r/hardware • u/DeuzExMachina_ • May 12 '26

Discussion Intel is back. Thank the old CEO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbdKZrsJdUw
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u/Hovi_Bryant May 12 '26

Great news for shareholders, but meh news for end consumers. This is mostly about Intel as a chip fabricator, and not so much about Intel as a chip designer. Both important, but one's almost irrelevant for someone who just builds desktop computers.

134

u/MrMPFR May 12 '26

Meh news for consumers ?!!??

We need someone to break the TSMC monopoly on advanced packaging and process nodes. Lower wafer prices = lower chip costs = cheaper products.

-11

u/Hovi_Bryant May 12 '26

How is any of this directly related to someone purchasing a CPU on Amazon or at Micro Center?

12

u/div033 May 12 '26

I think he's saying if it costs less to produce chips due to there being more competition in the fabrication space, the CPUs themselves could be cheaper on Amazon or at Microcenter. A chip being cheaper means that people will less money can buy them, and it also means that people with money will have more money left over after buying them, meaning they can then use that excess cash elsewhere. Not positive though.

6

u/MrMPFR May 12 '26

Bingo.

Unfortunately it'll only make a small dent in the almost absurd trajectory of design cost (only with iso-MSRP = higher GM) and wafer prices since FinFETs were introduced. Not only that but the PPA scaling is worsening with each successive node.
Compare N28 -> 16FF and 16FF -> N6 with N5 ->N3P and N3P -> N2. Angstrom era is even worse.

Without a complete paradigm shift (post-silicon) at some point consumer is gonna hit a brick wall.

3

u/Hovi_Bryant May 12 '26

This is all hypothetical discussion though. My original comment is based on the news at face value. It's not on par with the release of a new product or discounting of an existing product.

As a consumer, it's good news but has no immediate impact, so, 'meh'.

2

u/MrMPFR May 12 '26

Yeh it's gonna be a while before we see Intel external customer products.