For years RISC-V was a story about microcontrollers and research boards. Now you can buy a laptop. Performance sits roughly where entry-level machines were five years ago, graphics drivers are a work in progress, and the community is thrilled anyway.
What works and what does not
The desktop boots, browsers run and compilers are fast enough for development. Video acceleration, sleep states and anything involving proprietary firmware remain rough. It is a machine for people who want to be part of the fix.
Key takeaways
- First consumer RISC-V notebooks are shipping
- Performance is entry-level by current standards
- Firmware and graphics are the open work
This story is part of our ongoing coverage of hardware. We will update it as more details emerge.
