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Intel ties its architectures to its foundry nodes since it both designs the chips and produces them, unlike AMD. This means that they can get some extra perform

Intel ties its architectures to its foundry nodes since it both designs the chips and produces them, unlike AMD. This means that they can get some extra performance but it also means that if there problems with the new node, like the ones they had with 10nm, everyone just has to sit on their hands until it's resolved. Going forward they've decided to decouple their architectures and nodes so that this doesn't happen again. Despite what other commenters are saying, this issue isn't really a result of them getting complacent. Intel's original plan for their 10nm node was actually extremely ambitious both in transistor density and in implementation of new techniques. Too ambitious, as it turned out.

dboreham 7y ago
I'm surprised this was a surprise. When I entered the semiconductor industry 30+ years ago the process folks were failing to deliver their fancy new 1u process.
close04 7y ago
> Despite what other commenters are saying, this issue isn't really a result of them getting complacent. Intel's original plan for their 10nm node was actually extremely ambitious [...] Too ambitious, as it turned out. Couldn't it be both?
- sounds 7y ago
  Basically Intel does fine when the lowest 2 levels of management are able to keep the company functional. The decision to bet the company on 10nm came from the top (Krzanich). If the entire company is dysfunctional, no amount of low-level work can undo that: if the captain runs the ship aground, adding more sailors bailing water doesn't get the ship to its port. From the outside, Intel looks complacent. To a degree, that's true, but the inside story is more panic and confusion. The third-party vendors who provide the EUV tools are in panic mode. The leadership is in confusion mode (no amount of seppuku can make the old ways work; re-organizing those 2 levels of low-level managers can't fix this; top-down cannot turn back time and assume that 10nm will be this bad). Consumers really only see the output of the product/sales division, such as which features to disable on which SKUs. Intel is facing an actual engineering failure; there are no bloody features to disable. Taking the few 10nm parts that made it out the door and sticking them in the 14nm "10th generation" is a product/sales decision. Ignoring the people telling you 10nm is a flop - that's a CEO level decision.

dboreham 7y ago

I'm surprised this was a surprise. When I entered the semiconductor industry 30+ years ago the process folks were failing to deliver their fancy new 1u process.

close04 7y ago

> Despite what other commenters are saying, this issue isn't really a result of them getting complacent. Intel's original plan for their 10nm node was actually extremely ambitious [...] Too ambitious, as it turned out. Couldn't it be both?

sounds 7y ago
Basically Intel does fine when the lowest 2 levels of management are able to keep the company functional. The decision to bet the company on 10nm came from the top (Krzanich). If the entire company is dysfunctional, no amount of low-level work can undo that: if the captain runs the ship aground, adding more sailors bailing water doesn't get the ship to its port. From the outside, Intel looks complacent. To a degree, that's true, but the inside story is more panic and confusion. The third-party vendors who provide the EUV tools are in panic mode. The leadership is in confusion mode (no amount of seppuku can make the old ways work; re-organizing those 2 levels of low-level managers can't fix this; top-down cannot turn back time and assume that 10nm will be this bad). Consumers really only see the output of the product/sales division, such as which features to disable on which SKUs. Intel is facing an actual engineering failure; there are no bloody features to disable. Taking the few 10nm parts that made it out the door and sticking them in the 14nm "10th generation" is a product/sales decision. Ignoring the people telling you 10nm is a flop - that's a CEO level decision.