Ahead of the upcoming RISC-V Summit in China, Canonical has unveiled a new RISC-V single-board computer (SBC), the EBC77 Series, which fully supports Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. This SBC is designed primarily for development and embedded systems, rather than typical desktop usage. It is important to note that RISC-V devices generally cannot match the performance or pricing of ARM-based SBCs, such as the Raspberry Pi. However, they serve a niche purpose for users interested in testing or developing for the RISC-V architecture.
Specifications of the ESWIN EIC77
The EBC77 is equipped with a quad-core EIC7700X 64-bit RISC-V SoC, clocking in at up to 1.8GHz. Its performance is comparable to ARM Cortex-A75 processors, making it adequate for specific applications, though it’s unlikely to replace general consumer PCs. The board features:
- An NPU capable of 19.95 TOPS.
- Up to 32GB LPDDR5 memory.
- Onboard multimedia support for HEVC (H.265) and AVC (H.264) up to 8K resolution.
- An Imagination GPU that supports multiple graphical standards, including OpenGL-ES 3.2 and Vulkan 1.2.
For storage, it includes 8MB SPI flash along with a microSD card slot for expansion and a 4-lane PCIe Gen3 connector for SSDs. Connectivity options feature micro HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, and four USB ports, alongside built-in Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0.
RVA23 Compatibility Issue
An important consideration is that the EBC77 uses SiFive Performance P550 RISC-V cores, which conform to the RVA20 profile. As a result, it will not be able to run or upgrade to Ubuntu 25.10 or future releases that require RVA23 profile support. Canonical plans to focus on supporting RISC-V devices aligned with the RVA23 profile due to their superior performance and feature sets compared to older devices.
This limitation is offset by the full support for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, a long-term release that will receive updates until 2029, making it suitable for many users.
Pricing and Availability
According to Jonathan Mok from Canonical, the launch of the EBC77 signifies a critical advancement for the open-source community, enabling innovations in RISC-V architecture. The device is priced starting from $149, with availability on platforms such as Amazon. Attendees at the RISC-V Summit China can view the EBC77 at the booths of both Canonical and ESWIN Computing.
For further details: Canonical Blog | CNX Software