DeepComputing has just unveiled "the world's first" RISC-V AI PC, available now for the developer community. This machine, called the DC-ROMA RISC-V AI PC, is built on Framework's modular laptop platform and powered by ESWIN Computing's advanced EIC7702X SoC with 8 SiFive P550 CPU cores. The system comes pre-installed with Ubuntu Desktop 24.04 LTS and beside the RISC-V CPU it sports a powerful 40 TOPS NPU, vector processing cluster (12-bit-wide vector 8-core), support for 8K @50 FPS video encoding, and capacity for up to 64 GB LPDDR5 memory and NVMe storage (up to 1 TB). All this makes it suitable for serious development work and AI experimentation.

According to DeepComputing's CEO Yuning Liang, the AI PC was created "to empower developers who believe in local-first AI, open innovation, and sustainable computing" and represents "a foundational step toward a more open and privacy-respecting digital future."

Slimbook, a Linux hardware manufacturer based in Europe (Spain) unveiled Kymera Black, a highly configurable desktop computer designed for gamers, content creators and hardware enthusiasts. This latest model focuses on flexibility, performance and durability. Kymera Black comes with options for AMD or Intel processors, capable of housing up to the latest AMD Ryzen 9 or Intel Ultra 9 CPUs. It can support up to 192 GB of DDR5 RAM running at 6000 MHz, as well as a wide variety of storage options up to 4 TB NVMe 5.0 SSDs (NVMe 5.0 optional depending on motherboard) and 80 TB of HDD capacity. For networking, it can feature up to Wi-Fi 7 (depending on motherboard) and 2.5G Ethernet connectivity, and up to 1200 W Platinum power supply units.

This desktop PC features a matte black metal chassis with modular components, removable panels, and washable dust filters. The case uses a combination of tempered glass and metal side panels with an optional 8-inch front display to monitor system temperature, fan speed, and component performance in real time. In terms of software, the Kymera Black offers a wide selection of pre-installed Linux distributions. These include the Ubuntu-based Slimbook OS with GNOME or KDE Plasma, as well as Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu MATE, KDE neon, Debian, elementary OS, Pop!_OS, Linux Mint, Fedora, openSUSE, Manjaro, EndeavourOS, and Lliurex.

Today Canonical announced the release of Ubuntu 25.04, codenamed "Plucky Puffin. Ubuntu 25.04 delivers the latest GNOME 48 with support for triple buffering and an improved install and boot experience. The introduction of a "devpack" for Spring expands toolchain availability in Ubuntu. Advancements in silicon enablement with Canonical's partners deliver performance improvements for AI workloads on Intel GPUs, and support for confidential computing on AMD SEV-SNP.

"Plucky Puffin combines the very latest in open source desktop technology with a focus on making high quality developer tooling readily available on Ubuntu. Ubuntu 25.04 delivers performance improvements across Intel GPUs, and a new purpose-built ISO for ARM64 hardware enthusiasts. Our increasing support for confidential computing with AMD SEV-SNP makes Ubuntu the target platform to deploy AI workloads securely and at scale on both public clouds and private data centers.", Jon Seager, VP of Ubuntu Engineering at Canonical

AAEON's UP brand, has released the UP 710S Edge, the company's smallest Intel Processor N-powered Mini PC with Wi-Fi support, measuring just 92 mm x 77 mm x 38 mm.

Positioned as a compact platform for companies to upgrade industrial automation setups, the UP 710S Edge is available in models featuring the full Intel Processor N series family (formerly Alder Lake-N), as well as offering an 8-bit GPIO with optional SPI, I2C, and PWM, a first for the product line.

We first announced Raspberry Pi 5 back in the autumn of 2023, with just two choices of memory density: 4 GB and 8 GB. Last summer, we released the 2 GB variant, aimed at cost-sensitive applications. And today we're launching its bigger sibling, the 16 GB variant, priced at $120.

