intel-4-node-shrink-for-14th-gen-meteor-lake-cpus-gets-a-promising-unofficial-update
Intel hasn’t shied away from sharing its long term roadmap because it seems to regain course of management, each within the close to future and into the so-called angstrom period. The additional down the roadmap we journey the much less particulars Intel shares, however we at the very least get a tough define of what is in retailer. And trying simply previous Raptor Lake, Intel will pivot to a smaller node for its 14th Gen Core Meteor Lake processors.
Skeptics will surprise if Intel can maintain the aggressive tempo of innovation it is set earlier than itself, and that is a good query after witnessing the stumble to 10 nanometers. Remember Cannon Lake and the hype that preceded it? That’s all now previously and as we have seen with Alder Lake, Intel has regained its footing because it seems to dash forward.
To that finish, a recent Digitimes stories claims that the chip maker’s Intel 4 node is on observe for quantity manufacturing within the second half of 2022. That was at all times plan (Intel bragged in April that it powered up a Meteor Lake CPU and booted to Windows), however what the unofficial update suggests is that Intel has not run into any snags, final minute or in any other case. That’s essential as Intel will get prepared for a node shrink.
Where issues can get complicated from the surface trying in is with the node naming scheme. Intel shifted to a brand new naming scheme round this time final yr, beginning with Intel 7 for Alder Lake. Intel 7 had beforehand been referred to an 10nm Enhanced SuperFin. And looking forward to Meteor Lake, the Intel 4 node was beforehand known as 7nm.
Part of the explanation for the shift is as a result of nodes from one producer and one other will not be created equal. From a really excessive stage overview, that is to say that Intel 4 (7nm) just isn’t the identical as TSMC’s 7nm node that AMD’s Zen 3 chips are based mostly on.
The shift to Intel 4 is a giant deal for Intel. It represents the primary full node shrink since Intel rolled out its new labels, and it comes with some large efficiency claims. For instance, Intel says it’ll ship a 20 % efficiency per watt enchancment over Intel 7, or allow 40 % much less energy on the similar clock frequency. This may even be Intel’s first node to make full use of EUV lithography.
Another notable facet of Meteor Lake is a shift to a chiplet make-up with a versatile tiled structure (graphics, CPU cores, and I/O are on a separate die). Interestingly, the CPU tiles are fabricated by Intel whereas TSMC is making the GPU tiles. We nonetheless do not know what the desktop configurations will appear like, however on cell, we’re doubtless 6-8 Redwood Cove P-cores, 0-16 Crestmont E-cores, and Battlemage built-in GPUs with as much as 192 EUs.
For a number of causes, Meteor Lake is a much bigger bounce in structure from Raptor Lake, than Raptor Lake shall be to Alder Lake. So it is good to apparently study that Intel 4 quantity manufacturing is on observe.