LoongArch With Linux 6.4 Lands Optimizations, New Functionality

[phoronix]

Phoronix: LoongArch With Linux 6.4 Lands Optimizations, New Functionality

Chinese tech company Loongson continues working on improving the upstream Linux kernel support for their MIPS-derived, RISC-V-inspired domestic CPU architecture. With the in-development Linux 6.4 kernel is another batch of optimizations and implementing more kernel functionality for the LoongArch CPU architecture...

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-6.4-LoongArch

[zexelon]

Is there any hardware available for this arch in North America? It would be interesting to tinker with this one. Not sure if its even possible, but has Phoronix ever had a chance to have hands on LoongArch hardware?

[cb88]

LoongArch is really really not RISC-V inspired at all... it also has one or two features RISC-V has but its pretty much a carbon copy of MIPS64 with a different encoding than the default one. So you end up with a very slightly modified MIPS.

[rmfx]

What's the point not using RISC-V ISA & ecosystem if it's to make a ISA based on older MIPS64? Pretend to have a Chinese made tech?

[mdedetrich]

LoongArch is really really not RISC-V inspired at all... it also has one or two features RISC-V has but its pretty much a carbon copy of MIPS64 with a different encoding than the default one. So you end up with a very slightly modified MIPS.

Thats my understanding as well.

[cb88]

What's the point not using RISC-V ISA & ecosystem if it's to make a ISA based on older MIPS64? Pretend to have a Chinese made tech?

The purpose is purely typical Chinese propaganda and bluster. You never get the truth out of anything Chinese until you test it and investigate yourself.

[ayumu]

On the topic of RISC-V, I feel its Phoronix coverage to be lacking.

Not a word about VisionFive2, about LM4A, or anything else exciting that's been going on in the RISC-V world.

[ryao]

On the topic of RISC-V, I feel its Phoronix coverage to be lacking.

Not a word about VisionFive2, about LM4A, or anything else exciting that's been going on in the RISC-V world.

There is also the Asus Tinker V, but the performance is likely worse than the single core performance of the VisionFive2, which was already abysmal. It is not particularly notable, especially since I cannot find it for sale. A risc-v pine tablet launched without any software, so it is not that interesting either unless you want a DIY experience in making a tablet using risc-v.

There are some interesting announcements though, such as:

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ventana-introduces-veyron-worlds-first-data-center-class-risc-v-cpu-product-family-301700985.html

https://www.design-reuse.com/sip/64-bit-risc-v-multicore-processor-with-1024-bit-vector-extension-ip-52009/

[Spacefish]

What's the point not using RISC-V ISA & ecosystem if it's to make a ISA based on older MIPS64? Pretend to have a Chinese made tech?

RISC-V was only developed in 2010, but LoongArch + the Loongson processors have been arround since 2002.
I guess China mainly developed these processors to be independent from other manufacturers and have their own design + supply chain mainly for military applications.. You don´t need that much processing power to control a missile or a fighter jet.
Furthermore for national security critical applications you might not want to use a SoC or processor developed by you potentiel enemy which might have hardware / firmware backdoors.

They are developing RISC-V Cores as well b.t.w. they even OpenSourced them: https://github.com/OpenXiangShan/XiangShan
Alibaba / T-Head developes commercial RISC-V cores + SoCs as well, which are availiable already.

[starbg]

RISC-V was only developed in 2010, but LoongArch + the Loongson processors have been arround since 2002.
I guess China mainly developed these processors to be independent from other manufacturers and have their own design + supply chain mainly for military applications.. You don´t need that much processing power to control a missile or a fighter jet.
Furthermore for national security critical applications you might not want to use a SoC or processor developed by you potentiel enemy which might have hardware / firmware backdoors.

They are developing RISC-V Cores as well b.t.w. they even OpenSourced them: https://github.com/OpenXiangShan/XiangShan
Alibaba / T-Head developes commercial RISC-V cores + SoCs as well, which are availiable already.

pre Loongson 3A5000 is the MIPS compatible processor