without much noise RISC-V It is gradually being positioned as a new option against x86 and ARM, with the addition that it is open hardware, while the other two architectures or instruction sets are proprietary. After repeating that NASA is betting on RISC-V and the existence of the ROMA laptop, we now learn about the existence Lichee by Sipeed, a mini-PC same architecture with Raspberry Pi-like layout.

In addition to the RISC-V processor, the Sipeed Lichee features 16GB of RAM. Random access memory and data storage are part of the system on an LM4A module that plugs into the Pi 4A carrier board. This module can be used with other products that Sipeed will release in the future, including router kit, cluster board, tablet and phone. The 16 GB RAM maximum with which it is being marketed could open the door to its use for contexts such as servers, at least in low-end environments (such as SMBs).

The heart of the LM4A module is the T-Head TH1520 processor from Alibaba. The RISC-V chip is manufactured using a 12nm manufacturing process and includes Xuantie C910, C906 and E902 cores, all of which deliver up to 4 trillion operations per second (TOPS) of AI performance. At the data storage level, it can equip up to 128 GB of eMMC memory.

The LM4A module is designed to fit into motherboards in a similar way to a RAM memory unit, and the first compatible board is the Lichee Pi 4A, which offers many options at the level of cable connections, wireless I/O, power supply:

• Two Gigabit Ethernet ports with power over (PoE) support.
• Four USB 3.0 Type A ports with a data transfer rate of 5 Gb/s.
• HDMI 2.0 port with support up to 4K and 60 frames per second.
• 3.5 mm jack connector for audio.
• 20 pin header connector.
• USB 2.0 Type-C designed exclusively for power.
• Slot with microSD card reader.
• Power port (DC power input) to 5 volts.
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
• MIPI-DSI and MIPI-CSI connectors for screens and cameras.

The manufacturer of Sipeed says that Lichee officially supports Debian, Android and OpenWRT operating systems (Linux aimed at embedded systems). The base configuration is made up of 2GB and has no data storage, while the highest has the mentioned 16GB of RAM along with 128GB of eMMC for data storage.

The Lichee can be reserved from the Sipeed website (where you can see all the mini-PC features), and the first units are expected to start shipping during the first quarter of 2023.