SiFive Introduces HiFive Premier P550: Out-of-Order RISC-V Board for Developers

Embedded World

SiFive introduces the HiFive Premier P550, a high-performance RISC-V development board designed for modern workloads, featuring a modular design and compatibility with Ubuntu for seamless development experience.

The HiFive Premier P550 is the most high-performance RISC-V development board in the industry, offering superior compute density and performance.
The modular design of the board, including a replaceable system-on-module (SOM) board, provides developers with flexibility and customization options.
SiFive's partnership with Canonical ensures seamless compatibility with Ubuntu, a widely-used Linux distribution, providing stability, security, and an extensive open-source software ecosystem.

SiFive, the leading provider of RISC-V computing solutions, made a significant announcement today at Embedded World. The company launched its latest RISC-V development board, the HiFive Premier P550, which promises to deliver state-of-the-art performance and open up new possibilities for developers worldwide.

The HiFive Premier P550 is equipped with a powerful quad-core SiFive Performance P550 processor, making it the most high-performance RISC-V development board in the industry. This board is the latest addition to SiFive’s popular HiFive family and is specifically designed to meet the demands of modern workloads. The P550 core, featuring an out-of-order design, offers superior compute density and performance while maintaining energy efficiency.

One of the standout features of the HiFive Premier P550 is its modular design, which includes a replaceable system-on-module (SOM) board. This design choice provides developers with the flexibility they need to tailor their designs and create innovative solutions. SiFive understands the importance of customization and aims to empower developers to unleash their creativity.

“The popularity of our development boards underscores the growth and maturity of the RISC-V ecosystem,” commented Patrick Little, CEO and Chairman at SiFive. “The HiFive board has always been the ‘golden reference’ RISC-V development platform. Building on this proven foundation with the new HiFive Premier P550, developers can take advantage of SiFive’s high-performance IP in a cost-efficient platform that will be available in volume, opening up unlimited possibilities for RISC-V innovation in AI applications and beyond.”

SiFive has also partnered with Canonical, the publisher of Ubuntu, to ensure seamless compatibility with the HiFive Premier P550. Ubuntu, a widely-used Linux distribution, offers stability, security, and an extensive open-source software ecosystem. Developers can rely on Ubuntu’s robust platform to access bug fixes and security updates for over a decade, backed by Canonical’s enterprise-grade support.

Gordan Markuš, Silicon Alliances Director at Canonical, expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration: “RISC-V is giving developers a new level of freedom to innovate, and SiFive is one of the top companies leading the charge. The availability of HiFive Premier P550 is a significant milestone for the RISC-V development community. Thanks to our collaboration with SiFive, developers using the HiFive Premier P550 board will be able to innovate at speed with Ubuntu. Additionally, Canonical’s software and services will accelerate time to market and ensure long-term support and security maintenance for our enterprise partners.”

Let’s delve into the technical features of the HiFive Premier P550. The board features the Eswin EIC7700 SoC, which boasts a high-performance 64-bit three-issue, out-of-order SiFive RISC-V P550 core complex. This configuration includes four P550 cores, 256 KB L2 cache, and 4 MB L3 cache. The SoC also incorporates a 2D/3D GPU, hardware video encoder/decoder, NPU, DSP, MIPI DSI, a security subsystem, an integrated high-speed DDR5 memory controller, root complex PCI Express Gen 3 x4, and standard peripherals.

In terms of memory, the HiFive Premier P550 offers 16 GB of 64-bit LPDDR5-6400 memory and 128 GB of eMMC memory for fast boot times. The board also provides high-speed interconnects with PCI Express Gen 3 x4 via a PCIe x16 slot and five USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports for peripheral connectivity.

SiFive understands the importance of comprehensive software support for developers. That’s why they offer the Freedom U-SDK, which includes Linux support and a range of documentation, software development kits, toolchains, utilities, and software ecosystem solutions for each SiFive RISC-V development board. This commitment to software support ensures that developers have the necessary resources to streamline their development process.

SiFive’s lineup of development boards also includes the popular HiFive Unmatched Rev. B, which is available today. These boards, combined with SiFive’s extensive support and resources, empower developers to harness the full potential of RISC-V architecture and drive innovation in various industries.

The HiFive Premier P550 is expected to be available through Arrow Electronics in July 2024. For more information about this development board, visit SiFive’s product page.

