If you get the VC707 FPGA Dev Kit, and put U500 on to it, what do you actually end up with? How many RISC-V cores? What MHz? How much RAM? Flash?
One core, 62.5MHz, 1GB RAM, 0B flash (it uses an SD card).
The frequency and number of cores is subject to change between releases.
Oh!
So compared to Arty you get 64 bit, FP, MSU modes, MMU (which is a lot!), but not actually any faster.
Yes. The point of the VC707 is to be able to prototype software for our upcoming U500 series of linux-capable chips, just as the arty board was to prototype software for the E300 (HiFive1). FYI, I think the FPU is also turned off in the FPGA image at the moment, but as I mentioned, all these knobs can be (and are) changed from time to time.
Right, and I’ll be first in line to buy a Raspberry Pi 2/3 class RISC-V board, from whoever is first to market. Well, and probably whoever is 2nd as well 
Meanwhile I’ve got the HiFive1 and will be evangelizing that far and wide, including at work (where I make compilers for custom CPUs). It’s tantalisingly close to a Pi 1 in speed (even more so to original iPhone!). If only it had more RAM
If you can get future chips on to 40 nm (I believe that’s what both the BCM-2835 (Pi 1) an BCM-2836 (Pi 2) are on) they should kick butt!
We’ve already announced that the Freedom Unleashed family will be fabricated in TSMC 28nm technology, and with clock rates of 1.6GHz and up.
Odroid class. So much the better Love my XU4 and C2.
Can’t wait.