Items tagged with 7nm
No one ever thought it would be easy for AMD to quickly claw away market share from Intel in the server market. While AMD's prospects in the consumer space with its Ryzen processors have been more promising, Intel’s rule of the x86 server market with an iron fist has been nearly impenetrable. However, a new report from DRAMeXchange states that so far throughout 2018, AMD has managed to capture 2 percent of the x86 server market with its EPYC processors. If you recall, EPYC first launched in mid-2017, and has generally been praised for its compelling balance of performance and value versus competing Intel Xeon offerings. AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su With Zen 2 EPYC 64-Core CPU While...
Read more...
You didn't really think that Zen 2 based EPYC processors would be the only 7nm products revealed today at AMD’s “Next Horizon” event, right? Of course not; AMD's SVP for the Radeon Technologies Group took to the stage to announce the Radeon Instinct MI60, which is the world's first 7nm GPU. Thanks to its 7nm manufacturing process, the Radeon Instinct MI60 features a 2x uplift in density for a total of 13.2 billion transistors (with a die size of 331mm2). At the same power levels, you'll see a 1.25x performance boost over current Vega-based Instinct cards while power consumption has been reduced by 50 percent at the same clock frequencies. The Radeon...
Read more...
There's no question that Intel has held a stranglehold on the enterprise CPU market with its family of Xeon processors. However, that all began to change last year with the introduction of AMD's first Zen-based EPYC processors which offered impressive performance at eyebrow-raising price points for potential customers. While AMD has gained some server market share thanks to EPYC, it is really looking to turn the tide with its second-generation EPYC products based on 7nm Zen 2 architecture. These new processors are part of the "Rome" family and are currently sampling to customers. AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su says that the company is "betting big on 7nm" and the innovations that come with it. AMD claims...
Read more...
AMD has an event scheduled for this coming Tuesday which is entitled "AMD Next Horizon". Heading over to the landing page on AMD's site for the event presents nothing but a blank page at this point, but we expect for things to start filling in November 6th. If you recall, back in early December 2016 AMD held a "New Horizon" event that revealed the first details on its Zen processors built on 14nm Summit Ridge architecture. At the event, AMD first referenced the Ryzen brand name and championed a 40 percent uplift in instructions per clock (IPC). By all accounts, Tuesday's event will be focused squarely on the Zen 2 architecture. And while we were first introduced to Zen and Zen+ architectures...
Read more...
Figuratively and literally, AMD is putting all of its chips into 7-nanometer designs, an all-in move that could have a big payoff. On that GPU side, that includes a 7nm version of Vega due out later this year, and its next-generation Navi GPU. An early sample of the latter reportedly already exists, and has even been benchmarked. There are not many details surrounding Navi just yet, just lots of rumors and speculation. For example, it was rumored more than a year ago that Navi would be the first GPU from AMD to feature circuitry dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) operations. Former Radeon Technologies Group Raja Korduri (who now leads Intel's discrete graphics efforts) reportedly wanted...
Read more...
While Intel has been having problems with mass production of its 10nm product lines, other tech giants like AMD and Samsung are well along in their 7nm endeavors. AMD is currently sampling 7nm EPYC processors, and we're learning today that Samsung has now started mass production of chips using its 7nm LPP EUV process. LPP and EUV stand for Low Power Plus and extreme ultraviolet lithography technology, respectively. Samsung's 7nm LPP EUV process won't just be used for its own processors (a la the Exynos 9820), but also wide range of customers that rely on its fabs. Samsung says that the usage cases for its 7nm production are endless, ranging from 5G wireless chips to artificial...
Read more...
AMD is well along in development on its 7nm Zen 2 architecture that will be hitting the market in 2019. 12nm Zen+ Pinnacle Ridge architecture provided roughly a low single-digit uplift in instructions per clock (IPC) compared to 14nm Summit Ridge, but AMD has more ambitious goals for Zen 2. Back in July, it was rumored that Zen 2 would offer an IPC lift (at the same clock rates) of 10 to 15 percent compared to Zen+. Now, according to a tweet from Bits and Chips, it looks as though early performance numbers are hitting right in the middle of that performance range, coming in at 13 percent on average. The stipulation with this 13 percent IPC uplift is that it pertains...
Read more...