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Embedded World, located in Nuremberg, Germany, is a leading international trade fair dedicated to embedded systems and technologies. Renowned for its comprehensive exhibition and conference program, Embedded World serves as a hub for engineers, developers, and decision-makers to explore the latest advancements in embedded hardware, software, and systems integration. The event facilitates networking, knowledge exchange, and business opportunities within the rapidly evolving field of embedded technology.

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Technology Explained

DDR5: DDR5 (Double Data Rate 5) is the next generation of memory technology for the computer industry. It is a modern day improvement on earlier DDR technologies, with faster speeds, greater bandwidth and higher capacities. DDR5 enables higher resolution, seamless gaming experiences and faster data transfer rates, making it an ideal choice for high-performance computing and 4K gaming. With its greater RAM compatibility, DDR5 provides faster buffering times and raised clock speeds, giving users an improved overall work system. DDR5 is also optimized for multi-tasking, allowing users to multitask without experiencing a significant drop in performance, increasing the productivity of digital tasks. As an ever-evolving technology, DDR5 is paving the way for the computer industry into a new and powerful era.

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GPU: GPU stands for Graphics Processing Unit and is a specialized type of processor designed to handle graphics-intensive tasks. It is used in the computer industry to render images, videos, and 3D graphics. GPUs are used in gaming consoles, PCs, and mobile devices to provide a smooth and immersive gaming experience. They are also used in the medical field to create 3D models of organs and tissues, and in the automotive industry to create virtual prototypes of cars. GPUs are also used in the field of artificial intelligence to process large amounts of data and create complex models. GPUs are becoming increasingly important in the computer industry as they are able to process large amounts of data quickly and efficiently.

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L3 cache: L3 cache is a type of computer memory that is used to store frequently used data and instructions. It is located between the processor and main memory, and is used to reduce the amount of time it takes for the processor to access data from main memory. This helps to improve the overall performance of the computer. In the computer industry, L3 cache is used in many applications, such as gaming, video editing, and web browsing. It can also be used to improve the performance of servers and other high-performance computing tasks. By providing faster access to data, L3 cache can help to reduce the amount of time it takes for a computer to complete a task.

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LPDDR5: LPDDR5 is a type of computer memory technology that is used in many modern computers. It stands for Low Power Double Data Rate 5 and is the latest version of the LPDDR memory standard. It is a type of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) that is designed to be more power efficient than its predecessors. It is used in many modern laptops, tablets, and smartphones to provide faster performance and longer battery life. LPDDR5 is also used in some high-end gaming PCs and workstations to provide faster loading times and smoother gaming experiences. It is also used in some servers and data centers to provide faster data processing and storage.

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NPU: NPU, or Neural Processing Unit, is a type of specialized processor that is designed to handle complex artificial intelligence tasks. It is inspired by the structure and function of the human brain, with the ability to process and analyze large amounts of data simultaneously. In the computer industry, NPU technology is being used in various applications such as speech recognition, image and video processing, and natural language processing. This allows computers to perform tasks that were previously only possible for humans, making them more efficient and intelligent. NPU technology is also being integrated into smartphones, self-driving cars, and other devices, making them smarter and more responsive to user needs. With the increasing demand for AI-driven technology, the use of NPU is expected to grow and revolutionize the way we interact with computers in the future.

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PCIe: PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard for connecting components such as graphics cards, sound cards, and network cards to a motherboard. It is the most widely used interface in the computer industry today, and is used in both desktop and laptop computers. PCIe is capable of providing up to 16 times the bandwidth of the older PCI standard, allowing for faster data transfer speeds and improved performance. It is also used in a variety of other applications, such as storage, networking, and communications. PCIe is an essential component of modern computing, and its applications are only expected to grow in the future.

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SoC: A System-on-Chip (SoC) is a highly integrated semiconductor device that encapsulates various electronic components, including processors, memory, input/output interfaces, and often specialized hardware components, all on a single chip. SoCs are designed to provide a complete computing system or subsystem within a single chip package, offering enhanced performance, power efficiency, and compactness. They are commonly used in a wide range of devices, from smartphones and tablets to embedded systems and IoT devices, streamlining hardware complexity and facilitating efficient integration of multiple functions onto a single chip.