Intel Dropping TSMC’s 3nm
Initially, TSMC had their 3nm process node delayed to 2023. However, due to further technical issues they were postponed to late 2023 (Now possibly 2024). This spelled trouble for Intel’s 14th gen CPUs as the tGPUs (Tile GPUs) featured on Meteor Lake was reportedly going to make use of the 3nm process node. A while back, we did confirm that Intel may consider dropping TSMC’s 3nm process due to such delays and today Intel has officially confirmed this. In reality, the tGPU was supposed to be manufactured on the 5nm process node from the start.
Packaging Technology
In regards to the packaging technology, a 6P+8E core SKU was shown. These cores (E+P) will be producted using the 7nm node (Intel 4). However, due to the transistor density we think Intel’s 7nm process can perform close to or even better than a 4nm process node. Many believe this is the MTL-P (Meteor Lake-P) silicon.
tGPU = TSMC 5nmSoC tile = TSMC 6nIO tile = 6n (Manufacturer Unknown) Foveros interposer = Intel 22nm
Team blue reassured that Meteor Lake and Arrow Lake are set to launch in 2023 and 2024 respectively. The upcoming Raptor Lake is expected to be seen as early as October with an official announcement speculated for the 27-28th of September.
