DC-ROMA RISC-V Laptop II with SpacemIT K1 Octa-Core SoC to Run Ubuntu Supported by Canonical

Deep Computing has announced the DC-ROMA RISC-V Laptop II, which is powered by a 2.0 GHz SpacemIT K1 octa-core 64-bit RISC-V processor, coupled with up to 16GB of DDR4 memory, and runs Ubuntu with official support from Canonical.

In 2022, Deep Computing unveiled the first RISC-V laptop named ROMA, but it never really took off due to its web3 and cryptocurrency features, coupled with an ultra-high price. The new DC-ROMA RISC-V Laptop II dispenses with those elements and features a 14-inch IPS display, a 1TB SSD, a WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 module, a webcam, several USB ports, including a USB-C with DisplayPort Alt mode, and a “development interface” with a few GPIOs.

DC-ROMA RISC-V Laptop II specifications:

• SoC: SpacemiT K1
  • CPU: 8-core X60 RISC-V processor @ up to 2.0 GHz; single-core performance equivalent to about 1.3x the performance of an Arm Cortex-A55
  • GPU: Imagination IMG BXE-2-32 with support for OpenCL 3.0, OpenGL ES3.2, Vulkan 1.2
  • VPU: H.265, H.264, VP9, VP8 4K encoding/encoding
  • NPU: 2.0 TOPS AI accelerator
  • RVA 22 Profile RVV 1.0 compliant
• System Memory: 8GB or 16GB LPDDR4x
• Storage: Up to 1TB SSD; microSD card slot
• Display: 14-inch IPS display with 1920×1080 resolution, 60Hz refresh rate
• Audio: 3.5mm headphone jack
• Camera: Full HD webcam
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6 & Bluetooth 5.2
• USB:
  • 2x USB 3.0 Type-A ports
  • 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C “full function” port with power, data, and DisplayPort Alt mode to connect another display
  • 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port with power and data support
• User Input: QWERTY keyboard and touchpad
• Expansion: 8-pin “development interface” with GPIO, UART, I2C, 3.3V, and GND
• Miscellaneous: Fastboot button, Reset button
• Battery: Good for up to 8 hours on a charge
• Power Supply: Via USB-C port
• Dimensions: 32.3 x 20.9 x 1.7 cm
• Weight: 1.36 kg

The DC-ROMA RISC-V Laptop II offers a much better price than the first model, with pre-orders starting at $399 for the version with 8GB RAM and booting the OS from a microSD card. Adding a 1TB SSD increases the cost by $100, and note that a power supply is not included by default. Two options are available:

• $50 Standard Dev ToolKit:
  • 32G microSD card with Debian images
  • 32GB microSD card with Ubuntu Desktop images
  • USB Type-C Cable
  • Special Dev Cable to connect to the GPIO connector
• $100 Power Dev ToolKit:
  • Includes everything in the Standard Dev Toolkit plus:
  • 87W GaN 10000 mAH Charger Power Bank

The DC-ROMA laptop is not the only SpacemIT K1 laptop in the works. The aforementioned Muse Book laptop is up for pre-order on Arace Tech for $299  and a 64GB eMMC flash. The Sipeed LicheeBook, which was initially planned with a TH1520 SoC, will also launch this month with the SpacemIT K1 octa-core RISC-V SoC, according to a message on the Sipeed Telegram channel.

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