Issues simply appear to maintain getting worse for Intel’s Patty G. All of it regarded so promising when he took over, placing engineering first, with a give attention to ensuring it delivered on every thing it stated it might do. And but the primary discrete graphics playing cards of latest Intel historical past have nonetheless but to actually see the sunshine of day, over a 12 months on from once we first anticipated them, its server-side Sapphire Rapids chips have been delayed once more, and now it appears to be like like Meteor Lake is being pushed again as soon as extra.
Perhaps Intel ought to simply cease giving even a obscure launch window. Simply do the Valve-time factor of ‘when it is prepared, it is prepared, okay?’
Meteor Lake is the anticipated 14th Gen Core CPU technology, following on from this 12 months’s Raptor Lake replace to Alder Lake. However removed from being an incremental silicon replace, Meteor Lake is because of be one other radical change in Intel processor design. In addition to utilizing the brand new Intel 4 course of—the title for its 7nm lithography—it is going to be Intel’s first chiplet CPU.
It is also set to sport a vastly improved Arc GPU, what Raja Koduri has known as ‘a new class of graphics,’ (opens in new tab) as a part of its multi-chip bundle. And that is the place the newest delay has come to gentle. Intel is utilizing TSMC’s 3nm course of for the manufacturing of Meteor Lake’s graphics element, because it makes use of TSMC for the remainder of its GPU manufacturing, however a brand new TrendForce report (opens in new tab) (by way of Hardware.Info (opens in new tab)) is stating that it has now delayed mass manufacturing of the chip at TSMC to the top of 2023.
When Intel CEO, Pat Gelsinger, first launched the brand new naming scheme for its future manufacturing processes, he spoke about Intel 4, introducing 7nm lithography for its 2023 merchandise together with Meteor Lake and Granite Rapids. It was going to start out mass manufacturing this 12 months, with a full launch the next 12 months. Then that was reportedly delayed till the beginning of 2023 and this newest information has mass manufacturing delayed even additional.
That will point out that an precise client launch of Meteor Lake possible would not occur till someday in 2024. Doubtlessly a 12 months behind the unique schedule.
Seems to be prefer it actually was all too good to be true.
There is no indication of why the manufacturing schedule for the GPU element has been delayed once more, however the unique delay was reportedly as a consequence of product design and course of verification points. It most likely would not be past the realms of risk that the complexity of making a sophisticated chiplet design on a brand new course of is inflicting points inside Intel.
Which is a disgrace, as a result of as lately as June Intel had been making huge guarantees for Meteor Lake, stating that it might be delivering 20% higher frequencies (opens in new tab) on the similar energy ranges as the present Alder Lake design.
None of that is going to assist client or investor confidence in Intel, which has once more been shaken by recent poor financial performance (opens in new tab). Gelsinger was there to drive a give attention to delivering, in the best way that AMD has caught persistently to its manufacturing schedule, delivering generations of Zen architectures on time, and with real enhancements. That is not the way it’s been shaking out for expensive ol’ Patty G, nonetheless.
