Intel is the only remaining integrated device manufacturer (IDM) with a cutting-edge foundry business dedicated almost exclusively to its own products. From 2011 - 2015, Intel portrayed its unique status as a robust positive. Because it designs and builds its own CPUs, Intel can theoretically take advantage of much tighter working relationships than exist between any pure-play foundry like TSMC and its various customers. Intel CPUs are designed specifically for Intel process nodes, using a restricted, Intel-specific set of rules intended to maximize performance and energy efficiency on a given
Intel Is at a Crossroads… Power efficiency has improved substantially, with claims of a 1.5x improvement over GCN. A relatively small percentage of the total benefit of Navi is attributed to 7nm silicon, and AMD did not explain where it spent the chip's transistor budget in any detail. …
… AMD claims its upcoming mobile platform will allow it to achieve "gaming dominance" over Intel, so that will be a cage match for sure. The GPU connects to the SoC with a single x8 PCIe 5.0 channel, which is interesting. Intel is probably not using a x16 channel to conserve energy. …
… ATX 12V 2.3 added higher efficiency targets and allowed for the provision of more than 20 amps per 12V rail. …
… Intel CPUs are designed specifically for Intel process nodes, using a restricted, Intel-specific set of rules intended to maximize performance and energy efficiency on a given Intel node. …