• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

RISC-V Processor Achieves 5 GHz Frequency at Just 1 Watt of Power

AleksandarK

News Editor
Staff member
Joined
Aug 19, 2017
Messages
2,190 (0.91/day)
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley in 2010 have started an interesting project. They created a goal to develop a new RISC-like Instruction Set Architecture that is simple and efficient while being open-source and royalty-free. Born out of that research was RISC-V ISA, the fifth iteration of Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) ideology. Over the years, the RISC-V ISA has become more common, and today, many companies are using it to design their processors and release new designs every day. One of those companies is Micro Magic Inc., a provider of silicon design tools, IP, and design services. The company has developed a RISC-V processor that is rather interesting.

Apart from the RISC-V ISA, the processor has an interesting feature. It runs at the whopping 5 GHz frequency, a clock speed unseen on the RISC-V chips before, at the power consumption of a mere one (yes that is 1) Watt. The chip ran at just 1.1 Volts, which means that a very low current needs to be supplied to the chip so it can achieve the 5 GHz mark. If you are wondering about performance, well the numbers show that at 5 GHz, the CPU can produce a score of 13000 CoreMarks. However, that is not the company's highest-performance RISC-V core. In yesterday's PR, Micro Magic published that their top-end design can achieve 110000 CoreMarks/Watt, so we are waiting to hear more details about it.


View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 
Joined
May 31, 2016
Messages
4,323 (1.51/day)
Location
Currently Norway
System Name Bro2
Processor Ryzen 5800X
Motherboard Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite
Cooling Corsair h115i pro rgb
Memory 16GB G.Skill Flare X 3200 CL14 @3800Mhz CL16
Video Card(s) Powercolor 6900 XT Red Devil 1.1v@2400Mhz
Storage M.2 Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500MB/ Samsung 860 Evo 1TB
Display(s) LG 27UD69 UHD / LG 27GN950
Case Fractal Design G
Audio Device(s) Realtec 5.1
Power Supply Seasonic 750W GOLD
Mouse Logitech G402
Keyboard Logitech slim
Software Windows 10 64 bit
These ARM CPUs are evolving so damn fast. Saying "ARM is the future" may no the necessarily be overrated after all.
 
Last edited:

Solaris17

Super Dainty Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Aug 16, 2005
Messages
25,776 (3.79/day)
Location
Alabama
System Name Rocinante
Processor I9 14900KS
Motherboard EVGA z690 Dark KINGPIN (modded BIOS)
Cooling EK-AIO Elite 360 D-RGB
Memory 64GB Gskill Trident Z5 DDR5 6000 @6400
Video Card(s) MSI SUPRIM Liquid X 4090
Storage 1x 500GB 980 Pro | 1x 1TB 980 Pro | 1x 8TB Corsair MP400
Display(s) Odyssey OLED G9 G95SC
Case Lian Li o11 Evo Dynamic White
Audio Device(s) Moondrop S8's on Schiit Hel 2e
Power Supply Bequiet! Power Pro 12 1500w
Mouse Lamzu Atlantis mini (White)
Keyboard Monsgeek M3 Lavender, Akko Crystal Blues
VR HMD Quest 3
Software Windows 11
Benchmark Scores I dont have time for that.
These ARM CPUs are evolving so damn fast. Saying "ARM is the future" may no the necessarily overrated after all.

