Latest news with #NovaLake
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Your Intel CPU Cooler Will Probably Work on Nova Lake
Intel's next-generation Nova Lake desktop processors may use similar socket dimensions as existing Raptor Lake and Arrow Lake CPU sockets, suggesting that coolers should be compatible between generations. This comes despite the new socket, termed LGA 1954, sporting more pins than older LGA 1700 and 1851 standards. AMD's Ryzen CPUs aside, it's been traditional that CPU sockets tend to only last a couple of years or generations, which means anyone upgrading will need a new motherboard. Often, with additional pins on the new design, it required a new physical configuration, too, which meant coolers from the last generation didn't always fit without some kind of additional kit or bracket. But Intel may be looking to continue the bucking of that trend with its new Nova Lake CPUs. Intel made the surprise move to maintain cooler compatibility between its LGA 1700 socket (12th, 13th, 14th Generation CPUs) and LGA 1851 socket (Core Ultra 200). And now the rumors are that it'll do the same with the next-generation socket: LGA 1954. A new motherboard will still be required for the new generation of CPUs, as the LGA 1954 socket will sport over 100 more pins than the older 1851 design. But the specific dimensions of the CPU—45mm x 37.5mm—will remain the same, according to Twitter leaker Ruby_Rapids, allowing for potential cooler compatibility—assuming Intel doesn't change the mounting pin placement for the new socket. It's not yet clear what the additional pins will be used for, but rumors suggest that Nova Lake will be a dramatic revolution of Intel's CPU designs. The flagship chip of its generation will reportedly be the first consumer CPU to break 50 cores, offering 16 Coyote Cove Performance cores and 32 Arctic Wolf efficiency cores, as per Wccftech. It will even have an additional four low-power efficiency cores, giving it potentially unprecedented multitasking capabilities with excellent idle efficiency. Much of its real-world performance could stem from what process node it ends up on, though. Intel may use its own 14A process node, but there's also talk of some of the chip's tiles being based on TSMC's 2nm process. As exciting as all this is, though, it's still a long way off. With a suggested 2026 launch date, Intel will likely remain firmly behind AMD on the gaming front for some time to come. It has yet to provide an adequate answer for the sterling gaming performance of AMD's X3D CPUs.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Intel says foundry business won't break even until 14A in 2027
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Currently, Intel's Foundry division loses billions every quarter as it invests heavily in new process technologies and production capacity. However, the company hopes that the Intel Foundry unit will break even sometime in 2027, which will coincide with the rollout out Intel's 14A manufacturing technology and production start on 18A-P node. Intel this week reaffirmed that the first product made on its 18A (1.8nm-class) fabrication process, the client PC processor (codenamed Panther Lake), will hit the market late this year and will ramp next year. The manufacturing technology will also be adopted for Xeon 'Clearwater Forest' and some third-party products, but from Intel's Foundry business perspective, 18A is will be a proof-of-concept for external clients. If this production node is a success, more potential customers will adopt its successors, including 18A-P, and 14A (1.4nm-class). "I think we do need to see more external volume come from 14A versus versus 18A, said David Zinsner, chief financial officer of Intel, at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference. "We have […] a bunch of bunch of potential customers, and then we get test chips, and then some customers fall out in the test chips, and then there is a certain amount of customers that kind of hang in there. So, committed volume is not significant right now, for sure. But, you know, I think we have got to partly prove ourselves a little bit with our own product and eat our own dog food here, and then […] we start to see some engagement around customers." Zinsner admitted that if the company choses to use High-NA EUV lithography with its 14A process technology — as it plans to at the moment — its costs will go up initially. Intel hopes that advantages enabled by the new fab tools will outweigh those higher costs. Like other contract chipmakers, Intel does not comment on its clients. The company also intends to produce more of its own silicon in house with its Panther Lake and Nova Lake CPUs, which will improve Intel's margins and its utilization of production capacities. As a result, Intel hopes that