Ubuntu Bring-Up Happening For The StarFive VisionFive 2 RISC-V Board
The StarFive VisionFive 2 was announced at the end of the summer and making use of SiFive's U74 quad-core RISC-V SoC. This quad-core 64-bit RISC-V processor runs up to 1.5GHz -- the same as the original VisionFive but now a quad-core design rather than dual-core. The VisionFive 2 is available in versions between 2GB and 8GB of LPDDR4 system memory, dual Gigabit Ethernet is now found on the board, and microSD storage remains the primary interface while now an eMMC socket is also present.
Pre-orders are underway for this RISC-V development board with the 4GB, dual Gigabit LAN version currently commanding a $76 USD price or $96 for the 8GB RAM variant. Shipping is set to begin in December while some other VIsionFive 2 variants aren't expected for release until the early months of 2023.
Having a quad-core 64-bit RISC-V 1.5GHz SoC with Imagination graphics and up to 8GB of RAM for less than $100 USD is finally hitting a more appealing price point for Linux enthusiasts wanting to explore RISC-V... It's much cheaper than the prior SiFive development boards and this VisionFive 2 specs out as much more desktop-capable than some of the other cheap RISC-V development boards out of China to this point. It will be interesting to see how well the software ecosystem and developer community around the VisionFive 2 can build up once mass shipments start.
The StarFive VisionFive 2 is working to support multiple Linux distributions out of the gate and Canonical engineers are already working to ensure Ubuntu Linux is ready.
Canonical engineer Heinrich Schuchardt noted that Ubuntu RISC-V is indeed running on the VisionFive 2 already while using a vendor kernel build but Canonical is still working on an Ubuntu kernel build that works for this single board computer.
Board received. Runs with Kinetic desktop and vendor kernel. Ubuntu kernel missing.
Those wanting to learn more about the VisionFive 2 or for pre-orders can visit AllNetChina.cn or AmeriDroid.
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