Intel not tapping Samsung for 14nm Rocket Lake production?

Posted on Thursday, June 20 2019 @ 18:59 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
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Earlier this week there were rumors about Intel outsourcing the production of its 14nm Rocket Lake processor to Samsung. The news seemed a bit odd as Samsung's 14nm process is not compatible with and inferior to Intel's 14nm process and some further digging by Tom's Hardware indicates it may be fake news.

The site did manage to confirm that Intel is in talks with Samsung about chip production, but heard that this is centered around simpler devices like chipsets:
According to our source, Intel and Samsung are in negotiations, but the talks center on simpler designs, likely chipsets, that are far easier to outsource. That move would also make sense given Intel's move back to the 22nm node for chipsets last year due to a shortage of 14nm production capacity. Intel produces one chipset per processor, so the small chips consume a significant portion of the company's wafer output and packaging and test capacity, so offloading that production to Samsung would be a good fit. That approach also allows Intel to focus its own production capacity on high-margin products.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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