Why 16 GB, and why now?
We're continually surprised by the uses that people find for our hardware. Many of these fit into 8 GB (or even 2 GB) of SDRAM, but the threefold step up in performance between Raspberry Pi 4 and Raspberry Pi 5 opens up use cases like large language models and computational fluid dynamics, which benefit from having more storage per core. And while Raspberry Pi OS has been tuned to have low base memory requirements, heavyweight distributions like Ubuntu benefit from additional memory capacity for desktop use cases. The optimized D0 stepping of the Broadcom BCM2712 application processor includes support for memories larger than 8 GB. And our friends at Micron were able to offer us a single package containing eight of their 16Gbit LPDDR4X die, making a 16 GB product feasible for the first time.

TinyGrad, the company behind the popular TinyBox system, is aiming to commoditize the PetaFLOP. Its latest powerhouse, the TinyBox Pro, is on display on X. This high-performance system boasts an impressive 1.36 PetaFLOPS of FP16 computing power and is based on commercial GPU. The TinyBox Pro configuration features eight NVIDIA RTX 4090 GPUs, surpassing its predecessors with a combined GPU RAM of 192 GB and a memory bandwidth of 8,064 GB/s. This substantial upgrade is complemented by dual AMD Genoa processors and 384 GB of system RAM, delivering a memory bandwidth of 921.6 GB/s. What sets the TinyBox Pro apart is its enterprise-grade architecture. The system utilizes four 2000 W power supplies requiring 200 V+ input, housed in a 4U form factor that spans 31 inches in depth. Despite its compact size, weighing 88 pounds, the unit comes equipped with Supermicro rails for seamless rack integration.

Connectivity options are equally impressive, featuring two open PCIe 5.0 x16 slots that provide extensive expansion capabilities. Storage is managed through a 1 TB boot drive, though this might seem conservative compared to some competitors' offerings. The system runs on Ubuntu 22.04 and is noted for its superior driver quality (compared to commercial AMD GPUs), addressing a common pain point in high-performance computing on commercial hardware. On social media, TinyGrad was very vocal about its fight with the AMD Radeon GPU drivers. However, potential buyers should be prepared for significant noise levels during operation, a trade-off for the remarkable computing power packed into the 4U chassis. With a pre-order price tag of $40,000, the TinyBox Pro positions itself as a serious contender in the professional AI computing market, where regular GPU boxes can cost 100s of thousands of US Dollars. This pricing reflects its enterprise-grade specifications and positions it as an accessible alternative to larger, more expensive computing clusters.

At AAEON Technology, we recognize growing demand for secure and reliable industrial systems. In collaboration with Canonical, AAEON Technology validates Ubuntu Pro across our Intel-based industrial systems. Each unit comes with a preinstalled Ubuntu image, an Ubuntu Pro license sticker, and 10 years of Canonical-backed updates for ongoing security and maintenance. "This collaboration means our customers benefit from cutting-edge hardware paired with the secure, long-term support offered with Ubuntu Pro enabled. With ongoing updates, they're always protected, allowing them to focus on their core goals," said Victor Lai, Managing Director at AAEON.

Ubuntu Pro provides enterprise-level security, compliance, and long-term stability for industrial and edge applications. It meets strict regulatory standards while delivering high performance in demanding environments.

DeepComputing, a pioneer in RISC-V innovation, today announced a strategic partnership with Andes Technology Corporation, a leading provider of high-efficiency, low-power 32/64-bit RISC-V processor cores. Together, the two companies collaborate to develop the world's first RISC-V AI PC, powered by Andes' 7 nm QiLai SoC. This innovated low-power PC will come equipped with Ubuntu Desktop and aims to redefine AI computing by combining industry-leading hardware and software designed specifically for RISC-V.

The collaboration marks a significant milestone in the evolution of AI PCs, which utilize artificial intelligence to enhance productivity, creativity, entertainment, security, and more. The power-efficient RISC-V AI PC, based on the QiLai SoC, integrates a multi-core CPU, vector processor, GPU, and various peripherals for optimal performance, and AI workload handling. This product is designed to cater to developers and enterprises looking for advanced, open-standard RISC-V solutions.

Intel's 5th generation Xeon Scalable processors codenamed Emerald Rapids, have been shipping since late 2023 and are installed at numerous servers today. However, Emerald Rapids appears to possess more performance and efficiency tricks than it initially revealed at launch. According to the report from Phoronix, reporting on a Linux kernel patch sent to the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML), there is a chance for up to 38% performance increase while using up to 18% less power on all Intel 5th generation Xeon machines. Thanks to Canonical (maker of Ubuntu Linux) engineer Pedro Henrique Kopper, who explained the patch on the LKML, we found out that changing a single line of code yielded this massive increase.

