Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger responded this week to recent rumors that they were delaying products built on TSMC's Intel 3 and N3 technologies, both 3nm. The CEO once again insisted that all 3nm projects announced to date will launch in 2024.
So far, Intel has revealed three products that will be manufactured using 3nm technologies. Its high-performance core-based Granite Rapids and low-power core-based Sierra Forest processors are geared toward data centers, being developed on its Intel 3 node formerly known as 5nm. This manufacturing process is a refined version of Intel 4, but with higher performance per watt, higher drive currents, lower via resistance, and denser high-performance libraries. All of these are welcome enhancements to data center devices. And the via resistance reduction is also to be positive for mobile CPUs. At the moment, Intel has only revealed internally two products that will be manufactured on its 3nm node.
Intel's Gelsinger insists that everything that uses 3nm is moving forward and not lagging behind
The 3nm programs are on the right track, both TSMC's and our internal Intel 3 programs, Granite Rapids and Sierra Forest in particular. I'm a bit surprised by some of these rumors that are coming to light. You may have noticed that there were similar ones on Intel 4 a few months ago, and also with some of our other TSMC programs, which were also patently bogus at the time.
Pat Gelsinger on the Intel Capital Allocation Update conference call
As for external 3nm projects, things would be a bit more complicated. Officially, Intel is going to use TSMC's N3 node for a graphical mosaic of its codenamed processors meteor lake and Arrow Lake, planned for 2023 and 2024. In August of last year, a market research firm claimed that Intel had decided to postpone the production of the Meteor Lake graphics card in TSMC's N3 process. Intel did not comment at the time on any 3nm-based projects, but did say that Meteor Lake was on track to be released in 2023, as if trying to deny that.
Now, the company reaffirms that its Arrow Lake product, consisting of a computing module manufactured in Intel's 20A node and a graphics module manufactured in TSMC's N3E process, is scheduled for 2024. By the time the Arrow Lake CPUs launch, TSMC will already have some experience with its own 3nm-class process technologies, so Intel would be unlikely to delay it due to issues.
Source: Tom's Hardware