AMD is well on its way to delivering CPU and GPU products built on a 7-nanometer FinFET manufacturing process. The question is, when? We could see an unveiling of new 7nm chips in just a few months at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, an annual event for companies to showcase new and future products. There are several reports suggesting AMD will in fact unveil 7nm CPUs and GPUs at CES, all of which are based on AMD announcing that its president and CEO Dr. Lisa Su will give a keynote during the event. The announcement also talks about high-performance 7nm chips playing an integral role in 2019. So, it's very possible, though AMD never comes right out and plainly states...
Read more...
Watch out, Qualcomm; Huawei is knocking at your door. The Chinese tech giant has just announced its next-generation SoC that will power its upcoming flagship smartphone family in late 2018 and beyond. The Kirin 980 is the successor to the Kirin 970 and is the very first commercial 7nm chip that is being manufactured by TSMC. Due to the process shrink from 10nm to 7nm, Huawei is boasting unparalleled levels of performance and efficiency. The Kirin 980 crams in 6.9 billion transistors in a 1cm2die and promises a 20 percent improvement in power efficiency. Considering that we all crave the best performance possible out of our mobile devices, you'll also be happy to know that Huawei boosted...
Read more...
AMD made two big announcements after the closing bell today that affects its hardware business. There is some executive shuffling on the personnel side, and some changes with regards to 7nm production. On the personnel side, Jim Anderson, who served as AMD's General Manager and Senior Vice President of Global Computing and Graphics Sales, is leaving the company effective September 4th. Anderson decided to leave his post to take a position as President and CEO of Lattice Semiconductor. This is quite the move up the corporate latter for Anderson, who will also serve on the company's board of directors. "Jim brings a strong combination of business and technical leadership with a deep understanding...
Read more...
In the CPU space, AMD is firing on all cylinders currently, having reasserted itself into the performance sector with its mainstream Ryzen processors and high-end desktop (HEDT) Threadripper chips. Both are now in their second generation. So, what's next? AMD is transitioning to a 7 nanometer manufacturing process, for both a new generation of CPUs and GPUs. We have known this for a long time, of course, but what is interesting about this shift is that it is taking place while Intel is still trying to get its 10nm chips out the door, in volume. Cannon Lake has seen numerous delays, though according to Intel, everything is now on track. We will have to wait and see if that is actually the case....
Read more...
There is a core war taking place between AMD and Intel, with both companies designing CPUs with increasing numbers of physical cores and threads to throw at compute workloads. This is happening in the mainstream space as well, not just in the enthusiast and server sectors. AMD currently has the lead in that regard, and may aim to keep it with Zen 2, which is rumored to include 16-core CPU options. Before we dive into the rumored Zen 2 details, let's talk a moment about the naming scheme. Zen is the name of the underlying architecture in AMD's Ryzen and Threadripper CPUs. In the mainstream market, there have been two generations of Ryzen so far—the original Ryzen launch based on 14nm Zen,...
Read more...
Things are looking up for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) after the company posted a decline in revenue for its quarter ending in June. TSMC is now predicting significant increases in revenue moving through the third and fourth quarters of 2018. The gain in revenue is, according to industry sources, thanks to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 11 Series GPU and Apple's A12 SoC. Apple is rolling out three new iPhones in September, according to rumors, that will all use the A12 SoC that TSMC builds on its 7nm process technology. NVIDIA is also tapping TSMC for its GeForce GTX 11 GPU tech to leverage TSMC's 7nm process. The 7nm process technology that TSMC has is in such high demand that...
Read more...
Everyone wants some of what TSMC is cooking with its new 7nm process that will be used for chips from multiple companies. TSMC's 7nm production lines will be used by NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Sony, and Apple. To meet the crushing demand for the parts, TSMC is reportedly accelerating its production schedule. Sources are claiming that many of TSMC's fabless customers are skipping the 10nm process tech more readily available and moving directly to 7nm chips. So far in addition to the companies previously mentioned HiSilicon, MediaTek, and Xilinx have all confirmed they will be joining in on the TSMC gravy train. While TSMC is ramping production, IC designers like Global Unichips and AIChip are helping...
Read more...
