Rumors are circulating the internet that Intel might be delaying its production of its 14th Gen Core Meteor Lake series. It appears that the company has been canceling orders for the 3nm node for the Meteor Lake GPU. The TSMC N3 node has been listed by Intel as an ‘External N3”. This is supposedly used for the GPU tile (tGPU) on the 14th Gen Meteor Lake CPU.
Most of the orders for the N3 were canceled by Intel at TSMC and the reason still remains unclear. Only a small amount has been ordered which is most likely for the engineering verification. It has been reported by TechPowerUP that TSMC 3nm production line expansion will now be slowed down and consequently the company will also cut their Capital Expenditure for the year 2023.
With these cancellations, it seems like Meteor Lake will not be the only product to be facing delays. Intel’s Sapphire Rapids CPU series will also be facing delayed production. It was initially supposed to launch by the end of 2021 and now the volume production is rumored to start by Q1 next year. Even the Arc Alchemist GPUs were expected to launch in Q1 this year, but Intel has changed its rollout plans altogether. In Q3 this year, Intel has launched only one desktop and tested only two mobile GPUs.
Update:
TrendForce's Intel Meteor Lake report seems to have caught the company's attention. Intel's PR firm sent out an unsolicited note this afternoon reiterating that Meteor Lake will be delivered in 2023, and manufacturing remains on schedule
— Ryan Smith (@RyanSmithAT) August 4, 2022
Via TrendForce