A ''New Ara'' for Vector Computing: An Open Source Highly Efficient RISC-V V 1.0 Vector Processor Design

Vector architectures are gaining traction for highly efficient processing of data-parallel workloads, driven by all major ISAs (RISC-V, Arm, Intel), and boosted by landmark chips, like the Arm SVE-based Fujitsu A64FX, powering the TOP500 leader Fugaku. The RISC-V V extension has recently reached 1.0...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2022-10
Main Authors: Perotti, Matteo, Cavalcante, Matheus, Wistoff, Nils, Andri, Renzo, Cavigelli, Lukas, Benini, Luca
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Array processors
Computer architecture
Microprocessors
RISC
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Vector architectures are gaining traction for highly efficient processing of data-parallel workloads, driven by all major ISAs (RISC-V, Arm, Intel), and boosted by landmark chips, like the Arm SVE-based Fujitsu A64FX, powering the TOP500 leader Fugaku. The RISC-V V extension has recently reached 1.0-Frozen status. Here, we present its first open-source implementation, discuss the new specification's impact on the micro-architecture of a lane-based design, and provide insights on performance-oriented design of coupled scalar-vector processors. Our system achieves comparable/better PPA than state-of-the-art vector engines that implement older RVV versions: 15% better area, 6% improved throughput, and FPU utilization >98.5% on crucial kernels.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.2210.08882