CHIPMAKER Intel has reportedly roped in Samsung to shoulder some 14nm production in a bid to ease the CPU shortage that continues to plague the PC market.

Korean website SeDaily reports that Intel and Samsung are in the "final stages" of negotiating a deal that will see the latter begin mass production of Intel's 14nm Rocket Lake CPUs, which are destined for mini-PCs, at the end of 2020.

SeDaily quotes an insider source familiar with the situation as saying: "We know that the contract negotiations with Intel, which were only rumoured, are in the final stages".

The report notes that these Rocket Lake chips won't become available until 2021, so it's likely that Intel's ongoing CPU shortage - which the firm has blamed on its transition to 10nm - will likely ease-up in the short-term.

Previous online chatter had suggested that Intel was nearing a deal with TSMC to take on some of its 14nm fabrication, but SeDaily reports that the chipmaker has likely chosen Samsung due to the escalating trade war between the US and China.

While unlikely to affect Taiwanese factory output, TSMC manufactures most of the products of Huawei's semiconductor design subsidiary HiSilicon and recently indicated that it will continue to deal with the Chinese firm despite the US government's sanctions.

TSMC's close ties with AMD likely also played a part in Intel's decision, along with Samsung's aggressive pricing. The report notes that the firm recently announced "some 60 per cent unexpected production unit price compared to TSMC," for some customers.

Neither Intel or Samsung have yet commented on the report.

By: DocMemory
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