But its RISC-V
 
Joined
Aug 20, 2007
Messages
20,714 (3.41/day)
System Name Pioneer
Processor Ryzen R9 7950X
Motherboard GIGABYTE Aorus Elite X670 AX
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 + A whole lotta Sunon and Corsair Maglev blower fans...
Memory 64GB (4x 16GB) G.Skill Flare X5 @ DDR5-6000 CL30
Video Card(s) XFX RX 7900 XTX Speedster Merc 310
Storage 2x Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs
Display(s) 55" LG 55" B9 OLED 4K Display
Case Thermaltake Core X31
Audio Device(s) TOSLINK->Schiit Modi MB->Asgard 2 DAC Amp->AKG Pro K712 Headphones or HDMI->B9 OLED
Power Supply FSP Hydro Ti Pro 850W
Mouse Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless
Keyboard WASD Code v3 with Cherry Green keyswitches
Software Windows 11 Enterprise (legit), Gentoo Linux x64
Joined
Jan 8, 2017
Messages
8,863 (3.36/day)
System Name Good enough
Processor AMD Ryzen R9 7900 - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora Edge
Motherboard ASRock B650 Pro RS
Cooling 2x 360mm NexXxoS ST30 X-Flow, 1x 360mm NexXxoS ST30, 1x 240mm NexXxoS ST30
Memory 32GB - FURY Beast RGB 5600 Mhz
Video Card(s) Sapphire RX 7900 XT - Alphacool Eisblock Aurora
Storage 1x Kingston KC3000 1TB 1x Kingston A2000 1TB, 1x Samsung 850 EVO 250GB , 1x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB
Display(s) LG UltraGear 32GN650-B + 4K Samsung TV
Case Phanteks NV7
Power Supply GPS-750C
A dubious lack of information on the architecture. It wouldn't surprise me if this a really narrow in-order processor, no SIMD and with a puny amount of cache. 5 Ghz within 1 Watt is hardly an achievement if that's the context.

Look I know RISC-V is everyone's darling but so far there is nothing particularly impressive about the products using it.

Usually these RISCs with their super short pipelines aren't able to hit anywhere near 3GHz, let alone 5GHz.

They are also low performance for that reason.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Nov 25, 2012
Messages
246 (0.06/day)
Risc V need a SOC like Raspberry pi ... or a desktop something cool and niech never happen though
 
Joined
May 31, 2016
Messages
4,323 (1.51/day)
Location
Currently Norway
System Name Bro2
Processor Ryzen 5800X
Motherboard Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite
Cooling Corsair h115i pro rgb
Memory 16GB G.Skill Flare X 3200 CL14 @3800Mhz CL16
Video Card(s) Powercolor 6900 XT Red Devil 1.1v@2400Mhz
Storage M.2 Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500MB/ Samsung 860 Evo 1TB
Display(s) LG 27UD69 UHD / LG 27GN950
Case Fractal Design G
Audio Device(s) Realtec 5.1
Power Supply Seasonic 750W GOLD
Mouse Logitech G402
Keyboard Logitech slim
Software Windows 10 64 bit
Isn't the difference between the two just licensing for ARM and open source for RISK-V allowing for custom designs?
 
Joined
Aug 20, 2007
Messages
20,714 (3.41/day)
System Name Pioneer
Processor Ryzen R9 7950X
Motherboard GIGABYTE Aorus Elite X670 AX
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 + A whole lotta Sunon and Corsair Maglev blower fans...
Memory 64GB (4x 16GB) G.Skill Flare X5 @ DDR5-6000 CL30
Video Card(s) XFX RX 7900 XTX Speedster Merc 310
Storage 2x Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs
Display(s) 55" LG 55" B9 OLED 4K Display
Case Thermaltake Core X31
Audio Device(s) TOSLINK->Schiit Modi MB->Asgard 2 DAC Amp->AKG Pro K712 Headphones or HDMI->B9 OLED
Power Supply FSP Hydro Ti Pro 850W
Mouse Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless
Keyboard WASD Code v3 with Cherry Green keyswitches
Software Windows 11 Enterprise (legit), Gentoo Linux x64
Isn't the difference between the two just licensing for ARM and open source for RISK-V allowing for custom designs?