Ubuntu Linux, as well as many other distributions, ship with Energy Performance Preference (EPP) for Emerald Rapids with a "balance_performance" value of 128. However, changing the value to 32 now yields a massive performance improvement alongside using less power. The EPP "balance_performance" is the default out-of-the-box setting for many Linux distributions. Users manually setting the "performance" mode in the EPP are not expecting any increase from this patch, as the "balance_performance" mode had issues balancing power and efficiency. Introducing this new setting yields more performance for machines that run at default settings, and this is especially important for data centers where the need for lower power and increased performance is constantly surging. Especially at hyperscalers like Amazon, Google, and Meta, which may run tens of thousands of these CPUs at default settings to keep them stable and well-cooled, who can now enjoy a massive performance increase with less power consumed.Below, you can see the patch quote as well as more performance/power measurements.

DeepComputing partners with Canonical to unveil a huge boost to the DC-ROMA RISC-V Laptop family. The DC-ROMA RISC-V Laptop II is the world's first RISC-V laptop pre-installed and powered by Ubuntu, which is one of the most popular Linux distributions in the world, providing developers with an outstanding mix of usability and reliability, as well as a rich ecosystem with security and support.

Equipped with octa-core 64-bit RISC-V AI CPU
Adding to a long list of firsts, the new DC-ROMA laptop II is the first to feature SpacemiT's SoC K1 - with its 8-cores RISC-V CPU running at up to 2.0 GHz with 16 GB of memory. This significantly doubled its overall performance and energy efficiency over the previous generation's 4-cores SoC running at 1.5 GHz. Moreover, SpacemiT's SoC K1 is also the world's first SoC to support RISC-V high performance computing RVA 22 Profile RVV 1.0 with 256 bit width, and to have powerful AI capabilities with its customised matrix operation instruction based on IME Group design principle!

Today at Embedded World, SiFive, Inc., the pioneer and leader of RISC-V computing, unveiled its new state-of-the-art RISC-V development board, the HiFive Premier P550. The board will be available for large-scale deployment through Arrow Electronics so developers around the world can test and develop new RISC-V applications like machine vision, video analysis, AI PC and others, allowing them to use AI and other cutting-edge technologies across many different market segments.

With a quad-core SiFive Performance P550 processor, the HiFive Premier P550 is the highest performance RISC-V development board in the industry, and the latest in the popular HiFive family. Designed to meet the computing needs of modern workloads, the out-of-order P550 core delivers superior compute density and performance in an energy-efficient area footprint. Furthermore, the modular design of the HiFive Premier P550, which includes a replaceable system-on-module (SOM) board, gives developers the flexibility they need to tailor their designs.

Leading global motherboard manufacturer, ASRock, has successively released software based on Microsoft Windows 10/11 and Canonical Ubuntu Linux platforms since the end of last year, which can help users quickly download, install and configure artificial intelligence software. After receiving great response from the market, ASRock has revealed the 2024 Q1 update of AI QuickSet today, adding two new artificial intelligence (AI) tools, Whisper Desktop and AudioCraft, allowing users of ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7000 series graphics cards to experience more diverse artificial intelligence (AI) applications!

ASRock AI QuickSet software tool 1.2.4 Windows version supports Microsoft Windows 10/11 64-bit operating system, while Linux version 1.1.6 supports Canonical Ubuntu 22.04.4 Desktop (64-bit) operating system, through ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7000 series graphics cards and AMD ROCm software platform provide powerful computing capabilities to support a variety of well-known artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The 1.2.4 Windows version supports image generation tools such as DirectML Shark and Stable Diffusion web UI, as well as the newly added Whisper Desktop speech recognition tool; and the 1.1.6 Linux version supports Image/Manga Translator, Stable Diffusion CLI & web UI image generation tool, and Text generation web UI Llama 2 text generation tool using Meta Llama 2 language model, Ultralytics YOLOv8 object recognition tool, and the newly added AudioCraft audio generation tool.

