[bhouston]

If Intel goes multi-chip in the same package like Ryzen, then yeah, they can get more cores in, similar to Ryzen Threadripper.

So there is a leap coming for Intel as well if they go that route, and after the massive success of Ryzen, they are likely going there. Just easier to scale core counts if you can use smaller dies and just use a lot of them with an interconnect fabric.

[xenadu02]

Intel had two advantages:

1. Relentless process improvement, putting them 1-2 generations ahead of everyone else.

2. Using their monopoly to prevent OEMs from shipping AMD processors.

#1 isn't true anymore.

#2 is almost irrelevant since mobile has taken over and makes the PC revolution look like child's play by comparison.

Intel doesn't have a good graphics story. They sell hot power-hungry chips. They no longer have a process advantage. Their monopoly in x86 is increasingly (but not yet completely) irrelevant.

I'm sure they can ride the x86 profitability horse for at least 5-10 years. What then? Remember: RIM was profitable for several years after the iPhone was released. That didn't save them. Microsoft continued to rake in cash with Windows/Office as iOS/Android/AWS/GC established a new world order that threatened to make them irrelevant.

[bhouston]

Intel needs to pull a Microsoft.

Basically the new Microsoft CEO has reinvigorated Microsoft by challenging the old preconceptions and doing what is right in the current environment. I wonder if Intel could find a CEO like that.

I still can not believe that my favorite code editor on Linux is an open source code text-oriented editor from Microsoft (VS Code.)

[bradleyjg]

3. Yields. Historically Intel had the fastest ramp up to the highest yields.

I don’t know if that still holds true.

[selectodude]

Intel's yields at 14nm++++++++++ are exceptional now. We'll see how TSMC's 7nm holds up though. They're still using DUV lithography with boatloads of multipatterning. Intel's 10nm is running into issues due to that, I'm curious what TSMC is doing correctly. They might just be saying they have good enough yields at 7nm and be totally full of shit. One thing about Intel's scale is they have to acutally get it right before they can say they're successful at it.

[smueller1234]

Without coming up with a pretty new overall design, Intel will struggle with that: the IO capabilities of Zen are much better than those of today's Xeons. And the more chips, the more sockets, the more chip IO. On top of that, as the throughput requirements for NICs, accelerators, storage (ssds and nvram-type devices) keeps increasing very quickly, that'll put further pressure on such a design.

Don't get me wrong, it seems likely that Intel is considering such options, but they won't be all too amazing for many workloads.

[bhouston]

They do need to come up with a new design.

Intel hired Jim Keller that developed AMD's HyperTransport and the Zen's interconnection fabric and was intrumental in the Zen project a few months ago.