They are completely different ISAs. They are as similar as ARM and MIPS or PowerPC, etc.
 

bug

Joined
May 22, 2015
Messages
13,163 (4.07/day)
Processor Intel i5-12600k
Motherboard Asus H670 TUF
Cooling Arctic Freezer 34
Memory 2x16GB DDR4 3600 G.Skill Ripjaws V
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 1060 SC
Storage 500GB Samsung 970 EVO, 500GB Samsung 850 EVO, 1TB Crucial MX300 and 2TB Crucial MX500
Display(s) Dell U3219Q + HP ZR24w
Case Raijintek Thetis
Audio Device(s) Audioquest Dragonfly Red :D
Power Supply Seasonic 620W M12
Mouse Logitech G502 Proteus Core
Keyboard G.Skill KM780R
Software Arch Linux + Win10
This is an great achievement. Usually these RISCs with their super short pipelines aren't able to hit anywhere near 3GHz, let alone 5GHz.
A lot of things are possible in the lab. Mass production is, unfortunately, a different story.
 
Joined
Feb 3, 2017
Messages
3,475 (1.33/day)
Processor R5 5600X
Motherboard ASUS ROG STRIX B550-I GAMING
Cooling Alpenföhn Black Ridge
Memory 2*16GB DDR4-2666 VLP @3800
Video Card(s) EVGA Geforce RTX 3080 XC3
Storage 1TB Samsung 970 Pro, 2TB Intel 660p
Display(s) ASUS PG279Q, Eizo EV2736W
Case Dan Cases A4-SFX
Power Supply Corsair SF600
Mouse Corsair Ironclaw Wireless RGB
Keyboard Corsair K60
VR HMD HTC Vive
So, lets see what we can read from their press release and EETimes story:
- 13 000 CoreMarks at 5GHz (5.19GHz), 1.1V and <1W (realistic or not, I do not see where the under Watt claim came from)
- 11 000 CoreMarks at 4.25GHz, 0.8V and 200mW
- 8 200 CoreMarks at 3.08GHz and 69mW (picture caption says 0.69mW which must be a typo)
I would assume this is core-only consumption.
 
Joined
May 31, 2016
Messages
4,323 (1.51/day)
Location
Currently Norway
System Name Bro2
Processor Ryzen 5800X
Motherboard Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite
Cooling Corsair h115i pro rgb
Memory 16GB G.Skill Flare X 3200 CL14 @3800Mhz CL16
Video Card(s) Powercolor 6900 XT Red Devil 1.1v@2400Mhz
Storage M.2 Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500MB/ Samsung 860 Evo 1TB
Display(s) LG 27UD69 UHD / LG 27GN950
Case Fractal Design G
Audio Device(s) Realtec 5.1
Power Supply Seasonic 750W GOLD
Mouse Logitech G402
Keyboard Logitech slim
Software Windows 10 64 bit
They are completely different ISAs. They are as similar as ARM and MIPS or PowerPC, etc.
ARM and RISC-V are both RISC and use same core ISA but each one can extend it. At least that's what I thought it was.
 
Joined
Mar 21, 2016
Messages
2,195 (0.75/day)
My only concern is can it run Marvel vs Capcom at 1W!!? Wasn't the Sega Saturn a RISC chip!!? I'm sorry, but that would be awesome especially at the right price. I mean come on who doesn't want a 1W solar powered SEGA Saturn!!? IDC that would be great and I want it.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Nov 28, 2012
Messages
413 (0.10/day)
Isn't the difference between the two just licensing for ARM and open source for RISK-V allowing for custom designs?
RISC is a design philosophy (reduced isntruction set computer) as opposed to CISC(complex instruction set computer).
RISC(ARM and similar) uses few simple instructions built in on the hardware and then executes the rest as a combination of those. (Pro: power efficiency, smaller size, fast simple tasks. Con: slower in complex operations).
CISC(x86 and x64) has a larger instruction set, meaning it can process complex operations at a hardware level. (Pro: faster complex operations when using the available instructions. Con: power, heat, size).


ARM and RISC-V are built with the same philosophy but different implementations, I don't know what set RISC-V uses but it can potentially be completely different than ARM.
 
