC-V Rocket processor is unaffected as it does not perform memory accesses speculatively.” (2018-01-05 src)

“If you’re selling an IoT sensor for 1 USD, how can you suddenly triple your costs by integrating secure technology, either forcing your market to bear the weight (if it will), or forcing your own company to vastly decrease its profit margins. None of this is sustainable in an ecosystem where the average ARM Cortex-M0+ costs under 0.60 USD per unit at volume with no trusted element.

My solution? RISC-V. With custom, open source, RISC-V processing technology, we can build secure processors with trust elements at a fraction of the cost of ARM processors. Integrating the RISC-V architecture into Lab Mouse, we can then offer a secure platform that is finally cost-effective.

So, in 2016, I researched the RISC-V architecture and joined the RISC-V consortium. I currently sit on the Debug, Security, and general ISA groups and hope to soon get back to participating more heavily. In 2017 at Hack in the Box Amsterdam, I demonstrated security flaws in the RISC-V processor architecture that are now resolved, proving that I put in the effort to research the architecture to ensure it is resilient enough for use in the Lab Mouse solution.” (src)

© 2011-2018 Fabrice Bellard – News – VM list – FAQ – Technical notes