3 ms·

Intel has a lot of interesting stuff outside of CPU area, for example NVM

• ansible 8y ago
  Advancement of that is also dependent on silicon lithography. Again, what's the valuation of Intel if (in the future) we see them churning out the same 1GB NVMe cards at the same cost with the same performance? The valuation of Intel and every other tech company is based on future growth potential.
  • mattthebaker 8y ago
    Neither modern NAND (3D) nor 3D XPoint are directly dependent on planar silicon scaling.
    • ansible 8y ago
      That's true. 3D won't help with processors as much, because of heat dissipation issues, but storage will benefit. However, the planar silicon scaling is what primarily enables cost reduction for production. I expect the (total device) density to continue to increase with the 3D tech, but cost will go up with capacity increases. Maybe not linearly though, because you don't have to pay for extra packaging.
      • mattthebaker 8y ago
        I would not rule out 3D from processors yet. Such an invention would be able to reduce die size and likely cost. Heat density is probably the real problem and may need some additional inventions. The 3D memories will probably see some planar (x-y) scaling, they just don't need all of their scaling from it. 3D scaling will still increase bits/die area, and thus reduce $/bit. If doubling the stacking height doubles capacity but adds 30% to wafer cost with extra processing steps, its still much more efficient than 100% cost for two wafers of the previous design. Scaling efficiency shouldn't be too dissimilar from planar scaling, at least until the next wall is hit.