Items tagged with (nyse:tsm)
It is never too early to discuss what might come next in the PC hardware space, and as it relates to NVIDIA and its GPU roadmap, its latest generation Ampere architecture is now a little over a year old. The big question is what does NVIDIA have in store for its eventual GeForce RTX 40 series. And the answer? Quite possible Ada Lovelace. Nothing is ever truly written in stone until a company makes an official announcement, and even then, chiseled plans can sometimes crumble. Nevertheless, leaker Greymon55 is very confident NVIDIA will power its next generation graphics cards built for gaming with Ada Lovelace, which is a GPU codename that has popped up in past rumors. Greymon55's comment about...
Read more...
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is not having any trouble finding clients for its advanced 3-nanometer node technology. A couple of industry giants have already reportedly tapped TSMC to fabricate 3nm silicon for them, including Apple, which will inject them first into an upcoming lineup of iPad tablets, and Intel. Generally speaking, smaller nodes translate to better performance and power efficiency, along with other potential benefits that are baked into the silicon. Of course, it is a bit more complicated than that—when comparing nodes from two different manufacturers, it is not as simple as saying the smaller number is a better one. Be that as it may, TSMC is major...
Read more...
Even though there is a shortage of silicon (relative to rabid demand), the pace of technology has now slowed. Just ask Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), one of the biggest players in the semiconductor space with clients such as Apple, AMD, Intel, and others. It's been producing 5-nanometer chips in volume since last year (and is building an advanced 5nm chip fab in Arizona), and is on track to enter the volume production phase for 3nm in the second half of 2022. The funny thing about nanometer designations is that smaller nodes and how a company goes about labeling them are the not the end-all-be-all in semiconductors. Intel, for example, would argue that its 10nm node is roughly...
Read more...
Anyone who has had aspirations of building a new PC in recent weeks and months has felt the sting of an industry wide silicon shortage. The most desirable CPUs and GPUs have been frustratingly out of stock, as have been the latest game consoles from Microsoft and Sony (built around those same parts). Relief might not be coming in the immediate future, but looking longer term, both Intel and TSMC are making big investments into expanding their chip making capabilities. TSMC in particular says it plans to invest a whopping $100 billion to bolster its chip fabrication capacity. The announcement comes barely a week after Intel said it was pouring $20 billion into its own advanced manufacturing capabilities....
Read more...
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is rumored to be hiking up prices of its 300mm (12-inch) wafers, which in turn could lead to higher prices for certain consumer electronics. If the report is accurate, TSMC will be charging 25 percent more for its 300mm wafers, compared to pricing from a year ago. That amounts to a $400 increase, at least at the high end. And if it comes to pass, it will reportedly be a record high, though official pricing information from TSMC is not available (and varies by customer). Or in the semiconductor maker's own words, "TSMC is committed to providing customer value and does not comment on price issues." Be that as it may, United News says that the continuous...
Read more...
Are you frustrated by the silicon shortage that is contributing to the near-constant out-of-stock status of the latest hardware, from standalone CPUs and GPUs, to the newest game consoles? We feel your pain. Good news, though—Taiwain Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is rumored to be opening up half a dozen factories in the US, which could go a long way towards alleviating strained output in the future. There are many reasons why it is difficult to find an Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, or some of the latest PC hardware in stock and priced at (or close) to MSRP. Cryptocurrency mining and scalpers armed with scripted bots are contributing to the situation. But the root cause is that...
Read more...
Rumors have been swirling that Apple is working on a mixed reality or augmented reality headset, potentially with dual 8K resolution displays and eye-tracking technology. The simple act of Apple releasing an AR/VR product is a potential game changer for the category. Adding to that, it's now being reported that Apple has teamed up with TSMC to make micro OLED displays for its upcoming headset. Apple and TSMC already have a longstanding relationship, with the latter being a major chip supplier for the former, including its fancy M1 silicon. But as far as displays go, this is an interesting arrangement. Micro OLED is a different animal than a traditional LED or OLED displays—instead of being...
Read more...