ZOTAC Technology Limited, a global leader in innovative technology solutions, expands its product portfolio with the GPU Server Series. The first series of products in ZOTAC's Enterprise lineup offers organizations affordable and high-performance computing solutions for a wide range of demanding applications, from core-to-edge inferencing and data visualization to model training, HPC modeling, and simulation.

The ZOTAC series of GPU Servers comes in a diverse range of form factors and configurations, featuring both Tower Workstations and Rack Mount Servers, as well as both Intel and AMD processor configurations. With support for up to 10 GPUs, modular design for easier access to internal hardware, a high space-to-performance ratio, and industry-standard features like redundant power supplies and extensive cooling options, ZOTAC's enterprise solutions can ensure optimal performance and durability, even under sustained intense workloads.

Chinese company Sipeed has introduced the Lichee Pocket 4A, one of the first handheld gaming devices based on the RISC-V open-source instruction set architecture (ISA). Sipeed positions the device as a retro gaming platform capable of running simple titles via software rendering or GPU acceleration. At its core is Alibaba's T-Head TH1520 processor featuring four 2.50 GHz Xuantie C910 RISC-V general-purpose CPU cores and an unnamed Imagination GPU. The chip was originally aimed at laptop designs. Memory options include 8 GB or 16 GB LPDDR4X RAM and 32 GB or 128 GB of storage. The Lichee Pocket 4A has a 7-inch 1280x800 LCD touchscreen, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connectivity, and an array of wired ports like USB and Ethernet. It weighs under 500 grams. The device can run Android or Linux distributions like Debian, Ubuntu, and others.

As an early RISC-V gaming entrant, performance expectations should be modest—the focus is retro gaming and small indie titles, not modern AAA games. Specific gaming capabilities remain to be fully tested. However, the release helps showcase RISC-V's potential for consumer electronics and competitive positioning against proprietary ISAs like ARM. Pricing is still undefined, but another Sipeed handheld console retails for around $250 currently. Reception from enthusiasts and developers will demonstrate whether there's a viable market for RISC-V gaming devices. Success could encourage additional hardware experimentation efforts across emerging open architectures. With a 6000 mAh battery, battery life should be decent. Other specifications can be seen in the table below, and the pre-order link is here.

AMD appears set to enhance the core count for its renowned Threadripper series. After a prolonged wait, the high-end desktop (HEDT) platform boasting a significant CPU count returns with the Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7995WX, which features an impressive 96 cores and 192 threads. This marks the series' first core count upgrade since the Threadripper 3000 series. The 7995WX CPU was spotted in the HP Z6 G5 Workstation system, potentially one of the inaugural prebuilt systems from AMD's OEM partners. The Threadripper PRO series seems poised to dominate AMD's HEDT offerings, with no indications of non-PRO consumer models emerging for now.

The latest Geekbench listing unveiled the 7995WX CPU's 96-core configuration. Although the base frequency appears misrepresented, benchmark data hints at the 96-core CPU potentially reaching a boost clock of 5.14 GHz, a detail further confirmed by Geekbench's output. Another notable enhancement in the Threadripper series is introducing the DDR5 memory standard. While the benchmarking tool doesn't explicitly mention this, it does highlight a memory configuration of 503.27 GB (512 GB) in use. The CPU managed to score 2095 points for single-core score and 81408 points for multi-core score on Geekbench v5.5 for Linux (Ubuntu 22.04 LTS), making it one of the fastest CPUs in the database.

To help bridge the growing gap between modern systems and the legacy technology still in use around the world, global industrial computing specialists, OnLogic (www.onlogic.com), have released the Helix 511 Edge Computer. Designed for use in manufacturing, automation, energy management, and other edge and IoT applications, the Helix 511 easily interfaces with on-site systems thanks to a broad selection of modern and legacy connectivity options.

"We frequently have conversations with customers who are struggling to update their technology infrastructure simply because they can't connect existing systems to newer, more powerful and more capable devices," says OnLogic Product Manager, Hunter Golden. "The embedded computing space has traditionally lagged behind when it comes to adopting new technologies. We want to shift that paradigm while still allowing innovators to access and exchange data with their existing equipment. In many cases, you don't need to rip and replace everything, you just need a Helix 511."