its Foundry unit will break even in 2027 and will be profitable from then on. "We still feel on track to to hit breakeven sometime in 2027," Zinsner said. "You know, I think when we committed to it in 2024, we said, 'it is going to be somewhere between 2024 and 2030, most people kind of settled in that that must mean 2027, and that is generally kind of what we are thinking is we can be breakeven." To break even, Intel Foundry only needs low- to mid-single-digit billions in annual external revenue, according to Zinsner. Most of 18A's volume will come from Intel's internal products, while 14A will require more external adoption. Intel's breakeven strategy also includes revenue from advanced packaging, mature nodes (like Intel 16), and partnerships with UMC and Tower. The company will continues to follow its 'smart capital' model, balancing internal and external wafer sourcing, and expects Foundry to compete for internal product demand to ensure efficiency and cost Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Intel says foundry business won't break even until 14A in 2027
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Currently, Intel's Foundry division loses billions every quarter as it invests heavily in new process technologies and production capacity. However, the company hopes that the Intel Foundry unit will break even sometime in 2027, which will coincide with the rollout out Intel's 14A manufacturing technology and production start on 18A-P node. Intel this week reaffirmed that the first product made on its 18A (1.8nm-class) fabrication process, the client PC processor (codenamed Panther Lake), will hit the market late this year and will ramp next year. The manufacturing technology will also be adopted for Xeon 'Clearwater Forest' and some third-party products, but from Intel's Foundry business perspective, 18A is will be a proof-of-concept for external clients. If this production node is a success, more potential customers will adopt its successors, including 18A-P, and 14A (1.4nm-class). "I think we do need to see more external volume come from 14A versus versus 18A, said David Zinsner, chief financial officer of Intel, at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference. "We have […] a bunch of bunch of potential customers, and then we get test chips, and then some customers fall out in the test chips, and then there is a certain amount of customers that kind of hang in there. So, committed volume is not significant right now, for sure. But, you know, I think we have got to partly prove ourselves a little bit with our own product and eat our own dog food here, and then […] we start to see some engagement around customers." Zinsner admitted that if the company choses to use High-NA EUV lithography with its 14A process technology — as it plans to at the moment — its costs will go up initially. Intel hopes that advantages enabled by the new fab tools will outweigh those higher costs. Like other contract chipmakers, Intel does not comment on its clients. The company also intends to produce more of its own silicon in house with its Panther Lake and Nova Lake CPUs, which will improve Intel's margins and its utilization of production capacities. As a result, Intel hopes that its Foundry unit will break even in 2027 and will be profitable from then on. "We still feel on track to to hit breakeven sometime in 2027," Zinsner said. "You know, I think when we committed to it in 2024, we said, 'it is going to be somewhere between 2024 and 2030, most people kind of settled in that that must mean 2027, and that is generally kind of what we are thinking is we can be breakeven." To break even, Intel Foundry only needs low- to mid-single-digit billions in annual external revenue, according to Zinsner. Most of 18A's volume will come from Intel's internal products, while 14A will require more external adoption. Intel's breakeven strategy also includes revenue from advanced packaging, mature nodes (like Intel 16), and partnerships with UMC and Tower. The company will continues to follow its 'smart capital' model, balancing internal and external wafer sourcing, and expects Foundry to compete for internal product demand to ensure efficiency and cost Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Intel Arc Xe3 Celestial GPU enters pre-validation stage
