A new report claims that tepid PC sales could prompt Intel to postpone its planned upgrade to a 22nm process at Fab 24.
The move would effectively delay the launch of Intel’s next-gen Ivy Bridge by a quarter (to March 2012) as the company attempts to save costs.
According to DigiTimes, the postponement is likely to “impact” the company’s PC partners and semiconductor equipment players – at least in the short-term.
As TechEye’s Matthew Finnegan notes, Ivy Bridge’s delay would cause Apple to miss out on the chips for its its MacBook releases.
“This would perhaps allow a smoother move with Sandy Bridge products, but would certainly be an embarrassing move for a behemoth like Intel to have to push around release dates to save a few pennies,” wrote Finnegan.
However, an Intel rep told TechEye that reports of an Ivy Bridge delay were little more than speculation.
“We never confirmed a release date for Ivy Bridge, and have still not done so. Back in January we announced a $500m investment to prepare the F14 facility for a future process node upgrade and that stands.
“We are committed to delivering this project for the corporation. We did not confirm a specific node for Fab 24 when we made the investment announcement, but as of today, we are not planning to build 22nm at Fab24. As we said though, we will spend the capital to prepare for a future node.”
