https://www.gsmarena.com/mediatek_first_to_relase_a_4nm_chipset_already_has_o...



According to two separate sources, MediaTek is going to be the first chip maker to release a 4nm chipset. Production is supposed to start either at the end of this year (Q4 2021) or at the beginning of 2022.  

In fact, some major OEMs have already taken orders for MediaTek's high-end SoC. We are talking Oppo, Xiaomi, Samsung, and Vivo. The downside is that MediaTek has secured the 4nm order from TSMC at a big cost - around $80 per unit compared to the current high-end 5nm chipsets that cost between $30 and $35.

A famous Chinese tipster claims that MediaTek's hardware will be able to challenge today's Snapdragon 800-series and also reduce power consumption considerably. It's all just rumors for now, of course and we will have to wait almost a year to see if MediaTek beats everyone to the finish line.


As TSMC gets a node working well, they shrink it a nanometer or so and sell the production space all over again for a more premium price to somebody else.

Intel hates this, because they have carefully build up their current set of Intel lies and BS PR based on the status quo as Intel knew it back when they made their stuff up,  then TSMC and Mediatek have the gall to go and shrink right out the bottom of that status quo leaving Intel just clutching a handful of expired vapor.
Aggravating, to be sure.




===================================================


TSMC has posted a break-down of what/where they are spending their 100 billion in Cap Ex new fab money upon.

The vast majority of the spend is in new 3-2nm capable dual focus direct burn lithography rigs most of which get parked in Taiwan.

TSMC is buying their future, in other words.   Some of few of these rigs are for fabs here in America, some lesser few are intended for Europe, but most are to be based in Taiwan.


===================================================


https://liliputing.com/2021/04/lenovo-launches-three-new-ryzen-5000-laptops-i...

Lenovo is launching new 14 inch, 15.6 inch and 16 inch laptops for the Chinese market under the Lenovo Xiaoxin Air and Xiaoxin Pro brands. Most of the new laptops are powered by AMD Ryzen 5000U or Ryzen 5000H processors, and while it’s unclear if any of these specific notebooks will be sold outside of China, it seems like a safe bet that Lenovo will offer similar devices internationally at some point.

Similar to the Ryzen 4000 generation, Ryzen 5000 is rolling out in the same form of waves.

Mainframe Ryzen 5000 Epic is out now and has been reviewed ---- it kills all Intel Xeon products by at least 25%.    (35% is seen in some cases where the incumbent was old and slow)

Laptop Ryzen 5000 U and H series processor are out now at similar performance gaps above Intel Tiger Lake, but once again AMD laptop processors are only supplied at the OEM level (built directly into laptop products).   Some laptops have better cooling systems built into them and will perform better than the ones with mediocre cooling systems.

When they arrive later on this summer the Desktop Ryzen to Intel Rocket Lake performance gap will be even larger since Intel Rocket Lake functionally lost two cores in their efforts to compete by running fewer cores at insanely way high power draw levels (and at insanely way high produced heat levels using a reduced core count so as to fit inside the existing socket size parameters) due to the old 14nm lithography being that much larger, power hungry and that much less heat efficient.

Major Intel stock holders are coming across as quite upset by this clumsy retrograde Rocket Lake "fix" by Intel.

Intel is getting told bluntly by their controlling stock holder blocks TO GET OFF 14NM IMMEDIATELY AND TO GET THE CORE COUNTS AND CURRENT DRAWS COMPETITIVE with AMD and to do it ASAP.    Issue remains that Intel 10nm simply isn't ready at all for desktop production numbers and that Intel has just this week committed to the Biden Administration they will run tons of various automotive chipsets inside 6 months to bail out the automotive industry.    Big conflict, there .......

 

Intel is now caught between two masters, and most likely Intel will not satisfy either of these masters completely.

Splitting up Intel's attention and efforts right now puts "the Intel Recovery as planned" at risk as Intel now has a larger chance of failing that is more than twice as large as before.

DEALING WITH UNCERTAIN SUPPLY LINES AND TESTING LIES

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3613156/intel-rocket-lake-s-vs-amd-ryzen-5000...