AMD last week teased a press photo of a 7-nanometer Vega product, the Radeon Instinct, aimed at machine learning and artificial intelligence workloads. The company didn't get into detailed specs or performance, both of which are of interest, considering that 7nm Vega GPUs could potentially end up in consumer graphics cards at some point. But in the absence of official data, some benchmarks of the new card have popped up in Futuremark's 3DMark 11 database. Before getting to the benchmarks, one thing to keep in mind is that it's likely an engineering sample and not necessarily the final design that we're looking at. It's probably close to it, but until the GPU/card actually starts shipping to customers...
Read more...
Hot off the heels of launching a new generation of Ryzen processors built on a refined 12-nanometer FinFET manufacturing process (Zen+), AMD is now looking ahead to next year, which is when it will roll out Zen 2. It won't be a paper launch, either—during a recent earnings call with investors, AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su confirmed that AMD is already sampling its 7nm Zen 2 processors and is gearing up for a volume launch in 2019. "We have a 7nm GPU based on Vega that we'll sample later this year. We have a 7nm server CPU that we'll sample later this year. And then, obviously, we have a number of products that are planned for 2019 as well. So it's a very, very busy product season for us. But we're...
Read more...
AMD's current generation Vega graphics architecture – which powers its Radeon RX Vega family of graphics cards -- is based on a 14nm manufacturing process, but the chip company is already moving along with next generation process technology. During the company's conference call with analysts following its Q1 2018 earnings report (which it knocked out of the park, by the way), AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su made some comments regarding its upcoming 7nm GPUs. "I'm also happy to report that our next-generation 7-nanometer Radeon Instinct product, optimized for machine learning workloads, is running in our labs," said Dr. Su. "We remain on track to provide samples to customers later this year."...
Read more...
We are just a few days away from the comsumer launch of AMD’s next generation Vega graphics architecture, which will underpin the Radeon RX Vega family. However, there is already talk about what’s coming after Vega; and that is Navi. Up until this point, not much has been said about Navi architecture, other than vague descriptions citing “scalability” and “next generation memory”. Other than that, we’ve been told that Navi will be built on a 7nm FinFET process when it launches next year. Today, however, a new report is suggesting that Navi will be the first GPU from AMD with circuity that is dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) operations. According to Fudzilla, Raja Koduri’s Radeon Technologies...
Read more...
The word from South Korea is that Samsung plans to invest $6.98 billion (8 trillion South Korean Won) into extending its high-tech semiconductor production lines. Specifically, Samsung is looking to remain on the cutting edge by making supplemental investments into its 10-nanometer production lines while building out new facilities capable of producing 7nm semiconductors.Samsung has some empty space located in Hwasung-si that it plans to fill with equipment than can fabricate 10nm chips. It has already ordered the necessary machinery from major domestic and foreign partners. The investments will kick in next month, while the equipment Samsung ordered will arrive sometime in the first half of...
Read more...
ARM and TSMC have become quite the duo over the years, combining the latter's cutting-edge process technologies with the former's processor IP. It is a partnership that has been working, hence why the two committed earlier this year to collaborating on a marketable 7nm FinFET chip. The fruits of their efforts have paid off—ARM announced today that it has licensed its Artisan physical IP platform for TSMC's 7nm FinFET process technology to Xilinx, the fabless semiconductor company known for inventing the field programmable gate array (FPGA). Xilinx isn't a new customer by any means. It has partnered with ARM for four process technology generations and has worked with both companies to advance...
Read more...
IBM Research on Thursday announced that it has produced the semiconductor industry's first 7-nanometer node test chips with functioning transistors. The accomplishment was a joint effort with partners GlobalFoundries, Samsung, and SUNY Polytechnic Institute's Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. It's also an important milestone in IBM's $3 billion research initiative announced last year. The initiative is a five-year plan that calls for IBM to heavily invest in a pair of broad research and early stage development programs to push the limits of chip technology. Getting to 7nm was one of the goals, though it doesn't stop there -- IBM is also looking beyond, which will require new materials...
Read more...
Say it loud and clear with us: "Seven nanometers." That's pretty much a pipe dream right now, both in terms of how far removed we are from that achievement -- 7nm represents a chip technology that's three generations away -- and the technological hurdles required to get there. Nevertheless, IBM wants to make sure we get there, and help accelerate the process, the company announced plans to invest a hearty $3 billion over the next 5 years into chip R&D efforts. IBM's investment will be split into two broad research and early stage development programs, both of which are intended to push the limits of chip technology to meet the emerging demands of cloud computing and Big Data systems. The...
Read more...
