Jul 06, 2021 23:00:00

A Chinese research team isolated by the new corona succeeds in developing a RISC-V processor at explosive speed

A Chinese research team has developed a CPU ' XiangShan ' with performance close to Arm's '

Cortex- A76' using the open source instruction set architecture (ISA) RISC-V. The research team is working on development in Shenzhen, which was blocked due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, and has succeeded in developing an ultra-high-speed CPU.

GitHub --OpenXiangShan / XiangShan: Open-source high-performance RISC-V processor
https://github.com/OpenXiangShan/XiangShan

RISC-V China Peak Association June 21, 2021 Established in Shanghai, Japan --Zhihu
https://www.zhihu.com/question/466393646/answer/1955410750

XiangShan open-source 64-bit RISC-V processor to rival Arm Cortex-A76 --CNX Software
https://www.cnx-software.com/2021/07/05/xiangshan-open-source-64-bit-risc-v-processor-rival-arm-cortex-a76/

RISC-V is an open source ISA that participates in the development of major technology companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Qualcomm, Micron, and Samsung, and is attracting attention as a technology to build a new ecosystem throughout the industry because it can be used without a license. ..

In June 2021, it was reported that Intel was considering the acquisition of SiFive, a company that manufactures CPUs using RISC-V. After that, on June 22, 2021, SiFive announced the CPU ' SiFive Performance P550 ' with performance superior to Arm's 'Cortex-A75 ', and 'RISC-V treats it as an inexpensive alternative to existing CPUs. era dividing the bygone ' stated was.

It is reported that Intel is considering the acquisition of RISC-V processor development company 'SiFive' for over 200 billion yen --GIGAZINE

In such a situation surrounding RISC-V, at the

RISC-V World Conference China 2021 held in China from June 22 to 24, 2021, the high-end model of 'Cortex-A75' ' 'Xiang Shan' with performance close to 'Cortex-A76' was announced.

'XiangShan' is a CPU developed by a research team consisting of Bao Yuungan, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and 25 students, and a prototype made by TSMC's 28nm process will operate at a maximum of 1.2 to 1.3GHz. .. Furthermore, a prototype that operates at a maximum of 2 GHz is scheduled to be made by the end of 2021 using SMIC 's 14 nm process, and we aim to achieve the same performance as the 'Cortex-A76' in the end.

According to Yuungan, the development of 'Xiang Shan' began on June 11, 2020. After that, on July 6, 2020, we succeeded in executing the benchmark software 'Coremark ', and on September 12, 2020, we succeeded in booting Linux, and development proceeded at an astonishing speed.

'Due to the blockade of the city following the spread of the new coronavirus, the research team worked in a closed laboratory in Shenzhen for three months in a highly focused manner, with 150 cases per week. More than the code has been committed, 'he said, revealing that the ultra-fast development of' XiangShan 'was involved in the special situation of the spread of the new coronavirus.

Technology-related news site CNX Software said, 'Since'XiangShan'is a research project, it is unclear whether it will be commercialized, but given that the Chinese government is looking for alternatives to x86 and Arm. It is no wonder that 'XiangShan' will grow as a processor for the Chinese market, 'he said, pointing out the potential for the spread of' XiangShan. '

The source code of 'Xiang Shan' is available in the official repository.