Intel’s main next-generation processor households are on schedule in accordance with the corporate’s beforehand launched roadmaps, says chief government Pat Gelsinger.
Whereas Intel’s disappointing This fall FY2022 monetary outcomes had been primarily a results of the weakening financial system, datacenter product delays additionally plagued the corporate’s backside line. Nevertheless, Gelsinger used the earnings name to reaffirm the corporate’s roadmap and present that each one the merchandise are on monitor for launch. On the consumer facet, Intel’s Meteor Lake is about to ramp in 2023, whereas Lunar Lake has accomplished its deliberate tape out. On the datacenter entrance, Emerald Rapids will begin manufacturing this 12 months, whereas its successor Granite Rapids is slated for 2024.
Shopper Facet
Meteor Lake is a crucial milestone for Intel for 2 causes: it’s the firm’s first consumer CPU to depend on a disaggregated multi-tile design, and it’s the first to make use of the Intel 4 course of know-how (aka 7nm), which is Intel’s first node to make use of excessive ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. The system-in-package will consist of 4 tiles: the compute tile (CPU cores), the graphics tile produced by TSMC (presumably utilizing its N3 or N5 node), the SoC tile, and the I/O tile. The tiles are interconnected utilizing Intel’s Foveros 3D know-how.
“On Intel 4, we’re prepared immediately for manufacturing and we look ahead to the MTL (Meteor Lake) ramp within the second half of the 12 months,” stated (opens in new tab) Gelsinger.
For now, it’s not fully clear whether or not Intel plans to launch Meteor Lake into the desktop house, or go away it as a mobile-only product, one thing it did with Ice Lake and Tiger Lake just a few years in the past. Contemplating unofficial details about Raptor Lake-S Refresh for desktops, Meteor Lake might nicely stay a component for laptops and compact desktops, however Intel has but to verify this. In the meantime, Intel will begin manufacturing of Meteor Lake CPUs this 12 months.
Intel’s subsequent disaggregated (multi-chiplet) design is codenamed Lunar Lake. It’s primarily based on a model new microarchitecture (as we suspected final 12 months) which Intel hopes will regain the performance-per-watt crown. The CPU accomplished its tape out in late 2022, as deliberate, so it’s on monitor for “manufacturing readiness in 2024.”
“With MTL progressing nicely, it’s now applicable to look ahead to Lunar Lake, which is on monitor for manufacturing readiness in 2024, having taped-out its first silicon,” stated the top of Intel. “Lunar Lake is optimized for ultra-low energy efficiency, which is able to allow extra of our PC companions to create ultra-thin and light-weight programs for cellular customers.”
Datacenter Facet
Intel’s 4th Era Xeon Scalable “Sapphire Rapids” for datacenters formally launched on January 10 and can be succeeded by Emerald Rapids processors. The CPU large as soon as stated that Emerald Rapids was set to “compete” (i.e., hit the market) in 2023. Nevertheless, Intel modified its tune late final 12 months and stated that the processor household can be mass-produced in 2023, with a launch set for 2024. For now, there are not any adjustments to Emerald Rapids plans.
In the meantime, Intel’s next-generation Xeon processors primarily based on high-performance Granite Rapids cores and the corporate’s first Xeon CPU powered by energy-efficient Sierra Forest cores are on monitor for 2024. Nevertheless, it seems that Gelsinger is referring to manufacturing in 2024 moderately than when the processors will really launch.
“Emerald Rapids is sampling and has accomplished power-on with high OEM (authentic gear producer) and CSP prospects, and it stays on monitor to launch within the second half of 2023,” stated Gelsinger. “Granite Rapids, our subsequent efficiency core addition to the Xeon portfolio is on monitor to launch in 2024, operating a number of working programs throughout many alternative configurations. Additional, our first efficient-core product, Sierra Forrest, can be on on-track for 2024.”