AMD now using Samsung's foundries according to Forbes

[Elixer]

Didn't know where to stick this thread, since they make both CPU & GPU at the foundries. Mods, feel free to move it to a more appropriate location.

AMD sent me some answers on their 14nm plans and this is a really big deal:

“AMD has strong foundry partnerships and our primary manufacturing partners are GLOBALFOUNDRIES and TSMC. We have run some product at Samsung and we have the option of enabling production with Samsung if needed as part of the strategic collaboration agreement they have with GLOBALFOUNDRIES to deliver 14nm FinFET process technology capacity.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrick...otix&partner=yahootix&yptr=yahoo#737ea19050fb

In the earnings call, they said they didn't discuss foundries, but, now they are...

I wonder which fab is making what?

 

[Arachnotronic]

I bet you anything that needs to get to a major customer without drama (aka Apple) will be going through Samsung until GloFo pulls it together.

I never bought the PR spin from GloFo that everything was going peachy keen for them, and the fact that AMD is tapping Samsung for any production is a testament to that.

 

[railven]

Welps, guess I have to ask now.

What are the odds some Polaris chips come from Samsung? Might explain the wide variation.

If true, GloFlo with egg on their face again. That WSA is nothing but a noose.

 

[gorobei]

we covered this in a thread in cpu/oc either last year or at the start of this year.

the general takeaway was that apple wanted samsung's 14nm process but wouldnt do it unless samsung could deliver in volume. samsung licensed(partnership agreement) out their 14nm to gf in order to be able to guarantee volume. gf and amd basically got a gift horse by virtue of not being tsmc(samsung's real rival). gf has always struggled to even be behind intel/tsmc/samsung so it was a win-win.

this is just the financial pundits catching up on old news.

 

[3DVagabond]

Wow! I can't believe some of the conclusions people are drawing from a simple, "We've made stuff there before and we can do it again, if needed." If that capacity wasn't setup then that would be really poor management. Some how it's nefarious?

 

[Yakk]

AMD always said they have an option to produce at Samsung.

Between PCs, Apple, and consoles I can well see demand for Polaris alone may be outpacing Global Foundry's recently licensed 14nm production capabilities.

I'd say Samsung being trapped for production is a very good sign indeed.

 

[gorobei]

found it
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2378755

lol really cold news, over 2years old. so glad those overpaid financial pundits are on the ball.

 

[Silverforce11]

Well I have doubts GF 14nm is able to keep up the demand for PS4 Neo, Xbox S and Scorpio SOC and potentially NX. AMD would have to source from Samsung for those, these consoles need to ramp up with huge volume.

 

[Rvenger]

I am pretty sure Vega is slated to be on Samsung, not Glofo.

 

[Elixer]

They would have to be putting out at least good 550K chips a month, to meet the demand of the consoles, does GF have enough capacity to do that?

Something like 150K/month for Sony, 150K/month for MS, 150K/month for Nintendo, then you got all the polaris lines, then you have the old CPUs & GPUs still on the older fab process...They also scored a design win with a Japanese company to make some APU for their entertainment device.

We need GF moles to tell us the real story. Nobody that big can't have moles. Where are they hiding?

P.S, forums are dog slow now, it took 38.34s to load a reply box.

 

[Silverforce11]

You mean this win?

http://www.publicnow.com/view/2A43ABCD56A276C74BC4EC8F74B93058B5D39A02

Pachinko machines from one of the biggest supplier is going AMD APU for the next-gen.

Pretty sure there's more of these machines than PS4 in Japan.

 

[rgallant]

new machine is expected to launch in pachislot parlors across Japan beginning in fall, 2016.

looks like a big deal , is this the first time we are hearing about this deal ?

 

[Hitman928]

I'm pretty sure AND announced this a bit ago, unless this is another design win.

 

[Rezist]

new machine is expected to launch in pachislot parlors across Japan beginning in fall, 2016.

looks like a big deal , is this the first time we are hearing about this deal ?

Is that the gambling game they play in Japan?

Anyways kinda sucks if we end up with a crazy silicon lottery between different RX480/Vega chips.

 

[JDG1980]

Being able to switch between two foundries is definitely a good thing. AMD can fill the GloFo WSA with high-volume, low-cost parts like the desktop RX 480, and reserve Samsung for more premium SKUs like mobile Polaris, and perhaps Vega and HEDT Zen.

