From CRN: Intel on Thursday shared a variety of details about its forthcoming “Panther Lake” PC system-on-chip and “Clearwater Forest” server CPU—two products that represent a critical and long-awaited step in its heavily scrutinized comeback plan.
The Panther Lake and Clearwater Forest chips represent the first to use the semiconductor giant’s Intel 18A advanced chip-making technology, which the company said will deliver 15 percent better performance per watt and 30 percent improved chip density compared to the last-generation Intel 3 node. Early production has begun in Oregon, with the company now ramping up high-volume manufacturing in Arizona.
The chipmaker has banked a great deal of its future success on Intel 18A, which will be used for at least the next three generations of Intel’s client and server chip products. The process was first pitched by former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger in 2021 as the last step in a multi-node plan to regain process performance leadership and build a competitive contract chip manufacturing business against Asian foundry giant TSMC.
However, Intel admitted in late July that the contract chip-making business, Intel Foundry, does not yet have “significant external” customers, warning that it may “pause or discontinue” development of future leading-edge nodes if it’s unable to land a major customer for Intel 18A’s successor, Intel 14A.
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