Joined
May 31, 2016
Messages
4,323 (1.51/day)
Location
Currently Norway
System Name Bro2
Processor Ryzen 5800X
Motherboard Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite
Cooling Corsair h115i pro rgb
Memory 16GB G.Skill Flare X 3200 CL14 @3800Mhz CL16
Video Card(s) Powercolor 6900 XT Red Devil 1.1v@2400Mhz
Storage M.2 Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500MB/ Samsung 860 Evo 1TB
Display(s) LG 27UD69 UHD / LG 27GN950
Case Fractal Design G
Audio Device(s) Realtec 5.1
Power Supply Seasonic 750W GOLD
Mouse Logitech G402
Keyboard Logitech slim
Software Windows 10 64 bit
RISC is a design philosophy (reduced isntruction set computer) as opposed to CISC(complex instruction set computer).
RISC(ARM and similar) uses few simple instructions built in on the hardware and then executes the rest as a combination of those. (Pro: power efficiency, smaller size, fast simple tasks. Con: slower in complex operations).
CISC(x86 and x64) has a larger instruction set, meaning it can process complex operations at a hardware level. (Pro: faster complex operations when using the available instructions. Con: power, heat, size).


ARM and RISC-V are built with the same philosophy but different implementations, I don't know what set RISC-V uses but it can potentially be completely different than ARM.
Thanks for the info but I just wanted to know what the difference between the ARM and RISC-V is. From what I know (up until now) the difference was the open source for RISC-V instead of licensed ARM. Both are based on RISC instructions but the RISC-V gives more custom design possibility not like ARM being licensed. I know these are derivatives from same philosophy like you mentioned.
 
Joined
Jan 8, 2017
Messages
8,863 (3.36/day)
System Name Good enough
Processor AMD Ryzen R9 7900 - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora Edge
Motherboard ASRock B650 Pro RS
Cooling 2x 360mm NexXxoS ST30 X-Flow, 1x 360mm NexXxoS ST30, 1x 240mm NexXxoS ST30
Memory 32GB - FURY Beast RGB 5600 Mhz
Video Card(s) Sapphire RX 7900 XT - Alphacool Eisblock Aurora
Storage 1x Kingston KC3000 1TB 1x Kingston A2000 1TB, 1x Samsung 850 EVO 250GB , 1x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB
Display(s) LG UltraGear 32GN650-B + 4K Samsung TV
Case Phanteks NV7
Power Supply GPS-750C
Thanks for the info but I just wanted to know what the difference between the ARM and RISC-V is. From what I know (up until now) the difference was the open source for RISC-V instead of licensed ARM. Both are based on RISC instructions but the RISC-V gives more custom design possibility not like ARM being licensed. I know these are derivatives from same philosophy like you mentioned.

The ISA itself matters little, the reason everyone got exited about RISC-V is that it's open source. You can more or less design identical processors using ARM or RISC-V.
 
Joined
May 2, 2017
Messages
7,762 (3.08/day)
Location
Back in Norway
System Name Hotbox
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, 110/95/110, PBO +150Mhz, CO -7,-7,-20(x6),
Motherboard ASRock Phantom Gaming B550 ITX/ax
Cooling LOBO + Laing DDC 1T Plus PWM + Corsair XR5 280mm + 2x Arctic P14
Memory 32GB G.Skill FlareX 3200c14 @3800c15
Video Card(s) PowerColor Radeon 6900XT Liquid Devil Ultimate, UC@2250MHz max @~200W
Storage 2TB Adata SX8200 Pro
Display(s) Dell U2711 main, AOC 24P2C secondary
Case SSUPD Meshlicious
Audio Device(s) Optoma Nuforce μDAC 3
Power Supply Corsair SF750 Platinum
Mouse Logitech G603
Keyboard Keychron K3/Cooler Master MasterKeys Pro M w/DSA profile caps
Software Windows 10 Pro
Thanks for the info but I just wanted to know what the difference between the ARM and RISC-V is. From what I know (up until now) the difference was the open source for RISC-V instead of licensed ARM. Both are based on RISC instructions but the RISC-V gives more custom design possibility not like ARM being licensed. I know these are derivatives from same philosophy like you mentioned.
Being based on the same guiding design principles doesn't mean the instructions in each ISA are the same or are even remotely similar.
 
