IBM outstripped Intel, having begun serial production of 7-nanometer server processors

In November, 2018 it became known that IBM outstripped Intel regarding terms of the beginning of serial production of the server processors created on the basis of 7-nanometer technology process.

According to the edition Nikkei, IBM placed orders for production of the 7-nanometer bonus chips intended for the equipment of data centers with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Intel still develops by this time 10-nanometer technology and did not configure the capacities to such an extent to begin full mass production of such processors. As a result of their exit it is delayed until the end of 2019.

IBM outstripped Intel, having begun serial production of 7-nanometer server processors

Intel unlike IBM not only develops chips, but also makes them in bigger quantity. IBM cooperated before with other contract semiconductor producer — Globalfoundries. However that in August, 2018 refused mastering of 7-nanometer technical process to focus on improvement of the current technologies. As a result orders from Globalfoundries to TSMC were thrown not only by IBM, but also AMD.

AMD decided to use capacities of TSMC for production of processors on architecture of Zen 2, the graphic solutions Navi, GPU Vega and also server chips.

We consider that the business, most attractive to Intel, in the field of server chips for data centers can gradually lose some market share — the analyst of Trendforce Liu Chia-hao who estimates a share of Intel at 96% by November, 2018 against 2% at AMD said.

IBM can hardly consider the direct competitor of Intel in the market of server processors as the first places emphasis on mainframes. Such equipment can cost from $300 thousand to $2 million whereas the prices of normal servers, for example, from HPE and Dell, are about $7 thousand, the analyst of IDC Danny Kuo noted. According to him, IBM is considered Rolls-Royce of the server market.^[1]

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