Now you can run Ubuntu on a RISC-V computer that costs less than $20 | Hacker News Reader

Now you can run Ubuntu on a RISC-V computer that costs less than $20

liliputing.com

40 pointsAlexKraken19 comments

You've got my attention: this is a possible replacement for the Raspberry Pi units we've been using for IoT applications (hopefully this device will support AWS Greengrass 2?). However, unless it can ship in quantity it's little more than an amusement. Getting Ubuntu or NetBSD to run on new hardware isn't the challenge: getting sufficient quantities of the units for prime-time use is.

AllWinner did a run rumoured to be 5 million dies back in 2019 so there are plenty of the chips floating around (I'm doubtful there are very many of these boards - maybe 1000s?). The numbers are probaby dwarfed by the number of Broadcom chips shipped every month though :-/

The ecosystem as a whole is very undeveloped compared to Raspberry Pi, but that's what we're all working on. It'll take time!

I should add that I have another board which uses the same chip & it's slow as molasses, although probably similar to a similarly priced Arm chip running Linux. You get what you pay for, and you're not paying very much.

>it's slow as molasses

D1's CPU is comparable to a Pentium III 1GHz, which I remember as something fast, but sure isn't today.

The VisionFive2 is also <$100 but outclasses it, with 4x SiFive U74 (between rpi3b+ and 4 performance), GPU from imatech that's supposedly 4x as fast as rpi4's, better video encode/decode acceleration than rpi4, 2x GbE ports, M.2 port and USB3.

Sure, I'm on the VisionFive2 kickstarter, looking forward to it :-)

Probably more rpi zero speed than rpi 3 or 4 speed. 1GHz single core.

But yes, options are very much needed.

Have you looked at any of the Pi clones like the Orange Pi?

Also if you're building these IoT things at scale, have you looked at the more simple/cheap chips like an ESP32?

Obviously I ask without context for what you're doing, but also as an amateur hobbiest who's not even sure which board I should use for my own minor project after Raspberry Pis became unobtainable.

I've had hit and miss experiences with Orange Pi specifically. Build quality of their boards is extremely variable, Nano Pi boards cost a bit more but they're much more consistent.

I'm more or less in the same boat as you! I've got a few ESP8266s, a Teensy 3.5, and a few Arduino Unos. The ESP8266 has worked the best for my purposes - I added an accelerometer and battery pack, to make handheld sculptures interact with web pages. But if you need all the functionality of a Pi, the simpler chips are noticeably lacking...

The company is Chinese. Given recent restrictions, do they even have access to the right fabs?

AllWinner are a prolific fabless semiconductor company and I'm not aware of any restrictions.

Hey Bezos, got any?

Sipeed Lichee RV Dock Allwinner D1 Development Board RISC-V Linux Starter Kit (Ram: 512MB) $46.00

https://www.amazon.com/Sipeed-Lichee-Allwinner-Development-S...

I'd suggest VisionFive2 instead.

Do not pay $46 for a D1. I got it for like $12 several months ago...

I've never had success ordering on Aliexpress. The orders always get canceled. I made an account specifically to order RISCV boards and none have gone through.

Am I going crazy or is this just bad luck?

I buy a lot of small electrical components from AliExpress and have had a near perfect success rate here in Canada (not bulk, maybe 1-5 of each to have spares). Just lots of soldering accessories (and my TS100 soldering iron).

Only board I've ordered has been an Orange Pi, and it claims to have arrived in my mailbox (I've been away from home).

I've used AliExpress off and on since maybe 2015 without incident. I tend to avoid ordering things between November and mid February due to the western holiday shipping crunch followed by the Chinese new year. Other than that my experience has been pretty good.

I haven't ordered computer boards, but I did order a Peltier laptop cooler similar to this one[0] with a silicone aluminum pad rather than gel, and it came exactly as pictured. It could be stronger but it's pretty much what I expected. I thought at worst it's a nice portable aluminum stand and I can replace the cooling unit if necessary.

[0] https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003021158311.html

Does the laptop cooler actually work?

Yes, but a good laptop cooler fan is better. The Peltier cooler also has a fan so isn't silent but certainly quieter. I use it propped up at a high angle (with external keyboard) which has a good display height and natural convection cooling.

That's definitely strange. I order stuff to the US from AliExpress probably every other month and haven't had any real issues.

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