• LeFantome@programming.dev
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    5 days ago

    Used x86-64 has by far the best price/performance. Not even ARM can touch it. Even early 64 bit Intel chips were as fast as a Pi 5.

    However, old x86-64 is going to be large and power hungry. It is also going to suck in the GPU and RAM dept. Bad for AI.

    RISC-V is becoming a viable alternative to ARM. Outside of Apple, neither is an alternative to x86-64.

    There are many use cases where the speed of the main CPU is not limiting beyond a certain point. Those are the use cases that SBCs play in. RISC-V is entering that zone (except for price).

    In other words, RISC-V is becoming viable for early adopters. From there, it will grow volume, drop price and cross-the-chasm to the rest of us.

    US/China relations are slowing things down though. We should have had the Milk-V OASIS by now. It would have been the board to really change minds about RiSC-V. But it just got cancelled as the chip maker has had sanctions applied against them.