GloFo is usually slow out of the gate, but they do eventually get the processes right. By the time the new consoles are ready for launch, GloFo should be good enough for them. Unlike desktop RX 480, they won't be running at or near the maximum possible clock speed, so the necessary voltage should be more lenient and efficiency much greater - even if the GloFo process isn't as good as Samsung's.

 

[Elixer]

You mean this win?

http://www.publicnow.com/view/2A43ABCD56A276C74BC4EC8F74B93058B5D39A02

Pachinko machines from one of the biggest supplier is going AMD APU for the next-gen.

Pretty sure there's more of these machines than PS4 in Japan.

Yeah, that is it.

Some pachinko statistics

Each year, over 30 million people play pachinko games in Japan. That's right, over 30 million. Combined, they put over 300 billion (that's billion with a B) dollars worth of balls into the games, and lose an astounding total of over 40 billion dollars annually. As a passtime, it is certainly number one. As an industry, it more than doubles that of auto production. What is this game, and what is it that drives such a huge number of people to play?

Reading a bit about this game, it would seem like it would be a low end APU, all it basically has to do is throw ads / characters and stuff like that on the screen, since they all still operate with steel balls.

 

[dark zero]

Remember that I said that Samsung is helping them?
So this is confirmed... that was not a real new. Samsung is entering themselves to teach GloFo on how really a processor needs to be done and also to show TSMC and Intel that they can do great microprocessors too.

 

[dark zero]

Yeah, that is it.


Reading a bit about this game, it would seem like it would be a low end APU, all it basically has to do is throw ads / characters and stuff like that on the screen, since they all still operate with steel balls.

Really?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy-nA3fzx9M

And that is one of the worst graphic wise games available... there are some others that are way betterand requieres more graphic power.

 

[Elixer]

Really?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy-nA3fzx9M

And that is one of the worst graphic wise games available... there are some others that are way betterand requieres more graphic power.

https://youtu.be/bWV_zpRrCko?t=178
OK, maybe there is a bit more GPU power going on here... but, it still looks doable by a low to mid range APU.

 

[Silverforce11]

I'm pretty sure AND announced this a bit ago, unless this is another design win.

The other ones with strong rumors/leaks that AMD have not announced yet are:

1. Nintendo NX
2. Chinese designed PS4 Neo clone with VR capability.
3. Japanese & Korean VR parlors, think old-school arcades in Murica, modernized.

Looks to me, this APU approach is paying off for them in 2016 and onwards.

 

[Mopetar]

Seems to make sense and it will be interesting to see comparisons between parts from the two fabs. I had speculated that part of the reason Polaris was so late after many claims by AMD (and some corroborating evidence) of being months ahead was due to problems at Global Foundries.

 

[3DVagabond]

Being able to switch between two foundries is definitely a good thing. AMD can fill the GloFo WSA with high-volume, low-cost parts like the desktop RX 480, and reserve Samsung for more premium SKUs like mobile Polaris, and perhaps Vega and HEDT Zen.

GloFo is usually slow out of the gate, but they do eventually get the processes right. By the time the new consoles are ready for launch, GloFo should be good enough for them. Unlike desktop RX 480, they won't be running at or near the maximum possible clock speed, so the necessary voltage should be more lenient and efficiency much greater - even if the GloFo process isn't as good as Samsung's.

Has there been something stated by AMD or GloFo or even Samsung that this speculation is based upon? Or is it just the fruit of preconceived bias against GloFo? Do we have any evidence that a part fabbed at Samsung would be superior to the same part fabbed at GloFo?

I'm not against idle speculation, but this seems to go beyond that and actually be labeling AMD's new parts from GloFo as defective. Unworthy for "the good stuff".

 

[Silverforce11]

Has there been something stated by AMD or GloFo or even Samsung that this speculation is based upon? Or is it just the fruit of preconceived bias against GloFo? Do we have any evidence that a part fabbed at Samsung would be superior to the same part fabbed at GloFo?

I'm not against idle speculation, but this seems to go beyond that and actually be labeling AMD's new parts from GloFo as defective. Unworthy for "the good stuff".

Nobody in these companies would say these things openly.

You have to infer from what's going on and the results as well as on history.

The real question you should ask is has GloFo produced or have a record of outstanding success?

Nope.