This PC World analysis covers the released AMD chipsets beating the released Intel Tiger Lake and Rocket Lake chipsets for compute performance (+ 20%) and for energy use (by a factor of TWO, my goodness).

Then comes the glass of shockingly cold ice water that PC World then dumped over the whole thing.    You can only buy what you can find to buy this week and that means you don't get to do the match ups the magazine guys looked at, you only get to buy what you can find to buy.

Intel has just agreed to divert some sizeable amount of their output to support the American Automotive Industry, and Intel is RIGHT NOW starting up their new Fab business which will remove even more PC capacity and cause larger PC shortages beyond what Intel has been showing so far.

AMD's TSMC is being affected by water shortages and ongoing power outages in Taiwan, and AMD will see supply shortfalls accordingly.   TSMC is building their own water plant from scratch that will make pure water from sea water or from brown waste water ---- yep, the seasonal water shortage thing is that bad.   The new water plants and the new TSMC foundry buildings are two years out, thereabouts ......  but Monsoon rains will come before then.

Spending your time comparing test results right now is kinda Moot, in other words.

AMD is once again walking away from Intel in power consumption and in general processing throughput capacity and in pure processor efficiency per clock cycle.   Biden has put ankle shackles on Intel's progress and new capacity plans, so AMD is fixed for Intel whupping for a while now thanks to the President.  

Apple and ARM and NVIDIA now constitute AMD's current main competitors.

Intel focuses only on Gaming, and very clearly shows that Intel is willing to spend ridiculous (over 2x)  amounts of wall socket power to eek out some very minor claimed gaming wins.

Extreme Processor Heat Output at these levels means all of Intel's hard use testing is done under cooled water jacket cooling systems, and this is not yet being reflected by any real world production unit cooling systems so this gets a big "What the flock, Intel?" response from simple minded folks like me.

AMD, running happily at less than half the power that Intel currently requires to do a given task is still using their stock AMD supplied fin and fan cooling set ups very successfully for all testing.   If the AMD units were run under Intel's required water jacket cooling systems, then the super cooled AMD units would simply crush Intel's very best products on all the tests on all the fronts and be doing it continuously all of the time, too.

Sounds like AMD can thump Intel at will and at any time, pretty much.   Just change out your AMD stock fin and fan cooler over to an Intel chilled water type system and change your AMD BIO settings to water cooling.

So, testing methods between the companies are very unequal, as are the production cooling requirements needed to make those Intel testing outputs come about.   AMD is honest at least, and supplies a stock AMD fin and fan cooler that is used in all their AMD testing.  

Intel is lying big time with their cooling systems, and by using crooked little marketing companies as Intel's front men for making up these big testing lies  ......... and Intel is lying so much a very big big way right now that I will simply say all published Intel this and that test results and performance information is pretty much worthless right now.  

Until Intel supplies an "in the box stock cooling system" that can match their bogus testing results on a real world end user machine, Intel is simply puffing some little bitty smoke rings right up your nose.

I don't think Intel's new CEO Gelsinger is a very happy camper right now --- he thought he had got into Biden's wallet for $20 Billion dollars to build him a brand new world for himself and he was working on the EC for an additional $10 Billion for their matching contribution ---- when TSMC's CEO (the ingrate) simply announced they were less than six months away from fulfilling ALL automotive back orders and that TSMC was forming up an Automotive Only plant with dedicated lines and a set of design engineering centers located in America and Brussels to directly support that business.

He also said that DELAYED ORDERING was the root cause of the Automotive Plant shut downs and with the due diligence scheduling of automotive chipset orders there would not be any automotive shutdown issues right now .......   He then offered a plan to get everybody current inside 4 month period if they cooperated with scheduling their needs with TSMC.

Hey, spend 30 billion dollars and 4 years to fix the problem, or work with TSMC on proper scheduling and have it fixed inside four months ...... hmmmmm ..... lemme think on that a bit.

Based upon this, Intel will likely not get the huge amount of funding they were seeking, but will instead get some very much smaller amounts to rework some existing older Intel lines and to also rework some process lines at various other older chipmakers as all the Automotive needs are all older (obsoleted) lithography processes such as what IBM's legacy Global Foundries specializes in.

