Well... obviously some people simply prefer the open source philosophy - and we are seeing open source processors coming out of the open source instruction set : By backing RISC-V, they are sending a message to OEMs.
Nvidia's argument for using RV was that they had the freedom to do things that they weren't allowed to with ARM, and as result they designed better microcontrollers. Surely that turns into the consumer's advantage?
I'm just a couch potato, but as I understand it, RV can beat ARM on PPA because of its modularity : whether that turns into a significant advantage for the consumer, I guess depends on what the processor is being used for.
RnD could be sped up either because of "standing on the shoulders of giants" or because of not having to wrangle licenses : The consumer potentially gets the next generation tech quicker...
And production might be much cheaper, and those cost reductions could be passed on to the consumer.
poVoq@lemmy.ml 2 years ago
True, but ARM has been pretty liberal with licensing. There is a risk of it falling under US control and thus sanctions against China though, which seems to be the main reason of the current interest in RISC-V.
3arn0wl@lemmy.ml 2 years ago
Yes - Arm has had to ease up both on licensing fees to smaller companies, and also has granted more flexibility in design, both as a result of RISC-V's popularity. And they certainly didn't want to do the latter!
The really interesting question is : Will RISC-V have gained enough momentum by the time the Nvidia/Arm deal has been decided upon (and probably rejected)? (And was this all a ruse by Nvidia for RISC-V??)
The recently announced extension ratifications help - especially Vector. And China is certainly pushing it, thanks to the tech trade dispute.
But here's the point : There's no real reason for designers not to use RISC-V. They've been teaching RISC-V at top universities for a decade. There's open source software available to design and ratify. There's no licencing costs, and there's even funding available to get designs fabbed.
marmulak@lemmy.ml 2 years ago
Not sure, but if Nvidia can just use RV (R5?) now instead of ARM, why waste money to buy ARM then? The advantage to them I guess would be to form a monopoly, so the acquisition will surely not be allowed.
If it were a ruse I don't see how such a ruse benefits RISC-V... perhaps fear of Nvidia owning ARM will drive others towards RISC-V, but that benefits Nvidia how? Better free designs?