Joined
Nov 28, 2012
Messages
413 (0.10/day)
My only concern is can it run Marvel vs Capcom at 1W!!? Wasn't the Sega Saturn a RISC chip!!? I'm sorry, but that would be awesome especially at the right price. I mean come on who doesn't want a 1W solar powered SEGA Saturn!!? IDC that would be great and I want it.
Can't you just run a saturn emulator on most modern phones? I have more experience with snes ones but it shouldn't be harder than that.
 
Joined
Jan 5, 2006
Messages
17,693 (2.66/day)
System Name AlderLake / Laptop
Processor Intel i7 12700K P-Cores @ 5Ghz / Intel i3 7100U
Motherboard Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master / HP 83A3 (U3E1)
Cooling Noctua NH-U12A 2 fans + Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme + 5 case fans / Fan
Memory 32GB DDR5 Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 6000MHz CL36 / 8GB DDR4 HyperX CL13
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio / Intel HD620
Storage Samsung 980 Pro 1TB + 970 Evo 500GB + 850 Pro 512GB + 860 Evo 1TB x2 / Samsung 256GB M.2 SSD
Display(s) 23.8" Dell S2417DG 165Hz G-Sync 1440p / 14" 1080p IPS Glossy
Case Be quiet! Silent Base 600 - Window / HP Pavilion
Audio Device(s) Panasonic SA-PMX94 / Realtek onboard + B&O speaker system / Harman Kardon Go + Play / Logitech G533
Power Supply Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750W / Powerbrick
Mouse Logitech MX Anywhere 2 Laser wireless / Logitech M330 wireless
Keyboard RAPOO E9270P Black 5GHz wireless / HP backlit
Software Windows 11 / Windows 10
Benchmark Scores Cinebench R23 (Single Core) 1936 @ stock Cinebench R23 (Multi Core) 23006 @ stock
But.. Does it run Crysis? :D
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 18, 2013
Messages
5,415 (1.42/day)
Location
Everywhere all the time all at once
System Name The Little One
Processor i5-11320H @4.4GHZ
Motherboard AZW SEI
Cooling Fan w/heat pipes + side & rear vents
Memory 64GB Crucial DDR4-3200 (2x 32GB)
Video Card(s) Iris XE
Storage WD Black SN850X 4TB m.2, Seagate 2TB SSD + SN850 4TB x2 in an external enclosure
Display(s) 2x Samsung 43" & 2x 32"
Case Practically identical to a mac mini, just purrtier in slate blue, & with 3x usb ports on the front !
Audio Device(s) Yamaha ATS-1060 Bluetooth Soundbar & Subwoofer
Power Supply 65w brick
Mouse Logitech MX Master 2
Keyboard Logitech G613 mechanical wireless
Software Windows 10 pro 64 bit, with all the unnecessary background shitzu turned OFF !
Benchmark Scores PDQ
Joined
May 2, 2017
Messages
7,762 (3.08/day)
Location
Back in Norway
System Name Hotbox
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, 110/95/110, PBO +150Mhz, CO -7,-7,-20(x6),
Motherboard ASRock Phantom Gaming B550 ITX/ax
Cooling LOBO + Laing DDC 1T Plus PWM + Corsair XR5 280mm + 2x Arctic P14
Memory 32GB G.Skill FlareX 3200c14 @3800c15
Video Card(s) PowerColor Radeon 6900XT Liquid Devil Ultimate, UC@2250MHz max @~200W
Storage 2TB Adata SX8200 Pro
Display(s) Dell U2711 main, AOC 24P2C secondary
Case SSUPD Meshlicious
Audio Device(s) Optoma Nuforce μDAC 3
Power Supply Corsair SF750 Platinum
Mouse Logitech G603
Keyboard Keychron K3/Cooler Master MasterKeys Pro M w/DSA profile caps
Software Windows 10 Pro
Can't you just run a saturn emulator on most modern phones? I have more experience with snes ones but it shouldn't be harder than that.
Smartphone SoCs typically consume 3-5W under load though.
 