Please remember, IBM still makes their own chipsets for their own uses (read the next post).

https://liliputing.com/2021/05/huawei-launches-a-linux-laptop-with-an-arm-bas...

Huawei launches a Linux laptop with an ARM-based Kirin 990 processor
by Brad Linder
Posted on May 10, 2021 at 10:50 am

Huawei launches a Linux laptop with an ARM-based Kirin 990 processor

Over the last few years Chinese electronics company has been reducing its reliance on tech from other countries in response to trade restrictions imposed by the US. That’s meant developing a home-grown Android alternative for smartphones (albeit one that’s largely based on Android so far).

Now Huawei has launched its first laptop that doesn’t feature an Intel or AMD chip. The Huawei Qingyun L410 is powered by Huwaei’s own Kirin 990 processor, an ARM-based chip that was initially developed for smartphones and tablets.



Laptops with ARM-based processors have become more common in recent years, now that Chrome OS, Windows, and macOS all support the architecture. But like I said, Huawei is trying to move away from using technologies from companies like Microsoft and Google, so the Qingyun L410 ships with a Linux-based operating system called Unity OS, or UOS.

The operating system, which is developed by UnionTech, was created in 2019 as part of the Chinese government’s push to move away from reliance on Windows for computers used in the domestic market.

As for the laptop, ITHome notes that aside from the processor and operating system, it looks a lot like the Huawei MateBook 14. Features include a 14 inch display with a 3:2 aspect ratio, a hidden camera that pops up at the push of a button, a fingerprint sensor, and a security chip.

The notebook has 8GB of RAM, up to 512GB of storage, and it measures about 0.6 inches thick and weighs about 3.3 pounds.

While the  Qingyun L410 is unlikely to be sold outside of China anytime soon, it’s the latest example that it’s getting easier for laptop makers to skip the Wintel duopoly that has dominated the PC space for decades.

You will see more ARM  based machines like this one, as the ARM as main processor ice has been truly broken now and full Linux support is available to keep these machines running for decades and decades .......

HEAT IS THE ISSUE

Intel tries to hide their very large issue, whereas AMD intentionally attacks, remedy's and minimizes their much smaller heat issue and tries to fix whatever remains in a clear-cut fashion.

https://liliputing.com/2021/05/minisforums-game-mini-will-be-a-compact-open-fram
e-gaming-pc-powered-by-amd.html



Simply remember that HEAT is the issue and everybody has got it ----- what does your guy does about it is the difference between them.

A very short Twitter walk-around video of the unit in motion.    https://twitter.com/i/status/1392438218272825353

This unit will answer the question "What could AMD do if cooled at the same levels that Intel simply requires to even be competitive"?

 
What will the next 2 years bring?

Samsung and TSMC will open major FAB CAMPUSES in Arizona, a big one for 6-5nm and another one for 3-2nm and below production.    The lithography equipment installed will be good for 5nm, 3nm and very soon 2nm.

Intel will fully stroke out on their 10nm stuff with lots more BS results that periodically "show dominance" over their competition while running WAY WAY hotter and using 2x as much power to do the same jobs.

Intel will also start buying entire production runs of TSMC and Samsung built "Intel designs" in larger and larger amounts.   This is problematical as Intel will have to use the TSMC tools to design these chipsets and at best the Intel final chipsets will be "same as" to AMD as far as capability and speed goes.

Apple will keep coming out with new generational designs at the current best TSMC lithography that will simply amaze folks with what they can do.

AMD will continue to dominate Intel on desktop and laptop until Intel actually uses their huge buying muscle power and simply buys up all of the TSMC process space that AMD depends upon.
   
Yes, Intel will simply buy AMD out of the business by choking off their chiplet supply and Sleepy Joe Biden will just stand by snoozing and let them.

The EU is a different story, and the EU will collect a lot of really big fines on Intel for doing this but this will not act effectively to stop Godzilla from going on in for the AMD kill shot.

If IBM does manage to transfer 2nm gate all around technology effectively to Intel and Intel absorbs and incorporates this technology into all their newest FAB lines, then both APPLE and AMD will be permanently damaged.