Intel has not been shy about the fact that it is considering its options, as it applies to chip manufacturing. Pretty much everything is on the table: forging ahead in the same manner as things have gone, tapping n outside foundry to produce some of its main CPU products, and/or licensing a foundry's process node to use within its own fabs. What will Intel ultimately do? Time will tell, but there is a persistent rumor going around that Intel has inked a deal with TSMC to produce processors on a 3-nanometer node. If true, this would be a major development for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it could potentially thrust Intel onto even ground or even ahead of AMD in process technology,...
Read more...
Assuming things go to plan, Intel will eventually launch a discrete graphics card for gamers, built around its Xe architecture. There are many questions left to be answered, such as what the full lineup will look like, how will the cards compare to offerings from AMD and NVIDIA, and what price points they land at. One question that appears to have already been answered, however, is where the GPUs will be manufactured. It won't be at Intel's own fabs, if the latest chatter is true. Intel has been forthcoming about the possibility of outsourcing production, and though it manufacturers its own high-end CPUs, there are certain chips that get built elsewhere. For example, when Intel was cranking out...
Read more...
Many people are bidding a not-so-fond 'good riddance' to 2020 as we settle into whatever 2021 brings us, but it was not all bad. That is especially true for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The chip maker apparently pulled in record revenue last month, ending the year with a bang. As a result, it is making a major investment in 5-nanometer chip production for 2021. TSMC has not yet officially announced its earnings for December. Looking at November, however, the company posted consolidated revenues of NT$124.87 billion (around $4.5 billion in US currency). That represents a 4.7 percent increase from the previous month, and a 15.7 percent year-over-year increase. The numbers...
Read more...
Reports are surfacing once again of Apple having booked up the bulk of 5-namometer chip production from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), leaving not a lot of capacity for other customers who might be interested in the semiconductor fab's 5nm node. Between Apple's iPhone lineup and its new Mac systems, there is plenty of production to keep TSMC busy. Bear in mind that Apple is on a two-year transition plan to wean itself off of Intel's processors, in favor of its own custom silicon across its entire Mac lineup. We have already seen this play out with the introduction of its new M1 chip, which powers a recently refreshed MacBook Air, MacBook Pro 13, and Mac mini (check out our...
Read more...
TSMC is celebrating the production of 1 billion defect-free chips manufactured on its 7-nanometer technology, or put another way, 1 billion functional 7nm chips. If laid out on the ground, that would be enough to cover 13 Manhattan city blocks, the semiconductor fab says. It also equates to over 1 quintillion transistors. "A remarkable achievement for a technology that entered volume production in April 2018. Since then, we have manufactured 7nm chips for well over 100 products from dozens of customers...TSMC’s large-scale, efficient manufacturing means more than just producing a lot of chips quickly. It is critical to improving quality and reliability, and the learning enables technology...
Read more...
In recent weeks, Intel has been sharing some additional details about its discrete GPU plans, especially during its Architecture Day 2020 event last week. From a consumer standpoint, one of the more interesting revelations is the slotting of a high-end Xe-HPG GPU optimized for gaming into the lineup, which is scheduled to arrive sometime next year. In addition to what Intel has shared publicly, there is a report that it will tap TSMC to build its Xe-HPG chips on a 6-nanometer manufacturing process. The only part about about manufacturing that is officially confirmed right now is that Intel plans to source its Xe-HPG GPUs from an external source, rather than fab them itself. However, Intel has...
Read more...
Seemingly out of left field, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) revealed it is planning to crank out chips based on a 4-nanometer manufacturing process. Described as an "evolution" from its 5nm node, TSMC says it is currently in discussions with potential customers about leveraging the node, which fills the gap between 5nm and 3nm. There is not a whole lot of information available yet. That is because the folks at EE Times caught wind of the previously unannounced node ahead of an official unveling, and TSMC chairman Mark Liu subsequently confirmed to the outlet that 4nm is indeed in the works. However, he stopped well short of discussing the technology in detail. We assume a formal...
Read more...
Tensions between the United States government and China have proven a burden for Huawei, which at one point had aspirations of selling its products on domestic soil in stores like Best Buy and wireless outlets like AT&T. Those plans were crushed, and the challenges keep mounting. The latest development has the US government effectively barring TSMC from supplying semiconductors to Huawei. This comes by way of an amendment to the Entity List, which outlines specific license requirements and rules for exporting goods. According to the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Huawei has been trying to undermine US export controls, and the amendment addresses its concerns by restricting the Chinese...
