Intel: Meteor Lake Chiplet SoC Up and Running
by Ryan Smith on April 29, 2022 4:30 PM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
- Intel
- Meteor Lake
- Intel 4
Alongside Intel’s regular earnings report yesterday, the company also delivered a brief up on the state of one of their most important upcoming products, Meteor Lake. Intel’s first chiplet/tile-based SoC, which completed initial development last year, has now completed power-on testing and more. The news is not unexpected, but for Intel it still marks a notable milestone, and is important proof that both Meteor Lake and the Intel 4 process remain on track.
Meteor Lake, which is slated to be the basis of Intel’s 14th generation Core processors in 2023, is an important chip for the company on several levels. In terms of design, it is the first chiplet-based (or as Intel likes to put it, “disaggregated”) mass-market client SoC from the company. Intel’s roadmap for the Core lineup has the company using chiplet-style SoCs on a permanent basis going forward, so Meteor Lake is very important for Intel’s design and architecture teams as it’s going to be their first crack at client chiplets – and proof as to whether they can successfully pull it off.
Meanwhile Meteor Lake is also the first client part that will be built on the Intel 4 process, which was formerly known as Intel’s 7nm process. Intel 4 will mark Intel’s long-awaited (and delayed) transition to using EUV in patterning, making it one of the most significant changes to Intel’s fab technology since the company added FinFETs a decade ago. Given Intel’s fab troubles over the past few years, the company is understandably eager to show off any proof that its fab development cycle is back on track, and that they are going to make their previously declared manufacturing milestones.
As for this week’s power-on announcement, this is in-line with Intel’s earlier expectations. At the company’s 2022 investor meeting back in February, in the client roadmap presentation Intel indicated that they were aiming for a Q2’22 power-on.
We have officially powered-on our first disaggregated product: Meteor Lake. An incredible milestone resulting from the efforts of so many across @intel. Congratulations, team! pic.twitter.com/eKvHzDqSiu
— Michelle Johnston Holthaus (@MJHolthaus) April 29, 2022
In fact, it would seem that Intel has slightly exceeded their own goals. While in a tweet put out today by Michelle Johnston Holthaus, the recently named EVP and GM of Intel’s Client Computing Group, announced that Meteor Lake had been powered on, comments from CEO Pat Gelsinger indicate that Meteor Lake is doing even better than that. According to Gelsinger’s comments on yesterday’s earnings call, Meteor Lake has also been able to boot Windows, Chrome, and Linux. So while there remains many months of bring-up left to go, it would seem that Meteor Lake’s development is proceeding apace.
But that will be a story for 2023. Intel will first be getting Raptor Lake out the door later this year. The Alder Lake successor is being built on the same Intel 7 process as Alder Lake itself, and will feature an enhanced version of the Alder Lake architecture.
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GeoffreyA - Thursday, May 5, 2022 - link
Well said.abufrejoval - Sunday, May 1, 2022 - link
Only one problem: LMG is video.For some things video may be better, but most of the time they just waste my time and patience.
I've seen some videos stretching what would be five lines of text into 15 minutes of relentles powertalk. And even if I grant Linus a certain charm, I can only tolerate him in very small doses and I still read much faster than anyone can speak.
For the info I want, text is so much more efficient, and if it's well done, much better abstracted.
I subscribe to some news sites, but logging in means personal tracking, which I dislike.
And Charlie is just mad in terms of pricing.
Off the rails, too, from time to time: his rant on the 5800X3D shows that even his well formed prejudice doesn't always win over hands-on trying first.
nandnandnand - Monday, May 2, 2022 - link
Forget Linus, Gamers Nexus and Hardware Unboxed are where it's at.As for AnandTech, Tom's Hardware is its "sister site" (same owner). The articles are typically of lower quality, but they cover some interesting stuff not found here and they got a 5800X3D review out on time.
edzieba - Monday, May 2, 2022 - link
Games Nexus also have the same issue of video-only for the vast majority of their output (occasionally there will be an 'article' that is a video transcript).TheinsanegamerN - Monday, May 2, 2022 - link
GN's dropping of their written reviews on their website still sucks.GeoffreyA - Monday, May 2, 2022 - link
Sadly, many prefer to watch a video than read an article.name99 - Saturday, April 30, 2022 - link
Never forget this golden oldie: CES January 2017https://www.itpro.co.uk/laptops/27867/moore-s-law-...
There's apparently a MASSIVE gap between Intel demo's (even demo's of an actual device, let alone mere "running in the lab" claims) and shipping in volume.
And note that they aren't telling us the transistor density of these tiles (though it surely won't change much between now and ship)? Why? Probably because the message is supposed to be about how i4 achieves a density of 200MTr/mm^2, but the actual tiles are probably 80..100.
Tom_Yum - Saturday, April 30, 2022 - link
Exactly, I remember Intel touting it's 10nm transistor density was 100MT/mm2, yet after the dud Cannon Lake they stopped announcing both transistor density and transistor count (so it couldn't be calculated), yet the best estimates for Tiger Lake was that they were hitting around 50MT/mm2, less than TSMC's 7nm. Fact was most of the +++'s to 10nm process was about increasing gate pitch (not reducing it) to hit higher frequencies and power limits, at the detriment of transistor density.Silma - Wednesday, May 4, 2022 - link
So, if all goes according to plan, Intel will produce 7 nm in 2023 when Apple will probably switch to 4 or 3 nm ?Blastdoor - Wednesday, May 4, 2022 - link
If this (https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20220503PD216.html... is true, it doesn't bode well for Intel's confidence in Intel 4. Also reinforces my view that all of Intel's claims are suspect until they actually ship.