Newsletter Archives

• Intel delays manufacturing in Ohio

  Posted on March 1, 2025 at 03:00 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  In a note published yesterday to Intel’s Newsroom, titled Ohio One Construction Timeline Update (recommended reading), the company announced that its construction timeline for its Ohio fabs has been changed. Originally, manufacturing was planned to begin as early as this year. A delay of five years has been introduced, with the first module now scheduled to go online in 2030 and the second a year later.

  Intel’s explanation for the delay is that it is matching demand to manufacturing. I lack any evidence to the contrary, but this seems more a matter of managing cash flow. My interpretation is a reduction in demand, because it suddenly appears that Intel has adequate manufacturing capacity to meet demand for the next few years. Bringing manufacturing onshore no longer seems to be a priority.

  I see no way to spin this as good news for the company, and it’s a blow to Ohio, at least for now.

  Intel Intel, Intel News, National Security, News, Ohio, Silicon

• Intel is on the block

  Posted on February 18, 2025 at 08:46 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  A report ($) from the Wall Street Journal states that Broadcom and TSMC are in independent talks with Intel about splitting the company into two pieces, with Broadcom taking the chip-design business and TSMC taking the manufacturing arm. Intel shares rose on the news, an indicator that the market thinks this is a good idea.

  The news is breaking (this past Friday), so it’s very early in the process. There are some hurdles, especially US government approval. There are some national security implications, and Intel received a large payout from the US CHIPS act, which has strings attached.

  This news suggests that Intel’s run as a standalone company may come to an end after 57 years. There’s no telling what might happen to the brand.

  Intel Broadcom, Intel, Intel News, TSMC

• Intel reports fourth-quarter financial results

  Posted on January 31, 2025 at 03:00 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) released its fourth-quarter and annual financial results yesterday. Details are available at Intel’s financial site.

  The year-to-year comparison looks bleak, but the real question is whether the results for the most recent quarter improved over preceding quarters. For Q3, the loss was $16.6 billion. For Q4, the loss is $0.1 billion. That is obviously a dramatic improvement, which may mean that the drastic cost-cutting measures that began in Q3 had an effect. (Free coffee was restored in November.)

  Given the sporadic results last year, it’s too soon to suggest that a positive trend has emerged. However, stemming the blood flow is essential so that the company has the resources to fund much-needed innovation.

  Intel Financial Performance, INTC, Quarterly results

• Something we forgot to mention

  Posted on January 2, 2025 at 03:00 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums
  

  Intel 8080

  2024 marked the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the Intel 8080 processor. It is an important event in the history of IBM-compatible personal computers because it is the immediate predecessor of the Intel 8086 and its brother with the 8-bit bus, the 8088. For many of us, personal computing began with the IBM PC and the x86 architecture, but the true birth of the PC industry was powered seven years earlier by the 8080 in iconic and important products such as the Altair 8800.

  If you’re near Silicon Valley, you can visit the Intel Museum through March to see its exhibit about the 8080. Those not close can visit the virtual museum.

  Intel took a risk with the 8080 because it was not 100% compatible with the previous 8008. It was close enough that code could be quickly ported (Intel supplied source code converters for the purpose), and the 8080 flourished. It’s safe to say that without the success of the 8080, Intel might have had problems making what would become the big step to x86.

  Intel History, Intel, Personal Computers, Technology

• Intel ARC graphics gains traction

  Posted on December 27, 2024 at 03:00 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  Against the odds, Intel is gaining ground with its ARC graphics chips. Its new “Battlemage” chips are selling out.

  Intel’s A-series chips, codenamed “Alchemist,” piqued interest in ARC last year. I have been in the market for a dedicated graphics card for some time and was impressed enough that I bought a Sparkle ORC OC with the A580 chip, primarily because it cost a mere $165. My budget was set at a max of $200; no other product delivered comparable performance at that price.

  The Alchemist series struggled with games, initially showing competitive performance with a limited number of titles but steadily improving. I’m not a gamer, but I am interested in video rendering performance – the A580 boosted that by an order of magnitude (translation: cut my rendering time by 90%), more than enough to make me happy.

  With the B-series chips, performance has skyrocketed, so much so that Battlemage-based graphics cards are perpetually out of stock. The struggle with games is over; Intel has left its own Alchemist line in the dust.

  NVIDIA dominates with its graphics cards, with AMD trailing behind. Intel is a blip on the radar. But that blip is making a difference – Intel’s price and performance are buyer-friendly, making the market more competitive.

  Intel Graphics Cards, Intel, Intel ARC, News

• Gelsinger is out

  Posted on December 5, 2024 at 16:11 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  
  On December 2, Intel Announced that long-time Intel engineer and CEO since 2021 Patrick (“Pat”) Gelsinger had retired from the company, effective December 1, 2024.

  Whether this “retirement” was voluntary or forced is open to question. However, he was replaced instantly with two interim appointments, David Zinser and Michelle (MJ) Johnston Holthaus, serving as co-chief executive officers. He also stepped down from his position on the board of directors. The speed of the action, just a month after Intel announced weak third-quarter financial results, suggests that the company desired a new direction.

  Mr. Gelsinger, with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering, had a long career, including Intel accomplishments such as the original 80486 processor, 14 other processors, and the Core and Xeon lines. During his 30 years at Intel, he became a highly regarded executive. But it appears that Intel’s recent troubles in manufacturing and chip architecture were overwhelming.

  There is already speculation about whether Zinser or Holthaus will become the next CEO. This may depend upon whether the board thinks the problems are financial, managerial, or technical. The elevation of Zinser/Holthaus would seem to signal finance and management because neither co-CEO has an engineering background. What this means for Intel’s Foundry business, which has also not performed as expected, is uncertain. The selection of an outsider as the next CEO is not out of the question.

  Intel and its processor architectures have long been the cornerstone of Windows. The rise of both Qualcomm and AMD, along with the foundry excellence at TSMC, could signal a sea change.

  Intel Intel, Management, News, Silicon

• Core Ultra Series 2 desktop processors

  Posted on October 14, 2024 at 02:43 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  INTEL

  

  By Will Fastie

  Once again, new naming conventions make understanding Intel’s processors confusing.

  Late last week, Intel announced a series of new Core Ultra processors for desktop computers. These are designated “S” models. A month ago, Intel announced Core Ultra processors for laptops, designated “V.”

  At least for the moment, this is all very confusing. My big takeaway is that the V models are optimized for AI in the most popular form factor, laptops. The S models are optimized for the desktop gaming market. These initial S models do not perform as well for AI.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.42.0, 2024-10-14).

  Intel AI, Copilot+ PCs, Core Ultra, Intel Processors, Newsletters, NPUs, Performance, TSMC

• Intel’s troubles

  Posted on August 12, 2024 at 02:45 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.33 • 2024-08-12

  INTEL

  

  By Will Fastie

  In the nearly 50 years I’ve been following Intel, I’ve never seen the company in such disarray. Things are bad.

  On August 1, Intel released its financial results for its second fiscal quarter ending July 31. Although there was a tiny bright spot in its Client Computing Group (up 9% year over year), net revenue was down 1% and the company recorded a quarterly loss of USD $1.6 billion, nearly $3 billion lower year over year.

  Intel’s stock dropped by over 25% in the two following days. And that’s just one of Intel’s problems.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.33.0, 2024-08-12).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Intel AI, Apple, Core 13900K, Core 14900K, Intel, Intel News, Microsoft, Microsoft Surface, Newsletters, Qualcomm, Silicon, Surface
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