Published in PC Hardware

Intel's collaboration with TSMC snagged

by on22 February 2023


3nm processing delays  

Intel's clever plan to borrow TSMC for some of its Intel 3 work has hit a snag.

In late January, it was reported that Intel recruited TSMC to use its Intel 3 node and that Chipzilla was signing lucrative contracts for its Intel Foundry Services arm using the tech. But while Intel produces most of its chips (and produces chips for other vendors), it also has contracts with competitors like Taiwan Semiconductor Corporation (TSMC) to produce chips for its Arc discrete GPU family.

DigiTimes reports that Intel's collaboration with TSMC on products using the latter's 3nm node has hit a slight snag.

Previous reports indicated that Intel's 15th generation disaggregated multi-tile/multi-chiplet Arrow Lake processors, which will purportedly use TSMC 3nm for the GPU tile, would launch in Q3 2024. Now, it's reported that Intel is delaying orders with TSMC until Q4 2024. This means that the first Arrow Lake processor will not be seen until the fourth quarter of 2024 at best.

Leading up to Arrow Lake, Intel will allegedly launch Raptor Lake-S desktop processors later this year with enhanced performance for enthusiasts and workstation markets. Raptor Lake-S will be followed by the 14th generation Meteor Lake family later this year. 

Meteor Lake will be the first collaborative effort with TSMC on the CPU side. It is comprised of an Intel 4 (7nm) compute tile along with TSMC-manufactured GPU (5nm) and SoC (6nm) tiles using Foveros 3D technology that we first saw with the mostly forgotten Lakefield processors. In addition, meteor Lake will also become Intel's first CPU family to incorporate extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.

DigiTimes alleges that the Meteor Lake laptop processors will launch before their desktop counterparts, a change from Intel's Raptor Lake and Alder Lake cadence. It's also suspected that Meteor Lake and Arrow Lake will share a common platform, like Alder Lake and Raptor Lake, this means that there will be new chipsets and sockets.

Last modified on 22 February 2023
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