On Sun, May 8, 2011 at 2:16 PM, Dan <dantear...@gmail.com> wrote: > ...A side note: Many of the chip engineers I've spoken with regard Intel's > "3D" announcement as simply hype.
The point of view over at AnandTech seems to be different IMO. www.anandtech.com/show/4313/intel-announces-first-22nm-3d-trigate-transistors-shipping-in-2h-2011 My take after reading the AnandTech piece is that what Intel announced was about a manufacturing process more than about transistor technology per se. The changes Intel is implementing under the marketing label of "3D" do seem to be anything new or surprising to the industry. The underlying theory behind it appears to be well understood. What makes it arguably newsworthy is that Intel apparently has found a way to turn the theory into a product feature. Intel is not just doing this as a lab trick but as a large scale manufacturing process. And while it is probably more evolutionary than revolutionary, it will still result in either increased performance or using less power in the chips it is applied to. No, it won't in itself do anything to displace ARM. But it is still an impressive improvement. There are certainly things that Intel does that I would consider less special. Their semiconductor manufacturing is NOT one of these. One of the many reasons why it may happen that Apple would ask Intel to build ARM chips for them is simply because Intel is very good at semiconductor manufacturing. My understanding is that they have been a generation ahead of the rest of the industry in terms of scale for quite a while now. And I don't see anyone else catching up to them any time soon. FWIW, -irrational john -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
