Intel Core i3s on TSMC 5nm this year, i5 and more on TSMC 3nm in 2022

[Nelly]

Intel will begin shifting its production of consumer CPUs to TSMC later this year. So says market intelligence outfit, TrendForce.

TrendForce's sources say that Intel will first outsource Core i3 CPUs to TSMC in the second half of this year using TSMC's 5nm process, as used by Apple in its latest iPhone and MacBook chips. Next year, Intel will then move its higher performance models to TSMC's upcoming 3nm node.

due to its ongoing problems with its new 10nm production node and also with the 7nm node intended to succeed it. But it's the first we've heard of plans for specific processors and detailed time frames.

If the report is true, the immediate question is what chips, exactly, will move to TSMC 5nm later this year? Intel has always said its radical new Alder Lake hybrid CPUs will be built in-house on 10nm tech. That was confirmed on Monday with a demo of Alder Lake running on what Intel characterised as an 'enhanced superfin 10nm process.

With Alder Lake due out later this year, the question is whether Intel is splitting Alder Lake between TSMC and its own fabs or whether the mooted i3 processors will be based on a previous architecture.

We'd bet on the latter, perhaps with something along the lines of a quad-core Cove-based CPU with internals similar to Tiger Lake or Rocket Lake being sent to TSMC. Then in late 2022, Intel could respin Meteor Lake, the successor to Alder Lake, for TSMC 3nm.

Anyway, all of this is very much TBC. But it aligns with everything we know about Intel's current woes and increasing indications that it will have to outsource at least some CPU production to stay competitive with an increasingly on-form AMD.

Sources: https://www.pcgamer.com/intel-to-begin-shifting-cpu-production-to-tsmc-later-this-year/ / http://www.trendforce.com/presscenter/news/20210113-10651.html

 

[humbug]

Intel yielding to TSMC and scaling back their own fabs?

 

[Mesai]

This must be pretty expensive for them; assume it's so that they can rebuild their own fab. At least they got rid of that garbage CEO.

 

[koooowweeee]

Intel yielding to TSMC and scaling back their own fabs?

Time to jump ship pal hehehe

 

[pc-guy]

If this is true, intel is grabbing 5nm to curtail availability to AMD for their Zen4 parts surely rather than really seriously outsourcing their fab.

if they are serious about this why not move the entire line up off.

 

[Mesai]

If this is true, intel is grabbing 5nm to curtail availability to AMD for their Zen4 parts surely rather than really seriously outsourcing their fab.

if they are serious about this why not move the entire line up off.

TSMC aren’t going to snub one of their biggest customers. Intel will get the scraps or they’ll scale up, which is what they’re already doing anyway.

Intel are doing this because they’re unable to do it themselves. Their foundry uses an inferior approach and requires an overhaul to suit their new roadmap.

 

[MasterOC]

So bascily the high end is in the same position , you'd of thought those on an i5 or i3 would be less inclined to care about the node. Why not push the halo products on to those fabs first. Sales trickle down the stack not up...

 

[pc-guy]

TSMC aren’t going to snub one of their biggest customers. Intel will get the scraps or they’ll scale up, which is what they’re already doing anyway.

Intel are doing this because they’re unable to do it themselves. Their foundry uses an inferior approach and requires an overhaul to suit their new roadmap.

i thought Apple and other phoen chip makers are TSMC's biggest 5nm customer. AMD might be a player in desktop world, but their volume pales in comparison with phone chips and other chip makers.

 

[Mesai]

i thought Apple and other phoen chip makers are TSMC's biggest 5nm customer. AMD might be a player in desktop world, but their volume pales in comparison with phone chips and other chip makers.

In terms of AMD's business with TSMC, desktop chips are it's smallest allocation. Remember that AMD supply the CPU and GPU for both the PS5 and Xbox Series X, as well as a fairly large server market - this is likely why RDNA2 availability has been garbage as it's low priority.

 

[pc-guy]

In terms of AMD's business with TSMC, desktop chips are it's smallest allocation. Remember that AMD supply the CPU and GPU for both the PS5 and Xbox Series X, as well as a fairly large server market - this is likely why RDNA2 availability has been garbage as it's low priority.

that is true, forgot about the console. AMD GPU in desktop is tiny sale volume tho.

Apple sold 15mil iphones in 2020 - a lot of processors - i am a little surprised it is only 15million tbh...i would have thought it will at least be 10x that number. but hey-ho

 

[eeek]

that is true, forgot about the console. AMD GPU in desktop is tiny sale volume tho.

Apple sold 15mil iphones in 2020 - a lot of processors - i am a little surprised it is only 15million tbh...i would have thought it will at least be 10x that number. but hey-ho

And the rest

 

[pc-guy]

And the rest

haha thanks. 15mil was in US alone good old google just showing half of the article. that is more like it...

 

[Kamakazie!]

Why would they use their allocation of 5nm for an entry level chip?! Would seem an unusual move.
Is 3nm in 2023 ambitious? When are the higher end ARM processors moving to 3nm?

Guessing with the i3 v high end, it's a timing thing. Better to wait for 3nm and get i5 & i7 straight on there instead of redesigning now for 5nm only to start again for 3nm in a years time.
i3 can stay on 5nm for the rest of it's lifespan.

 

[pc-guy]

Why would they use their allocation of 5nm for an entry level chip?! Would seem an unusual move.
Is 3nm in 2023 ambitious? When are the higher end ARM processors moving to 3nm?

Guessing with the i3 v high end, it's a timing thing. Better to wait for 3nm and get i5 & i7 straight on there instead of redesigning now for 5nm only to start again for 3nm in a years time.
i3 can stay on 5nm for the rest of it's lifespan.

they cant produce low end chip at a decent production cost because of yield.

low end chip usually have a much larger volume due to OEM demand.

 

[Kamakazie!]

they cant produce low end chip at a decent production cost because of yield.

low end chip usually have a much larger volume due to OEM demand.

But they are struggling to compete at the high end due to core number / power consumption... Anyway should be interesting times as a consumer. Looking forward to more competition & availability sometime in 2022

 

[Deleted member 209350]

that is true, forgot about the console. AMD GPU in desktop is tiny sale volume tho.

Apple sold 15mil iphones in 2020 - a lot of processors - i am a little surprised it is only 15million tbh...i would have thought it will at least be 10x that number. but hey-ho

You thought apple would have sold 150million phones in 1 year?

What kind of weird apple sheep dream world are you living in?

 

[pc-guy]

You thought apple would have sold 150million phones in 1 year?

What kind of weird apple sheep dream world are you living in?

They sold 200mil in 2020 actually.

 

[Rroff]

The funny thing is - if Intel just re-spun Ivy Bridge-EP on TSMC 7nm, gave it a few IPC tweaks, PCI-e gen 4 and full NVME support, even with just DDR3, it would take a dump on pretty much anything out at the moment.

 

[jigger]

The funny thing is - if Intel just re-spun Ivy Bridge-EP on TSMC 7nm, gave it a few IPC tweaks, PCI-e gen 4 and full NVME support, even with just DDR3, it would take a dump on pretty much anything out at the moment.

The funny thing is, it wouldn’t.

 

[4K8KW10]

The funny thing is, it wouldn’t.

Well, technically it is the very same architecture. Only the marketing gives new names (lakes) and the internal widths are increased (few new instructions - AVX2, FMA3) but the changes end there.