There has been plenty of talk around Intel's CPU shortages this year, with struggles to keep supply meeting demand. Intel itself has already issued a letter to apologise for the delays, which are impacting OEM financial forecasts for the year. Now, some reports indicate that Intel might be turning to Samsung for help producing more 14nm processors to combat the problem.
Intel is investing heavily on boosting its own production facilities but in the meantime, according to Pulse News Korea, Intel will be using Samsung fabs to manufacture PC CPUs. The specific wording is that Samsung has secured an order from Intel for “PC CPU”, which as TechPowerUp points out, is a broad term that could indicate S, H, U and Y series processors often used in OEM laptops and desktops.
Samsung currently has the capability to make 14nm and 10nm chips, although it is unclear exactly what node Intel hopes to borrow Samsung's expertise for.
This move may have been semi-confirmed by Intel previously too, with the company's letter stating that aside from increasing investment in its own facilities, Intel is increasing its use of other foundries to meet demand.
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KitGuru Says: We don't have official confirmation on this move, although it isn't exactly the sort of thing that Samsung or Intel would send out a press release for. Still, it will be interesting to see what sort of an impact this has, even if a partnership between the two chipmakers ends up being short term.