06-12-2020, 07:56 AM
https://www.techpowerup.com/268370/intel...ncore-dies
Quote:VLSI engineer and industry analyst, @chiakokhua, who goes by "Retired Engineer" on Twitter, was among the very first voices that spoke about 3rd gen Ryzen socket AM4 processors being multi-chip modules of core- and uncore dies built on different silicon fabrication processes, which was an unbelievable theory at the time. He now has a fantastic theory of what "Rocket Lake-S" could look like, dating back to November 2019, which is now re-surfacing on tech communities. Apparently, Intel is designing these socket LGA1200 processors to be multi-chip modules, similar to "Matisse" in some ways, but different in others.
Apparently, "Rocket Lake-S" is a multi-chip module of a 14 nm die that holds the CPU cores; and 10 nm die that holds the uncore components. AMD "Matisse" and "Vermeer" too have such a division of labor, but the CPU cores are located on dies with a more advanced silicon fabrication process (7 nm), than the die with the uncore components (12 nm).
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This won't be the first time that Intel took the MCM approach in its mainstream desktop processors. The first generation "Clarkdale" desktop processor in the LGA1156 package was an MCM of a 32 nm CPU die, and a 45 nm uncore die (which contained the iGPU).
Why Intel chose to give the iGPU, rather than the CPU cores, the advantage of the more advanced silicon fabrication process is a mystery that will only be solved after launch. Perhaps it's simply not possible to build a Gen12 iGPU on 14 nm, while the efficiency of "Willow Cove" CPU cores, originally designed for 10 nm+, can survive a back-port to 14 nm better. "Willow Cove" cores make their debut with the "Tiger Lake-U" mobile processors.