The first ever RISC-V laptop is available from Alibaba

The Roma is based on a computing platform known as Wujian 600 and is aimed directly at cost-effective, and consumer-facing, edge computing. Edge computing is best known for running machine learning AI applications, for example, high-volume data collection, like temperature measurement throughout an entire year, by the minute.

The CPU in the laptop is an Alibaba T-Head TH1520 quad-core Xuantie. C910 processor which runs at a clock speed of up to 2.5GHz. It has a 4TOPS Neural Processing Unit (NPU) and an Imagination Technologies Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) as well.

The Neural Processing Unit is what analyzes inferences, as close to a human’s neurons and synapses that computers can be right now. It processes thousands of algorithm functions per second, called inference. The basic premise is – If this, then that. Decision-making from huge volumes of data.

The laptop can support 16 GB LPDDR4 or 4X RAM, at up to 4266 MT/s, and comes with 256 of SSD storage.

The display is a 14.1-inch 1080p panel, with a webcam that matches that resolution. There is an HDMI port if a larger screen is desired, and very handy on a computer designed for collecting heaps of data and running AI.

In networking, there is WI-FI 5 and an Ethernet port as well as Bluetooth 5 for pairing headphones and headsets and speakers. If a thought was sparked that the laptop could process wireless data from sensors in an IoT array, it would be correct.