Intel’s High-End 2nd Generation Xe DG2 GPU To Be Based On TSMC’s 7nm Process Node

erek

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Wonder if it'll actually even be High-End this time?

"Once again, Intel has confirmed two products for now based on their Xe graphics architecture, both of which are based on two different generations of Xe architecture. This rumor says a lot but there's nothing confirmed as of yet. Intel is all set to unveil details of their Xe graphics architecture at GDC 2020 in March so we will probably hear more information from them soon."

https://wccftech.com/intel-xe-dg2-gpu-tsmc-7nm-process-node-2022-launch-rumor/
 
Wonder if it will actually be a full length desktop gpu instead of a mini laptop gpu.
 
Not sure just because Intel calls one DG1 and the other DG2... that its a completely different generation. From what Intel has actually said... DG1 is their low power laptop chip intended to be used in their CPU designs. Yes they made a developer card... so developers could start working on software optimizations, and Intel could start getting testing data on their driver efforts. You can't drop a brand new arch with no past work to lean on and expect it to go well if developers get it when customers do. (its like Playstation/Xbox dev kits... they are not the final hardware, just a platform that should operate the same way)

If DG2 which as far as we know is first gen XE high power stand alone GPU... is really being held back till 2022. I means Intel is having serious issues with it. Guess we'll know later this year when Intel starts actually talking about DG2. If its all rosy down the road speak with nothing to show... then I imagine NV will be very happy. I have a feeling these rumors are just that. I still expect DG2 to ship before the end of the year... will it be any good. Probably not super high end good no... but if Intel is willing to loose some money to get some market share it might actually be a compelling mid range card at least as far as bang for the buck goes.
 
Does Intel use other fabs? This rumor seems unlikely
Are you expecting them to make a 14nm GPU? They don't have anything else up and running yet aside from a handful of 10nm laptop chips and they're already strained for capacity.
 
Does Intel use other fabs? This rumor seems unlikely

This rumor makes lots of sense for me

Intel has lots of ex-amd employees who would be very well aware of TSMCs process & how to tailor architecture for the same

Also pls note Raja Koduri in his interview to Anandtech states that intel's process nodes are heavily tailored towards enhancing their CPU capabilities & that level of customisation (& hence cost) not needed for GPUs

https://www.anandtech.com/show/1513...an-interview-with-intels-raja-koduri-about-xe
 
Wonder if it'll actually even be High-End this time?

"Once again, Intel has confirmed two products for now based on their Xe graphics architecture, both of which are based on two different generations of Xe architecture. This rumor says a lot but there's nothing confirmed as of yet. Intel is all set to unveil details of their Xe graphics architecture at GDC 2020 in March so we will probably hear more information from them soon."

https://wccftech.com/intel-xe-dg2-gpu-tsmc-7nm-process-node-2022-launch-rumor/

Interesting.

Not only are Intel using 7nm from TSMC, but also they would be sticking to the older & cheaper 1st gen 7nm used currently by AMD & not the next gen 7nm EUV plannned for big navi later this year.

Clearly shows that Intel is focussing on the low end $100 to $250 market, to start with

https://adoredtv.com/exclusive-intel-second-generation-dg2-gpu-to-use-tsmcs-7nm-node/
 
Are you expecting them

I wasn't expecting anything except for them to have a strong preference for their own fabs. Other than knowing the obvious about their CPU capacity issues on 14nm and the 10nm woes I don't know hardly anything about their other capacity. That's why I asked.
 
Also pls note Raja Koduri in his interview to Anandtech states that intel's process nodes are heavily tailored towards enhancing their CPU capabilities

I saw that when it came out but I hadn't read it so that's something I didn't know either.
 
I wasn't expecting anything except for them to have a strong preference for their own fabs. Other than knowing the obvious about their CPU capacity issues on 14nm and the 10nm woes I don't know hardly anything about their other capacity. That's why I asked.
It was more of a tongue in cheek comment about their current fab capabilities, not a shot at you :)

It makes sense for them to farm out their GPU production to start with since they don't have anything tailored for that process and they can't meet demand for their CPUs as it is.
 
Are you expecting them to make a 14nm+++++++++++++ GPU?

I know technically the first 14nm wouldn't have any + being the first edition on it but it's Intel and I find it funny so why not.
 
The biggest reason I don't find this credible is that by 2022, TSMC's 7nm EUV node will be obsolescent; using their even older non-EUV one would guarantee non-competitive performance.
 
Does Intel use other fabs? This rumor seems unlikely

Historically it's mostly been a temporary thing with acquisitions (ex their cellular modem and FPGA businesses). For the former delays involved in porting to Intel's internal processes helped doom the group by leaving them chronicly behind the market leaders. I don't think they've done any major new product lines on external fabs before. With GPUs being one of the few areas where performance scales quasi-linearly with transistor count though trying to do anything in house while their manufacturing is a mess is going to be problematic.
 
Wonder if it'll actually even be High-End this time?

"Once again, Intel has confirmed two products for now based on their Xe graphics architecture, both of which are based on two different generations of Xe architecture. This rumor says a lot but there's nothing confirmed as of yet. Intel is all set to unveil details of their Xe graphics architecture at GDC 2020 in March so we will probably hear more information from them soon."

https://wccftech.com/intel-xe-dg2-gpu-tsmc-7nm-process-node-2022-launch-rumor/
not gonna lie, i'ma buy it. (even if its a brick)
 
For the yield Intel is going to expect to ship on a first gen product on a completely new product line facing a pair of entrenched opponents it doesn't make sense for them to retool a fab plant, using TSMC is their best option for now. As far as a 2022 launch that is probably best better to launch strong then put out a non competitive product and if they only recently got GPU's to the dev's there wont be a lot built for them, things will run like garbage. Best get a few years of usage data under your belt tailor a product to meet those demands and launch like a champ.
 
i"m still of the mindset that the DG1 cards going to developers is just a Tiger Lake SoC with the x86 cores fused off. Main reason why it'll perform better than their laptop counter parts is that as a discreet card it has a better cooling solution and power delivery as well as a far higher thermal limit. Not a terrible thing for getting a vehicle out there for developers but not what you want to do to spur up hype for your product when the performance is embarrassing compared to your competitors.

The really interesting thing is that Intel isn't going to build their discrete GPU in-house. Leveraging TSMC would pretty much be an open admission that Intel has yielded their previous leadership in this area. Intel really, really has dropped the ball when it comes to their fabs.
 
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