Intel is delaying 7nm CPUs until 2022 or 2023 and is considering outsourcing 7nm GPUs

Intel has problems with its 7nm process. The yields are twelve months behind expectations. Intel will not launch a 7nm consumer CPU until 2022 or 2023. Intel is considering outsourcing the production of its 7nm GPU for data centers.

Intel announces the delay in the progress of its new process with the presentation of the quarterly results. In the accompanying press release, Intel states that the problems lead to a delay of about six months for the introduction of 7nm processors. In an investor conference call launched by Seeking Alpha, Intel CEO Bob Swan clarifies that Intel’s first 7nm product will be a client CPU and will not be released until late 2022 or early 2023.

A client CPU can be either a laptop or desktop processor. With Intel’s 10nm process, which also had many problems at start-up, Intel started by releasing a single laptop processor. Those chips are small and problems with yields can therefore be dealt with better. It is likely that Intel’s first 7nm processor is also a laptop CPU and that desktop CPUs will follow later.

Intel presented its 7nm plans last year and said it would release its first product made on the new process in 2021. That would be the Ponte Vecchio GPU for data centers, which is based on the Xe architecture. Intel confirms that it is not possible to produce that GPU itself at 7nm within the specified time. Swan expects the first 7nm data center CPUs made by Intel at 7nm won’t ship until the first half of 2023.

Last year, the construction of the American Aurora supercomputer was announced, which is scheduled for 2021 and is based on Intel’s 7nm data center GPU, among other things. Intel cannot produce the necessary GPUs itself, but the company says it has a ‘contingency plan’ and is considering calling in another chip manufacturer for production. If Intel wants to release its 7nm data center GPU in 2021, the manufacturer will have to turn to a competitor such as Samsung or TSMC.

The delays in the 7nm process probably also affect the Xe video cards for gamers, which Intel has been working on since 2017. Intel would only be able to make such GPUs at 7nm from 2023. Intel can choose to bake the consumer GPUs on an older process, or to outsource the production thereof. Intel has not yet given details about this.

The delay of the 7nm process at Intel is likely to have major consequences for the manufacturer. Intel wanted to use this process on a large scale in the coming years, because the 10nm process, which also had many start-up problems, will not be used on a large scale.

According to Intel, the problems were caused by a defective mode in the 7nm process, which resulted in a degradation of the yields. The chipmaker says he has found the cause and states that there are now no more fundamental roadblocks. Intel also says it has invested in contingency plans due to its previous experience with the delay of the 10nm process. These emergency plans include the use of older processes and the involvement of other chip manufacturers.

At the presentation of the quarterly figures, Intel also announced that the Tiger Lake laptop processors, which are made at 10nm, will be available to consumers within a few weeks. The first 10nm Ice Lake processors in the Xeon series for servers will be released at the end of this year.

Intel also confirmed the arrival of 10nm processors for desktops in the Alder Lake series, about which a lot of information has already been released. The Alder Lake CPUs will be released in the second half of 2021 and new 10nm CPUs for servers in the Sapphire Rapids series will appear during the same period.

The setbacks in production have not yet affected the figures. Intel posted sales of $ 19.7 billion in the quarter, up 20 percent from the same period last year. Quarterly profit was $ 5.1 billion, an increase of 10 percent.

Intel put its 7nm process on the roadmap in 2019. Due to the delays, there can be a line through it. Intel’s first homemade 7nm product will not be released until late 2022 or early 2023.