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today announced the world's first integrated 5G IoT processors that are designed to support four major operating systems, in addition to two new robotics platforms, and an accelerator program for IoT ecosystem partners. These new innovations will empower manufacturers participating in the rapidly expanding world of devices at the connected intelligent edge.

The need for connected, intelligent, and autonomous devices is growing rapidly, and it is expected to hit $116 billion by 2030 according to Precedence Research. Businesses attempting to compete in this fast-moving economy need a reliable source of control and connectivity technology for their IoT and robotic devices. Qualcomm Technologies, which has shipped over 350 million dedicated IoT chipsets, is uniquely capable of providing manufacturers with the platforms needed to address this expanding segment.

In response to the increasing demand for powerful computing that can be relied on in a wide range of even the most challenging installation environments, leading industrial computing manufacturer and solution provider, OnLogic (www.onlogic.com), has unveiled their Helix 401 fanless industrial computer. The compact device is designed for use in edge computing, industry 4.0, Internet of Things (IoT), and many other emerging applications and will make its public debut at Embedded World 2023.

"You may never see them, but industrial computers are everywhere, working diligently to power technology solutions of every shape and size. These systems need to be small and reliable while still being just as powerful as high-end desktop machines," says Mike Walsh, Senior Product Manager at OnLogic. "The Helix 401 balances size and performance while providing a wide range of configuration possibilities to help users tailor it to their specific application. It's small enough to fit in your hand, similar in size to Intel's popular NUC, but capable enough to drive advanced automation solutions and power the next great smart agriculture, building automation or energy management innovation."

AAEON, a leading manufacturer of AI development solutions, has released the UP Squared Pro 7000, bringing the acclaimed UP Squared Pro series into its third generation. The UP Squared Pro 7000 sees dramatic improvements when compared to the boards preceding it. The first of these is that it is the world's first industrial motherboard equipped with the Intel Core /Atom /N-Series processor platform (formerly Alder Lake-N), which offers 1.4x the CPU performance of the previous generation, alongside the benefit of supporting the Intel Distribution of OpenVINO Toolkit. In addition, the board hosts 16 GB of onboard LPDDR5 4800 MHz system memory, doubling the bandwidth and data transfer speed of the previous model, while also increasing overall energy-efficiency.

A first for the UP Squared Pro product line, the UP Squared Pro 7000 supports MIPI CSI cameras via an FPC port, freeing up its two 2.5 GbE (Intel i226-IT) and three USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports for other peripheral devices. Developers also gain access to exceptional expansion from the dense, 4" x 4" (101.6 mm x 101.6 mm) board, with the same 40-pin GPIO header alongside M.2 E, M, and B Keys for CNVI, PCIe, and USB add-ons.

Ahead of CES 2023, MediaTek today announced the latest chipset in the Genio platform for IoT devices, the octa-core Genio 700 designed for smart home, smart retail, and industrial IoT products. The new chipset will be featured as part of a demo at MediaTek's booth at CES 2023. With a focus on power efficiency, the MediaTek Genio 700 is a N6 (6 nm) IoT chipset that boasts two ARM A78 cores running at 2.2 GHz and six ARM A55 cores at 2.0 GHz while providing 4.0 TOPs AI accelerator. It comes with support for FHD 60p + 4K 60p display, as well as an ISP for better images.

"When we launched the Genio family of IoT products last year, we designed the platform with the scalability and development support that brands need, paving the way for opportunities to continue expanding," said Richard Lu, Vice President of MediaTek IoT Business Unit. "With a focus on industrial and smart home products, the Genio 700 is a perfect natural addition to the lineup to ensure we can provide the widest range of support possible to our customers."

ASUS IoT, a global AIoT solution provider, today announced a partnership agreement with Canonical to provide pre-installed and certified versions of the Ubuntu Linux operating system for embedded boards and systems in diverse edge computing applications. New ASUS IoT devices such as the PE100A will be guaranteed by Canonical for optimized performance with Ubuntu Linux, in the interest of improving development time, configuration and installation.

