moinmoin
Diamond Member
- Jun 1, 2017
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Imo this is kind of the wrong question. High frequency CPUs are essentially a niche within the high end desktop PC niche. The desktop PC market is dominated by x86 which has two players, Intel and AMD. For other CPU manufacturers there is essentially no need at all to chase high frequencies (crass niche exceptions like IBM notwithstanding), power efficiency is far more important.The simple question to ask; has anyone else achieved 5 GHz at a smaller budget than AMD?
Intel has its own foundries whereas AMD was stuck to GloFo, with the first CPUs using non-GloFo components not yet launched. GloFo was claiming their 7nm process to be prepared for regular usage at 5 GHz before they shelved it altogether. TSMC obviously has been involved with AMD even before GloFo shelved its process, so they likely had to match the same process requirements that GloFo claimed being able to fulfill, including the prospect of reaching 5GHz eventually.
Do I think 5 GHz is still a long shot? Yes. Do I think 5 GHz is impossible? No, for the above reasons. It's in TSMC's own interest that its 7nm HP process fares well at high frequencies.