In August, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is approaching to recover a initial of what appears to be dual waves of a eighth-generation Core processors (code-named Coffee Lake) for a desktop market.
The initial call is approaching to include of four- and six-core processors targeted privately during a enthusiast/gaming marketplace — a marketplace that Intel has regularly pronounced is flourishing during a double-digit commission rate.
Image source: Intel.
These Coffee Lake-S chips will work with motherboards that use a height controller heart (PCH) chip branded Z370.
What’s engaging is that after a initial call of Z370-based motherboards come out, a association is reportedly formulation to launch a second call of PCH chips for a Coffee Lake-S height concurrent with a broader rollout of a processor family in a desktop personal mechanism market.
The Z370 chip, according to ASMedia boss Lin Che-Wei (via DigiTimes), “will not natively support USB 3.1.” This seems to uphold a rumor that’s been floating around that Z370 is fundamentally a rebadged chronicle of a Z270 with a “real” 300-series PCH chips (with additional features) entrance in a first half of 2018.
Why is Intel formulation to do this? Let’s take a closer look.
The Coffee Lake pull-in
Intel had creatively designed to launch a Coffee Lake desktop processors in a initial entertain of subsequent year, though it appears that rival pressures in a enthusiast/gaming processor marketplace are pulling Intel to try to modernise a offerings here as shortly as practicable.
Transitioning from seventh-generation Core processors (Kaby Lake) to eighth-generation Core processors approaching doesn’t have a poignant impact on a company’s prolongation plans. The Coffee Lake-S chips are approaching to be made in a company’s 14nm++ technology, that is a derivative/enhancement of a 14nm+ record that’s already being used to build a Kaby Lake chips.
Switching over a comparatively tiny apportionment of a company’s altogether processor volumes from 14nm+ tools to somewhat incomparable 14nm++ tools shouldn’t poise most of an emanate from a ability viewpoint (particularly as Intel customarily keeps some ability on a given prolongation record new as “whitespace” to comment for upsides in demand).
However, transitioning from prolongation a Z270 chipset to a “true” 300-series PCH chips early would approaching poise some issues.
A full-node transition
The Z270 PCH, and roughly positively a Z370 PCH, are made regulating Intel’s 22-nanometer technology. Intel indicated during a new Technology and Manufacturing Day that it skeleton to transition a PCH chips to a 14-nanometer record in a initial half of 2018.
I expect, then, that a “true” 300-series PCH chips will be made in some season of a company’s 14-nanometer technology.
While we think that a several 14-nanometer derivatives are made regulating mostly a same prolongation infrastructure, 22-nanometer chips are made regulating graphic apparatus and capacity.
So, if Intel had designed for a 22-nanometer factories to be bustling building a bulk of a company’s PCH chips by 2017, afterwards it’d be tough to change march mid by a year for a integrate of reasons:
- Ending Z270 prolongation on 22-nanometer could lead to underutilized 22-nanometer factories, that would negatively impact a company’s sum distinction margins.
- Starting 300-series PCH prolongation on a 14-nanometer derivative could need incremental 14-nanometer ability that only isn’t there (Intel might have, for example, designed to gradually transition a 22-nanometer ability to 14-nanometer ability over a march of a year), heading to product shortages and mislaid sales.
To understanding with this product pull-in, it therefore creates some-more clarity for Intel to “rebadge” Z270 as Z370 to concede it to work in motherboard designs dictated for a loyal 300-series PCH chips and afterwards transition to those 300-series PCH chips when a Coffee Lake chips were creatively designed to launch.