ARM and NVIDIA will remain an ongoing drama until final EU decisions are made.    If the deal is allowed to go forward with "extra constraints" all the constrains placed on Leatherman Hwang will not make the final deal supportive of Hwang's dreams of total Industry dominance.  

Hwang the egotist will then drop the purchase at that point in time, refusing to pay the drop out penalties as it was the EU that changed his deal without his consent -- the EU owes the drop out money, not him.    (more drama ensues)

England simply does not wish to lose ARM as one of their last remaining bulwarks of computer hegemony.   That and the Raspberry Pi are all they got left.

China moving abruptly to take over the little island nation of Taiwan still remains out there as an abrupt total game changer.   Expect American and the EU to make their planned moves as if this was gonna happen at any time now as there are detailed packets of orders already distributed to the Chinese General Command Staff for China to go do this takeover ......


Jedi Order 99, anybody?

https://liliputing.com/2021/05/googles-1st-gen-nest-hub-now-runs-fuchsia-the-...html

Google has been developing a new operating system called Fuchsia for at least five years, but up until recently the company hasn’t actually used it on any commercially available hardware.

Now 9to5Google reports that Google has begun pushing Fuchsia to a real device that people already own. A new software update rolling out to the first-gen Nest Hub smart display (it was called the Google Home Hub at launch), and that software replaces the device’s operating system with a new one based on Fuchsia.



Here’s the basic idea behind the move – the Nest Hub user interface is separate from the underlying operating system. So Google can replace the Linux-based “Cast OS” (software that’s similar to what runs on Chromecast devices) with Fuchsia and users can still interact with their devices in pretty much the same way as they’ve been doing.

Under the hood though, the operating system will rely on a new operating system that uses a custom “Zircon” kernel instead of Linux, giving Google far more control over the software ecosystem powering its device.

So far Google is only rolling out Fuchsia to a single device. But if that goes well, it’s easy to imagine the company pushing Fuchsia to other Nest products and maybe then to other product categories altogether.

A few years ago Bloomberg reported that Google’s roadmap for Fuchsia started with smart home products, but could eventually include smartphones and laptops. One day Fuchsia might replace Android and Chrome OS… or at least replace the backbone of those operating systems with something new. I’m not entirely convinced that Google wants to kill the brands that it’s spent the last decade or so building for those operating systems.

But if eventually all of Google’s products are based on the same software, it could make it easier for developers to create apps that work across a range of platforms including phones, tablets, notebooks, smart TVs, wearables, and whatever else is next.

Google started Fuchsia up to protect Google Android from a set of patent suits from Oracle and others.   The suits go tossed out of court as they were baseless and quite obviously mercenary in nature, but Google had Fuchsia over half built at that time, so they now have a small quick scale-able OS system that they can use for ...... just about anything.

If Microsoft tries to take over Linux or Android again (yes, nobody trusts Microsoft or Intel not to lie cheat and steal whatever they see out there) Google has another working string for their bow.

https://liliputing.com/2021/06/amds-3d-chiplet-tech-to-bring-192mb-of-l3-cache-t
o-next-gen-ryzen-processors.html

AMD’s 3D chiplet tech to bring 192MB of L3 cache to next-gen Ryzen processors



AMD is showing off technology that could dramatically increase the amount and speed of cache memory available for next-gen chips, with up to 192MB of L3 cache on upcoming AMD Ryzen desktop chips and support for bandwidth of over 2 terabytes per second.

In terms of real-world performance, AMD says that will bring the same kind of performance boost we’d normally expect from a move from one chip architecture to the next (from Zen 3 to Zen 4, for example).

In a demo during the company’s Computex 2021 keynote event, AMD showed two computers running the same video game. Both systems featured Ryzen 9 5900X 12-core processors running at 4 GHz and both were using the same graphics card.

But one card was a standard Ryzen 9 5900X with 64MB of L3 cache, while the other was a modified version with 192 MB of L3 cache. That model achieved frame rates that were 12-percent higher. And that’s on the low end of what AMD is promising – the company says across a range of games, it’s seeing an average 15-percent boost in frames per second.

