(Reuters) – Intel Corp. plans to exploit Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to produce a second generation of discrete graphics chips for personal computers that it hopes will help combat Nvidia Corp’s rise, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The chip, known as “DG2”, will be made based on a new chip manufacturing process at TSMC, which has not yet been officially named, but is an improved version of its 7-nanometer process, the two men said. familiarize yourself with the matter.
Intel, long the world leader in chip manufacturing technology, has lost its manufacturing advantage in recent years and is now debating whether to outsource some of these core CPU chips or processors, to be launched in 2023.
Activist investor Third Point LLC last month sent a letter to Intel’s board of directors asking it to consider whether to keep its manufacturing and manufacturing operations under one roof.
Intel has long outsourced chips other than its flagship CPUs and is a major customer of TSMC, the world’s largest manufacturer of contract chips. Intel’s self-driving subsidiary Mobileye told Reuters last month that the next autonomous vehicle processor will continue to be manufactured by TSMC as part of its 7-nanometer process.
With its graphics chips, Intel is looking to enter the booming PC gaming market. Its DG2 chip is expected to be released later this year or early 2022 and compete with Nvidia and AMD gaming chips that cost between $ 400 and $ 600, sources said.
Chip production technology for DG2 is expected to be more advanced than the 8-nanometer Samsung Electronics Co Ltd process used in the latest round of Nvidia graphics chips launched in the fall, people said. They added that it will also have a contribution to the Advanced Micro Devices graphics chips made in the 7 nanometer process of TSMC.
Intel declined to comment and TSMC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Intel officials said last year that it would outsource the DG2 chip, but did not say which chip maker won the business or which chip manufacturing process it would use.
Stephen Nellis’ report to San Francisco; Edited by Jonathan Weber and Jane Wardell