RISC-V processors have been gaining traction and software program help (opens in new tab) for a while, so it’s good to see the open-source structure making its method into precise merchandise. The Alibaba Roma RISC-V laptop computer, introduced again in the summertime (opens in new tab) and noticed by CNX Software program (opens in new tab), is lastly accessible, and accommodates a quad-core processor plus loads of the options we’ve develop into used to from Intel and AMD computer systems.
The Roma relies on a computing platform referred to as Wujian 600 aimed toward cost-effective edge computing. The CPU within the laptop computer is an Alibaba T-Head (opens in new tab) TH1520 quad-core Xuantie C910 processor that’s clocked at as much as 2.5GHz with a 4 TOPS NPU and an Creativeness Applied sciences GPU on the aspect. It could help as much as 16GB LPDDR4 or 4X RAM at as much as 4266 MT/s, and has 256GB of SSD storage.Â
The show is a 14.1-inch 1080p panel, a decision matched by the webcam. Ought to that not be sufficient display screen actual e state, there’s an HDMI port for hooking up an exterior monitor. For networking, there’s Wi-Fi 5 (sure, 5) and an Ethernet port. There’s additionally Bluetooth 5, for headphones and different peripherals.
You’ll be able to cost over USB Kind-C port, and there are a few Kind-A ports, too. Battery life is rated at 10 hours. There is a devoted safety chip onboard, an Arm SC300 Cortex-M3 safety enclave processor with Trusted Execution Atmosphere safety certification, and the laptop computer runs Alibaba’s personal Linux-based OS OpenAnolis (opens in new tab).
The keyboard is backlit, and at solely 20 mm (0.7 inches) thick and weighing 1.7 kg (3.7 kilos), it’s undoubtedly on the thinner and lighter finish of the market, even when it could’t tackle the featherlike HP Pavilion Aero (opens in new tab).Â
The Roma is accessible from Alibaba (opens in new tab) as a primary bundle for $1,499, which comes with a guaranty of ‘greater than’ 5 years and free spare elements. There’s additionally a $4,999 ‘premium’ bundle that sees extras like headphones and a smartwatch added to the deal, together with the prospect to have your identify engraved on the laptop computer’s casing.
The Roma is accessible for pre-order from Alibaba (opens in new tab), in black or grey, and the primary 100 orders purpose to ship in This autumn 2022, whereas an additional 1,000 will arrive in Q1 2023.