Intel considered launching Core Ultra processors with two CPU blocks, says leaker

2023-12-18 15:33:00

Intel announced the Core Ultra line as its new family of processors for powerful and ultra-thin notebooks, bringing its unprecedented core design. chiplets which separates different processing areas into dedicated blocks for CPU, GPU, NPU and more. This Monday (18), a leaker released an image of one of the prototypes of the “Meteor Lake” line.

The enthusiast @yuuki_ans published images of the matrix of a Core Ultra processor, showing the final version and a prototype. Although they are very similar, the photograph indicates that the sample — sent for testing purposes with partners — had a significant difference in its architecture: the presence of two blocks for the CPU.

On the left, you can see that the test version of the processor has two CPU blocks, just above the input and output control block. In the final version of the silicon, on the right, you can find a single CPU block.

Note that this does not mean that the blocks in this specific sample were functional, after all, they were only for thermal evaluation purposes. However, the leaked image could suggest that Intel has experimented with different approaches to its new computer design. chipletsand considered a architecture minimally “inspired” by AMD processors.

It is worth remembering that AMD launched the Ryzen 7045HX processors with a chiplets still at the beginning of 2023, and a characteristic of this hardware is precisely the use of two CPU blocks on chips that have 12 and 16 cores.

In images of the leaked prototype, it can be seen that one of the CPU blocks is around 10 to 15% wider than the other, suggesting that they are, in fact, two different blocks. This could indicate that the thermal prototype housed its high-performance cores in one block, and low-power cores in another.

If Intel followed this strategy, it would be possible to exploit one of the main benefits of chiplets — which is its modularity — to manufacture different CPU blocks with different lithographs than other semiconductor factories. It is worth remembering that the Arc GPU of the “Meteor Lake” processors is produced in 5 nanometers by TSMC.

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Intel has confirmed that it will bring Core Ultra processors to the desktop segment in 2024, and although this line is expected exclusively for pre-assembled computers, there is still the possibility that the manufacturer will increase the modularity of its new chips by separating the different types of cores in independent blocks.

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