u/Camper_Sly

IT seems to me that good part of underlying fundamental assumptions for RISC-V just got rejigged if not outright smashed by latest AI advances.

They seem to be on verge of being capable of reimplementing whole compiler/assembler/debugger backends to fit the ISA.

If so, how many of RISC-V fundamentals are still needed ? Maybe the time is coming for RISC-VI or something like that to be optimized for new reality ?

Is this doable within realistic budget ?

I've noticed that while switches that can do 56G/lane signalling are becoming affordable, NICs are still insanely expensive.

So if one want to have, for example, one server that can do 200GbE and several clients on 50GbE, all using modern PCIe Gen5,only realistic option is INtel's E835.

But E835 has no cheap option for 50GbE (only 25 GbE). So for 50GbE one has to buy full-blown E835CQDA that can do 4x50GbE=200GbE for ~$700, only to end up using one out of its 4 lanes.

All other options (nVidia ConnectX6/7, Broadcom are way more expensive)

This got me thinking, could one DIY 50 GbE Ethernet NIC with something Like Efinix Titanium ? It has no PCIe Gen5, but for 50GbE, Gen4 is close enough. PCIe4x4 is more than enough for that.

But it has no 56G transceivers for Ethernet signalling. Is there affordable external 56G transceiver for FPGA ?

Would such FPGAs fabric be good enough for the job, or does one need something vastly bigger ?

While there are some options for small, cheap FPGAs beyond Lattice iCE, I can't find many SoC versions with hardened CPU core macro.

My current options so far:

• Gowin LittleBee GW1-NS/NSR (ARM Cortex M3, extra 64MB PSRAM)
• AGM AG32 (RISC-V RV32IMAFC core + 2kLUT)
• ANLOGIC SALSWIFT-1/2 (RISC-V core)

Out of these, only Gowin has some kind of support and documentation. All others are either undocumented (at least for westerner outsiders) and/or very sketchy in general.

Any other options, worth considering ?

I'm looking after something like Lattice MachXOx or iCE series, only with hardened CPU core.

Looking at PIC12/16/18 series, AVRs and ST8...

Interesting little cricketts. But what are they nowadays used for ?

I thought it was about pricing. But no, modern ARM M0+ and especially RISC-V models tend to be cheaper. Often MUCH cheaper.

But 8-bitters seem to be selling these days. So, who uses them and why ? is it all just legacy programs ?

Planning my own DIY Solar project and since batteries are big part of the cost, I figured to ask around before screwing it up.

LiFePo4 cells have been traditionally best bang/$.

But that is supposed to change, if news articles are to be believed.

Sodium-Ion cells have came with promises, which turned out to be hollow.

But that was just first wave. Now BYD and CATL are making some big claims for new generations. Last time I've heard, they are coming even in some cheap EV models.

But so far, I've heard nothing about them being used in the area that is supposed to be their forte - solar energy storage.

So, are they here ? If so, who is offering them ? What are specs,models, prices ? Anyone with experience to share ?

If they aren't here, what's the plan ? Is it worth waiting, and how long ? Are they likely to be an option in say, 6 months time ?

Planning my own DIY Solar project and since batteries are big part of the cost, I figured to ask around before screwing it up.

LiFePo4 cells have been traditionally best bang/$.

But that is supposed to change, if news articles are to be believed.

Sodium-Ion cells have came with promises, which turned out to be hollow.

But that was just first wave. Now BYD and CATL are making some big claims for new generations. Last time I've heard, they are coming even in some cheap EV models.

But so far, I've heard nothing about them being used in the area that is supposed to be their forte - solar energy storage.

So, are they here ? If so, who is offering them ? What are specs,models, prices ? Anyone with experience to share ?

If they aren't here, what's the plan ? Is it worth waiting, and how long ? Are they likely to be an option in say, 6 months time ?