AMD says the increase in memory capacity and speed comes from its 3D chiplet technology, developed with TSMC. It allows the memory to be stacked in a way that allows big increases in density and bandwidth. At 2TB/s, the L3 cache is actually faster than the L1 cache, although the latency is higher.

In a chip like the Ryzen 9 5900X with three CPU core clusters, the new 3D chiplet technology allows AMD to place a stack of 64MB of L3 cache on top of each core cluster for a total of 192MB.

AMD says it will begin production of its “highest end products with 3D chiplets” by the end of this year, suggesting we could see next-gen processors featuring the new technology in late 2021 or early 2022.

We saw a false hyper-clocking based announcement two days ago from Intel, one that depended on very extreme hyper-clocking stuff that runs so VERY hot that the special cooler designs it requires don't even exist yet from Intel.  

Is this the definition of BOGUS Intel stuff or what ........

Then 2 days later AMD routinely drops their next generation of TSMC lithography right on time along with new copper bonded chiplet stacking techniques that come direct from TSMC.   AMD's new products will fully support higher (chilled water) cooling levels, but will still outperform Intel using simpler fan and fin cooling systems.

Rumor has it that AMD will get still more TSMC wafer allocation along with this 4-5nm move as AMD is keeping all their existing generations of wafer allocations rolling right along since Intel hasn't yet outperformed any of the existing AMD products based on the oldest 7nm TSMC technology.  

Intel is still tossing up 14nm units against the oldest AMD 7nm processors.  Intel is throwing up hyper-clocked 10nm Intel chipsets against the very latest 4-5nm AMD chipsets.   Nether of these match ups go to Intel, but mostly go to AMD on almost all benchmarks, including the Intel "special tests" that can only be run by Intel's special little test cheat houses.

Intel loudly claims these "partial victories" which are pretty dubious due to Intel lying and cheating on their little specialty houses benchmarking, using specialty cooling methods that are not available in the marketplace yet to set their "record performances".

AMD is expected to continue to take more and more market share from Intel since they can make up more finished chipsets now using the latest TSMC shipping generations with the 6mn lithography (and the upcoming next generations at 5nm and at 4nm will also clearly outperform Intel's 10nm products and will come with new wafer allocation increases as well).

ARM and Mediatek are expected to take more and more market share from Intel using the new, better grades of Chromebook chipsets that can be built with these new smaller lithography modes.

Apple is taking Intel market share with the M-1 chipset (and the M-2 when it gets here will take more again).

Intel has their product lines all announced now, but none have shipped yet for the independent testing that will make lies out of Intel's dubious claims.  

AMD is telling all the test houses to simply go buy their vendor's assembled products and test them against Intel's assembled products using the cooling systems that the vendors are providing in those production units  (by doing so AMD is injecting some reality right past Intel's latest BS specialty house testing program that uses cooling systems that cannot possibly ship inside finished laptops).

AMD is confident that if cooling systems are both REAL and equivalent, their 15 watt draw units will still win out over Intel's 15-28 watt units quite handily in most finished laptop designs where Intel is sucking up 28 watts (or even more when Intel is hyper-clocking).

To combat Intel's program of seriously bogus hyper-clocking AMD now allows their AMD chipsets to be run on up to 28 watts now if the laptop's cooling system is up to it.  

It is rumored that late this year AMD will now allow hyper-clocking spikes to 48 watts on their most modern processors if and only if the laptop builder thinks his cooling system can cool that sort of action down quickly enough for the hyper-clocking to be practical.  

Yes, AMD thermal loads like this may be supported now by laptop builders in some cases, but SOME REALLY STRONG cooling systems have to be really available (and fully functional) at that point in time as AMD encourages all such products to be tested with the cooling systems that are actually used in the finished units.

AMD plays it straight, if you do hyperclocking your cooler system has to be up to the job as the complete laptop will be tested and sold (and reviewed by Tom's, Anandtech and the other real test houses as a packaged set).

AMD has much better thermal characteristics, more cores/threads, more on chip L2 and L3 cache memory and much better set of on board graphics than Intel does.