Post ACbYNAn7VrFGTKtU4e by xerz@fedi.xerz.one
(DIR) More posts by xerz@fedi.xerz.one
(DIR) Post #ACbXNiy2La8sVshP84 by vertigo@hackers.town
2021-10-21T20:14:26Z
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CALLED IT! https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/10/intel-slipped-and-its-future-now-depends-on-making-everyone-elses-chips/Intel is switching to a foundry business model because they cannot keep up with x86 designs, which tends to be locked to specific manufacturing nodes, and they can't make new nodes cost effectively anymore.This also confirms my gut feeling on why they are trying to get cozy with Sifive and the RISC-V community. With everyone wanting to use embedded processors that doesn't require sacrificing substantial income to Arm, RISC-V is the perfect vehicle to advance Intel over Arm.
(DIR) Post #ACbXNkCxjZfwMSgq24 by vertigo@hackers.town
2021-10-21T20:18:13Z
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Note that this doesn't mean that x86 is dead. Very far from it. It just means that my prediction of x86/Arm/RISC-V for data center/desktop/embedded applications is on track to being vindicated.
(DIR) Post #ACbYNAn7VrFGTKtU4e by xerz@fedi.xerz.one
2021-10-21T23:37:26.959190Z
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@vertigo I mean, I haven't read anything on the x86 part, and it was already known they were becoming a foundry… this comment suggests a reason which could be more likely imho
(DIR) Post #ACbrtLfyTedWctbjLk by vertigo@hackers.town
2021-10-21T23:45:25Z
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@xerz Intel doesn't like to update its processes until it's absolutely needed by the x86 chip design. For this reason, they make large jumps in fab technology, which costs giga-bucks. The return on that investment has now become too small to justify.Versus what TSMC does, which incrementally updates their foundry on a more incremental basis. Smaller investments allows for larger returns on investment, which is more profitable and sustainable.Intel is noticing that TSMC is kicking their butt in profitability and has been for a while, so now Intel is trying to pivot to a foundry model to try and recapture some of that lost profitability.
(DIR) Post #ACbrtMEMPo8sLXhBwm by clacke@libranet.de
2021-10-22T00:28:45Z
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@vertigo @xerz So this isn't so much switching as it is expanding their business model? They'll still be developing their own chips?
(DIR) Post #ACbrtMh4h36vmb87hg by vertigo@hackers.town
2021-10-22T01:10:13Z
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@clacke @xerz Oh, for sure. The x86 market is much too lucrative to just give up. But, instead of the needs of the x86 business unit dictating the next fab node, they'll be reorganized so that it becomes an internal customer of the foundry. That allows the foundry's nodes to evolve independently of the needs of the x86 architecture.
(DIR) Post #ACbrtNGsXvkbZdsiVk by vertigo@hackers.town
2021-10-22T01:16:39Z
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@clacke @xerz But also, remember that during the RISC versus CISC wars, the only way Intel was able to compete with the likes of PowerPC and MIPS was to release new x86 products at the next node in manufacturing process. They couldn't compete had to head on the same node. And now that they're running into problems deploying new nodes, and the fact that both ARM and RISC-V are both RISC architectures, I think the writing is on the wall. X86 will become a niche architecture specializing in data center applications, while everything else is going to become ARM or RISC-V, with ARM taking control over the desktop/laptop market.
(DIR) Post #ACbrtNm4fwhj8OTd8S by a_breakin_glass@chaos.social
2021-10-22T01:44:41Z
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@vertigo @clacke @xerz bleak outlook tbh
(DIR) Post #ACbrtOHylKE0jLP6rg by clacke@libranet.de
2021-10-22T03:02:14Z
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More like good riddance, isn't it?
(DIR) Post #ACbrtOnWs1SiJCAJ2e by clacke@libranet.de
2021-10-22T03:03:17Z
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If ARM dominates desktop/laptop I guess Intel might start making their own ARM chips again.
(DIR) Post #ACbrtPJQxOyzu95mls by Moon@shitposter.club
2021-10-22T03:16:04.590182Z
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@clacke for a while now I had been wondering if they'd been kicking themselves in the ass for selling off xscale to focus on fucking atom while the world switched to arm, lol