Title says it all... Frame Work just announced a RISC mainboard for their 13" laptop:
Framework RISC Mainboard
- Thread starter pasorrijer
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No, it's the hug of death.
frame.work
Introducing a new RISC-V Mainboard from DeepComputing
We’re excited to share a preview of a Framework Laptop 13 Mainboard with a new CPU architecture.
Isn't there a case ecosystem for Framework motherboards that are surplus post upgrades? This would presumably go in one of those.
Don't get this if you expect a fully functional system. You're looking at a competitor to a Pi (and a Pi4 instead of the current Pi5, though with a couple PCIe lanes like the Pi5), but on a different architecture, and from a Chinese SoC vendor.
If you're looking at linux support, there's the Raspberry Pi line with good support and a large community, and everything else where the vendor loses interest and stops supporting the SBCs soon after release, and the communities never reach critical mass to self-support.
It doesn't look like Framework is supporting this themselves, more just selling you the rope. This is really just for linux developers.
Another thing to be aware of is that some of the "expansion" slots (really just dongle slots) on the Framework 13 won't be full function with this board. The JH7110 SoC has no on-board USB3 or USB4, two PCIe lanes (with one likely taken up by a third party USB3 controller, and the other with a SSD), no WiFi (it does have GbE, and Framework will probably hang a WiFi chip off USB), and only one HDMI output and no DisplayPort (it does have a MIPI-DSI port, so can theoretically run the internal display at the same time as the single external display). The JH7110 is more an overgrown microcontroller than it is a proper laptop CPU.
Yeah, I have two Raspberry Pis (3B+ and a 4B) but haven't gotten a 5. A friend has a 5 that he runs Ubuntu on (I think.... not sure what he settled on). They really aren't desktop machines... a little too slow and limited. I'd really like either a fast ARM or a fast RISC-V in a minipc format. Even better one that has PCIe slots and can use discrete GPUs (a straight up desktop machine).
As far as I can tell, there's nothing like Cortex-X, Oryon, or Apple's P-cores in RISC-V land, so I think you're limited to ARM for something like this in the near future.
You're definitely limited to ARM for this one, since RISC-V drivers for external GPUs just don't exist.
Yeah... it would be interesting if RISC-V could step up too, though.
Best case: one of the bigger proponents behind RISC-V has actually ordered and funded Framework for this. Worst case: somebody influential at Framework is a fan and is doing this without a followup plan.
I have no actual information and no idea which "C - none of the above" reality will be picking from these choices of A and B.
I have no actual information and no idea which "C - none of the above" reality will be picking from these choices of A and B.
Correct, this is NOT Framework making the mainboard. I'm sure they Deep Computing. I'm sure Framework helped out with some engineering and general resources, but not a huge amount is my guess.
This is actually much more exciting to me because someone other than Framework is making a mainboard. Not an accessory, not a module, not a mainboard case, but a full mainboard. That's super cool. Entirely possible we'll get a Snapdragon X sooner or later, likely not from Framework is my guess.
And this is exactly what Framework set out to do. Create a platform & ecosystem that lets others come in and actually create their own bits to put into the chassis/framework of the system, be modular so it's easy to swap things in and out.
deepcomputing.io
This is actually much more exciting to me because someone other than Framework is making a mainboard. Not an accessory, not a module, not a mainboard case, but a full mainboard. That's super cool. Entirely possible we'll get a Snapdragon X sooner or later, likely not from Framework is my guess.
And this is exactly what Framework set out to do. Create a platform & ecosystem that lets others come in and actually create their own bits to put into the chassis/framework of the system, be modular so it's easy to swap things in and out.
A RISC-V World First Independently Developed RISC-V Mainboard for a Framework Laptop from DeepComputing - DeepComputing
Today, RISC-V pioneer DeepComputing announced that their first RISC-V Mainboard, compatible with the Framework Laptop 13, is about to be released. Sporting a RISC-V StarFive JH7110 SoC, this groundbreaking Mainboard was independently designed and developed by DeepComputing. It’s the main...
deepcomputing.io
@fitten Qualcomm sells a Snapdragon X dev kit: https://www.qualcomm.com/news/relea...s-development-for-copilot--pcs-with-snapdrago
Modularity has been a win in many other areas of technology. So yes, this is friggin' cool!