SiFive announces two RISC-V CPU cores, including for new Intel processor

Chip developer SiFive has announced two new RISC-V processor cores, the SiFive Performance P270 and the SiFive Performance P550. The second, according to the company, is the most powerful RISC-V CPU core to date and will come in Intel’s upcoming 7nm CPU.

According to SiFive, the Performance P550 is the most powerful CPU core to date, with a SPECint 2006 benchmark score of 8.65 per GHz. According to SiFive, four P550 cores take up as much space on a CPU as a single ARM Cortex-A75 core, while the core delivers better performance.

The core features a SiFive 13-step triple-issue, out-of-order pipeline and is based on the SiFive U84 microarchitecture. The slightly less powerful P270 has a 4.6 per GHz benchmark score and has an 8-step dual-issue in-order architecture. Hardware info explains that the core can support 64-bit operating systems.

According to Intel, SiFive’s P550 core should become part of the company’s upcoming 7nm CPU, nicknamed “Horse Creek.” According to Liliputing, it is not yet known whether this means that the processor will be powered exclusively by SiFive’s RISC-V cores or whether it will be paired with Intel’s own x86 cores.

It was recently announced that Intel is rumored to be planning to acquire chip manufacturer SiFive for more than two billion dollars. SiFive is in talks with advisors about what to do with this, because it might prefer to remain independent. In September last year, SiFive announced the first RISC-V computer, which it began shipping in May this year as a mini-ITX board.