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Intel's next-generation Xe3 Celestial GPU reportedly enters the pre-silicon validation stage, when the GPU design and architecture are being tested using software models and emulators. The chip giant conducts this testing with OEMs and independent BIOS vendors so that they can catch issues before committing actual silicon. X user Haze spotted this development and saw some details related to Celestial in the LinkedIn profiles of some Intel employees. One profile listed 'Celestial discrete GPU Pcode IP model development' as one of theresponsibilities, detailing it as 'Developed pre-silicon HW modeling for power management IP in Intel Xe3 architecture for discrete GPU Celestial team (C/C++)' and 'Mapped 13% of boot/reboot signal pathways for functional pcode in Celestial power management IP model (fmodel), migrating those modeled in Ruby from the test environment to C/C++ in the IP model.' Another person said they 'developed low-level system software and device drivers in C++ for Intel's Nova Lake & Xeon6 (Diamond Rapids) CPUs and Celestial discrete GPU.' It seems that the pre-silicon model already has its firmware and power management ready, allowing Intel's partners to start testing it virtually with their systems. Once every kink has been ironed out and is confirmed to be working as intended, the Xe3 design can proceed to tapeout, the final step before fabrication begins. Intel Fellow Tom Petersen previously said that the architecture for the Xe3 Celestial had already been completed in December 2024, and its team has now moved on to working on Xe4 Druid. With this development, the GPU seems to be on track according to Intel's GPU roadmap. If it does not encounter any major problems with the design and production of the graphics card, we might see Celestial enter production and be in the hands of gamers in around 12 to 18 months. However, we don't have any idea what these Celestial GPUs will be, as Intel has recently been pretty tight-lipped around its Arc graphics cards. Even though the B580 and B570 Battlemage GPUs, which use the BMG-G21 chip, launched with overwhelmingly positive feedback, we still haven't heard any news about the arrival of higher-end Battlemage discrete GPUs that use the more powerful BMG-G31 silicon. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
TSMC's N2 process reportedly lands orders from Intel — Nova Lake is the likely application
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Intel has reportedly placed orders with TSMC for its bleeding-edge 2nm-class N2 process technology, according to Economic Daily News. This news comes shortly after AMD officially confirmed its Zen 6 'Venice' server chips, likely the CCDs, will be fabricated using the same node. If the report is accurate, these wafers are likely intended for Intel's Nova Lake lineup of CPUs. While this might put into question 18A's capabilities, Intel officially declared a dual-sourcing strategy for Nova Lake as early as last Lake serves as the successor to Arrow Lake, and is rumored to feature up to 52 hybrid cores (16P+32E+4LPE) segmented into two blocks of eight Coyote Cove P-cores, 16 Arctic Wolf E-cores, with four LPE cores likely in a separate SoC Tile. Rumor has it that Nova Lake will transition to a new LGA1954 socket, meaning existing 800-series motherboards won't be are seeing several architectural jumps here as the expected progression is Lion Cove (ARL/LNL), then Cougar Cove, and Coyote Cove for Performance (P) cores. Similarly, Arctic Wolf is suggested to follow Darkmont, which comes after Skymont (ARL/LNL) for Efficiency (E) cores. With 18A already in risk production, the shift to TSMC is probably driven by capacity needs, rather than performance or yield 18A should power some of Intel's most ambitious products in recent history: Clearwater Forest and Diamond Rapids (rumored), the former of which has been delayed to H1 2026 citing packaging concerns. To ease pressure on its 18A production line and prevent delays with consumer products, Intel, under interim CEO Michelle Holthaus, announced outsourcing some Nova Lake dies to partners like TSMC and insinuated by leaker Kepler on X, high-end Nova Lake products will, allegedly, be built using N2 while 18A will be designated for the lower-end parts. This isn't Intel's first time partnering up with TSMC for CPU production, as the company's latest Arrow Lake CPUs (using N3B, N5P, and N6), Lunar Lake (using N3B and N6), and for GPUs Alchemist (using N6), and Battlemage(using N4) have all leveraged TSMC's process technology. This increases Intel's spending, requiring a careful balance between expediting product launches via external foundries or facing delays with its internal some extent, even Arrow Lake is dual-sourced with Arrow Lake-U (for low-power devices) using the Intel 3 process. While Arrow Lake had minimal in-house production, ex-CEO Pat Gelsinger reported that Intel will produce most of Nova Lake internally. Relying on TSMC isn't inherently bad if 18A can land a handful of external customers. Analysts have also suggested Nvidia might be eyeing Intel's nodes for its consumer GPUs in the future. Either way, Nova Lake is slated to be a 2026 product, so we're likely looking at the second half with how Intel launches usually proceed.