bug

Joined
May 22, 2015
Messages
13,163 (4.07/day)
Processor Intel i5-12600k
Motherboard Asus H670 TUF
Cooling Arctic Freezer 34
Memory 2x16GB DDR4 3600 G.Skill Ripjaws V
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 1060 SC
Storage 500GB Samsung 970 EVO, 500GB Samsung 850 EVO, 1TB Crucial MX300 and 2TB Crucial MX500
Display(s) Dell U3219Q + HP ZR24w
Case Raijintek Thetis
Audio Device(s) Audioquest Dragonfly Red :D
Power Supply Seasonic 620W M12
Mouse Logitech G502 Proteus Core
Keyboard G.Skill KM780R
Software Arch Linux + Win10
Thanks for the info but I just wanted to know what the difference between the ARM and RISC-V is. From what I know (up until now) the difference was the open source for RISC-V instead of licensed ARM. Both are based on RISC instructions but the RISC-V gives more custom design possibility not like ARM being licensed. I know these are derivatives from same philosophy like you mentioned.
The instruction set itself is the difference. We're looking at two sets of RISC-family instructions, both doing largely the same things. But the sets are not identical (I couldn't tell you the differences w/o looking them up). ARM licenses the instruction set and also offers reference implementations. RISC-V does away with licensing. Idk whether they provide reference implementations.
 

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Messages
23,314 (3.77/day)
Location
London,UK
System Name Codename: Icarus Mk.VI
Processor Intel 8600k@Stock -- pending tuning
Motherboard Asus ROG Strixx Z370-F
Cooling CPU: BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 {1xCorsair ML120 Pro|5xML140 Pro}
Memory 32GB XPG Gammix D10 {2x16GB}
Video Card(s) ASUS Dual Radeon™ RX 6700 XT OC Edition
Storage Samsung 970 Evo 512GB SSD (Boot)|WD SN770 (Gaming)|2x 3TB Toshiba DT01ACA300|2x 2TB Crucial BX500
Display(s) LG GP850-B
Case Corsair 760T (White)
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V573|Speakers: JBL Control One|Auna 300-CN|Wharfedale Diamond SW150
Power Supply Corsair AX760
Mouse Logitech G900
Keyboard Duckyshine Dead LED(s) III
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
watt a great achievement!
 
Joined
Feb 3, 2017
Messages
3,475 (1.33/day)
Processor R5 5600X
Motherboard ASUS ROG STRIX B550-I GAMING
Cooling Alpenföhn Black Ridge
Memory 2*16GB DDR4-2666 VLP @3800
Video Card(s) EVGA Geforce RTX 3080 XC3
Storage 1TB Samsung 970 Pro, 2TB Intel 660p
Display(s) ASUS PG279Q, Eizo EV2736W
Case Dan Cases A4-SFX
Power Supply Corsair SF600
Mouse Corsair Ironclaw Wireless RGB
Keyboard Corsair K60
VR HMD HTC Vive
Thanks for the info but I just wanted to know what the difference between the ARM and RISC-V is. From what I know (up until now) the difference was the open source for RISC-V instead of licensed ARM. Both are based on RISC instructions but the RISC-V gives more custom design possibility not like ARM being licensed. I know these are derivatives from same philosophy like you mentioned.
ARM and RISC-V are different ISAs.
"Based on RISC" is kind of a misnomer. "Derivate from philosophy" might be more accurate term here. RISC is not an ISA, it is a category of computers (or systems or CPUs or ISAs depending on how to look at it) and is more of an academic term than something specific in terms of ISA or (micro)architecture.
Smartphone SoCs typically consume 3-5W under load though.
I bet this news tidbit is talking only about core consumption or something very close to that. Smartphone SoC runs a lot more stuff under load.
 
Top