https://goo.gl/La3q51
LS <= Lisa Su
Q17: For 7 nanometers, AMD has stated that the first product for this node
is Vega and the focus is on machine learning. Some might feel that it is a
bit odd for the first 7nm product to be on an existing GPU architecture and
for the enterprise market. Do you have any comment?
LS: I think that we always think about this very systematically, as to how we
bring out new process technology. In this case it made a lot of sense to
bring Vega down to 7nm. Vega, as you know, is practically a brand-new
architecture and it has only been out since August, so we believe Vega has
legs. We have so many new features in Vega, such as adding some of the
compute centric features – but the beauty of 7nm is density and the power.
When you think about just how much compute horsepower you can put in the new
technology, it made sense. We usually start with the GPU; the GPU is usually
for us the first product in a technology. Graphics does have the capability
for a lot of redundancy on it and so we feel like it’s a great utilization
of the technology.
Q18: With GlobalFoundries 14nm, it was a licensed Samsung process, and 12nm
is an advancement of that. 7nm is more of a pure GF design. Is there any
change in the relationship as a result?
LS: So in 7nm, we will use both TSMC and GlobalFoundries. We are
working closely with both foundry partners, and will have different product
lines for each. I am very confident that the process technology will be
stable and capable for what we're trying to do.