HiFive Premier P550 Development Boards with Ubuntu Now Available—With Great Reviews and a Lower Price

By SiFive

December 11, 2024

With strong initial reviews, the HiFive Premier P550 Development Boards with pre-installed Ubuntu are in stock and available for purchase at Arrow.com. First launched in October, the Yocto-based Early Access edition of the HiFive Premier P550 sold out rapidly as developers eagerly embraced it to test their RISC-V designs on real silicon. Today, we’re excited to announce the general availability of the Premier P550 in both 16GB and 32GB configurations. This release offers even more flexibility and power, featuring pre-installed Ubuntu 24.04 to help developers make the most of their RISC-V projects.

Lower Price, Greater Accessibility Due to the boards' initial popularity, we worked closely with our manufacturing partner, ESWIN to ramp up production. As a result of increased production and economies of scale, we’re excited to announce we are able to lower the price to just $399 for the 16GB version and $499 for the 32GB version, making this powerful development board more accessible to a wider range of developers, enthusiasts, and designers.

For those who acted quickly and purchased a board before the price drop, we want to thank you for your support. We’ll be issuing a refund for the price difference to show our appreciation. You will receive an email from Arrow explaining next steps.

Rave Reviews and Feedback Early feedback from users has been overwhelmingly positive. It’s been exciting to see how developers and build farms are leveraging the board’s capabilities—from testing software to running video games—pushing the board to its limits. We’d love to hear your thoughts as well. Feel free to send your feedback to HighFiveboards@sifive.com, or share your project with us on social media. Tag us or send in a video to showcase how you're using the HiFive Premier P550.

As we mentioned during the product launch, our goal is to get these boards into the hands of as many developers as possible to help accelerate the growth of the RISC-V ecosystem. Early users have praised the board’s smooth out-of-the-box experience, thorough testing and certification, and premium features. The boards are built with high quality components including powerful Samsung and Micron LPDDR memory, System on Module (SOM) for modularity and upgradeability, and an onboard Baseboard Management Controller ( BMC) offering remote management and control without having physical access to the board, and much more.

Built on Strong Engineering Collaboration The HiFive Premier P550 Development Board’s uniqueness stems from the close collaboration between SiFive, ESWIN, and Canonical to ensure the board performs to specification. This strong partnership is helping drive the RISC-V ecosystem forward, and we’re thrilled to see these boards gaining traction.

“We’re excited to see these boards rapidly proliferate into the market,” said Bo Wang, Vice Chairman of ESWIN Computing. “We are pleased to be able to collaborate with SiFive, the industry leader in RISC-V, and we look forward to future products.”

“Canonical is deeply committed to RISC-V and creating the best software environment possible for developers coming into this ecosystem. The HiFive Premier P550 is set to be the de facto development platform, and with Ubuntu coming pre-installed on the board we are excited to see the platform used by innovators and developers,” said Gordan Markus, Silicon Alliances Director, Canonical.

A Strategic Investment in RISC-V’s Future These boards represent a long-term investment in accelerating the global adoption of RISC-V and are not intended as a revenue driver. As the RISC-V ecosystem grows at an exponential pace, having access to actual silicon for hands-on development is essential. We’re committed to supporting this growth, and you can expect many more boards to follow in the months ahead.

We believe this investment benefits you too. With the new, lower price, Ubuntu support, and availability through Arrow.com, there’s never been a better time to dive into RISC-V development. Whether you're building a prototype, exploring new software, or experimenting with hardware, the HiFive Premier P550 offers an unparalleled platform. And with the confidence that it’s built on SiFive’s proven IP, you can be sure you’re working with the best.

We look forward to hearing how you’re using these boards and can’t wait to share more exciting stories from the growing RISC-V community.