Read more...
The rumblings turned out to be true—Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has confirmed plans to build and operate another chip manufacturing plant in the United States, and specifically in Arizona. TSMC said it the made the decision with the understanding that it would receive support from the US government and Arizona officials. "TSMC welcomes continued strong partnership with the U.S. administration and the State of Arizona on this project. This project will require significant capital and technology investments from TSMC. The strong investment climate in the United States, and its talented workforce make this and future investments in the U.S. attractive to TSMC," the chip...
Read more...
There is reason to be optimistic AMD will deliver its next-generation Zen 3 processors on schedule. AMD's manufacturing partner, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), says it has begun mass producing chips based on its 7-nanometer plus (7nm+) Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology. TSMC did not mention AMD by name, only that it is "delivering customer products to market in high volume." However, AMD has already confirmed its Zen 3 processors will be manufactured on a 7nm+ node, and said it August the design phase had been completed. At the time, AMD also stated the anticipated roll out of Zen 3 processors next year is "right on track." For TSMC, this 7nm+ node is its first...
Read more...
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is countersuing rival semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries, alleging several instances of patent infringement related to the company's 40-nanometer, 28-nanometer, 22-nanometer, 14-nanometer, and 12-nanometer process nodes. As part of the lawsuit, TSMC is seeking "substantial monetary damages." The lawsuit appears to be in retaliation to multiple lawsuits GlobalFoundries filed in the US and Germany back on August 26. In its complaints, GlobalFoundries accused TSMC of infringing on 16 of its patents related to its 28nm, 16nm, 12nm, 10nm, and its most recent 7nm production lines. GlobalFoundries asked for an injunction on certain products that...
Read more...
If you own an Android phone, there is a high chance it is rocking a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor of some kind inside. Sometime in the not-too-distant future, Qualcomm will unleash a new flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 865, yet there is already talk of what comes after. That would be the Snapdragon 875, assuming Qualcomm sticks to its conventional naming scheme. Based on a recent leak, the Snapdragon 865 is shaping up to be a worthy successor to the current-generation Snapdragon 855 (and 855 Plus). Codename "Kona," a recent entry in Geekbench's database shows the Snapdragon 865 benefiting from a healthy boost in single-threaded performance, and posting gains in multi-threaded workloads. According...
Read more...
TSMC generated $7.75 billion in revenue during the second quarter of 2019, which is down 1.4 percent year-over-year but up 9.2 percent from the previous quarter. In a subsequent conference call with investors, TSMC talked about powering through softening economic conditions, and what the future holds in regards to 5-nanometer (nm) and 3nm process nodes. Referred to by TSMC as N5 and N3, the company is currently busy churning out N7 (or 7nm) silicon, as featured in AMD's third-generation Ryzen processors. AMD has also moved to a 7nm node for its newest generation Navi GPUs and is doing rather well for itself, with a gigantic assist from TSMC on the manufacturing front. Looking ahead, TSMC anticipates...
Read more...
In just a few weeks, AMD is expected to roll out its new Ryzen 3000 series of CPUs based on its Zen 2 architecture. These new parts are being built by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) on a 7-nanometer node. Looking ahead, however, TSMC is already talking about 6nm and even 5nm, the latter of which will bring improved logic density by 1.8X over 7nm, the company says. TSMC talked a little bit about its 5nm manufacturing process during a recent earnings call with investors. The company said its 5nm development is "well on track," having entered a phase called "risk production" in the first quarter. It expects a "tape out" in the first half of 2020. That is when designs by clients...
Read more...
AMD is going all-in on 7-nanometer manufacturing for both its CPUs and GPUs, and it doesn't look like the company will have to worry about low inventories. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has reportedly seen a reduction in 7nm orders from Apple, HiSilicon, and Qualcomm, and subsequently will not be operating at full capacity on its 7nm assembly lines. Looking ahead, AMD has its Zen 2 processor and Navi GPU architectures around the bend, both of which are being built on a 7nm manufacturing process. It's important to note that AMD does not build the actual chips—it's a fabless outfit that designs the silicon, and then has companies like TSMC and GlobalFoundries produce the...
Read more...