This collaboration between ASUS IoT and Canonical ensures that individual hardware I/O functions conform to industrial-grade standards and to the version of Ubuntu running on the device. Moreover, it provides up to 10 years of Linux security (with five years of bundled ESM service) along with updated capabilities for users in industrial manufacturing, smart retail, smart transportation, surveillance and many other application sectors.

Microsoft is announcing the general availability of the latest Azure Virtual Machines featuring the Ampere Altra Arm-based processor. The new virtual machines will be generally available on September 1, and customers can now launch them in 10 Azure regions and multiple availability zones around the world. In addition, the Arm-based virtual machines can be included in Kubernetes clusters managed using Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). This ability has been in preview and will be generally available over the coming weeks in all the regions that offer the new virtual machines.

Earlier this year, we launched the preview of the new general-purpose Dpsv5 and Dplsv5 and memory optimized Epsv5 Azure Virtual Machine series, built on the Ampere Altra processor. These new virtual machines have been engineered to efficiently run scale-out, cloud-native workloads. Since then, hundreds of customers have tested and experienced firsthand the excellent price-performance that the Arm architecture can provide for web and application servers, open-source databases, microservices, Java and.NET applications, gaming, media servers, and more. Starting today, all Azure customers can deploy these new virtual machines using the Azure portal, SDKs, API, PowerShell, and the command-line interface (CLI).

GIGABYTE Technology, an industry leader in high-performance servers and workstations, today became the first-to-market with a dual-socket motherboard, MP72-HB0, that supports up to 256 Arm cores, making it ideal for cloud native workloads. Also, the launch includes two more servers, G242-P35 and G242-P36, to offer up to 120 TB of NVMe (Gen4) storage capacity paired with Ampere Altra or Ampere Altra Max processors. These GPU-centric servers and motherboard will quickly find a home with hyperscaler and cloud workloads. Altra Max processors have predictable high-performance by having a high core count CPU with one thread per core, 128 threads on a monolithic 128-core chip. Multi-socket support and a wealth of PCIe/CCIX lanes make the platform highly scalable. At the same time, there is industry-leading power efficiency/core, which is highly sought after by our customers.

Imagination Technologies announces IMG RTXM-2200, its first real-time embedded RISC-V CPU, a highly scalable, feature-rich, 32-bit embedded solution with a flexible design for a wide range of high-volume devices. IMG RTXM-2200 is one of the first commercial cores in Imagination's Catapult CPU family, previously announced in December 2021. Accelerating the expansion of its RISC-V offering, Imagination's IMG RTXM-2200 can be integrated into complex SoCs for a range of applications including networking solutions, packet management, storage controllers, and sensor management for AI cameras and smart metering. Together with its market-leading GPU and AI accelerator IP, Imagination's new CPU cores offer customers access to innovative heterogeneous solutions.

This real-time embedded core features up to 128 KB of tightly coupled memories (both instruction and data) for deterministic response and Level 1 cache sizes of up to 128 KB for robust performance. The new CPU offers a range of floating-point formats including single-precision and bfloat16. The latter enables manufacturers to deploy AI applications through this core without the need for an additional chip. This reduces silicon area, for a cost-effective and optimised design in AI cameras and smart metering applications.

Today AMD announced the Kria KR260 Robotics Starter Kit, the latest addition to the Kria portfolio of adaptive system-on-modules (SOMs) and developer kits. A scalable and out-of-the-box development platform for robotics, the Kria KR260 offers a seamless path to production deployment with the existing Kria K26 adaptive SOMs. With native ROS 2 support, the standard framework for robotics application development, and pre-built interfaces for robotics and industrial solutions, the new SOM starter kit enables rapid development of hardware-accelerated applications for robotics, machine vision and industrial communication and control.

"The Kria KR260 Robotics Starter Kits builds on the success of our Kria SOMs and KV260 Vision AI Starter Kit for AI and embedded developers, providing roboticists with a complete, out-of-the-box solution for this rapidly growing application space," said Chetan Khona, senior director of Industrial, Vision, Healthcare and Sciences Markets at AMD. "Roboticists will now be able to work in their standard development environment on a platform that has all the interfaces and capabilities needed to be up and running in less than an hour. The KR260 Starter Kit is an ideal platform to accelerate robotics innovation and easily take ideas to production at scale."