14 DAY TRIAL // To some, this might seem just another technical announcement of a new manufacturing lineup being started by the largest wafer building company in the world. But when the small detail that the future NVIDIA Pascal GPU is among the cards produced is taken into consideration, things start to take a more interesting turn.
Those in the know are aware of the fact that the TSMC 16nm FinFET process being mentioned means NVIDIA GPUs are involved here, and since the Pascal GP100 GPU has already been taped out, it's clear that these are the signs that its mass production is finally starting.
According to Taipei Times, NVIDIA's next Pascal GPUs will be based on the 16nm FinFET+ node, so the new FinFETs being produced by TSMC are most likely dedicated to the new die from NVIDIA and the A9 SoC for Apple's new iPhone 6S.
TSMC needs to stay close to Apple and NVIDIA's success in China
Apparently, the volatile Chinese market is affecting all major South-East Asian manufacturers, prompting TSMC to gain more market share by increasing the production of Apple A9, A9x and S2 chips used in iPhones, tablets and wearable devices. A wise decision, since the mobile market is growing at a very rapid pace in China, with Apple at the forefront of this mobile boom, while PC sales are dwindling at an alarming rate.
However, the guaranteed orders from NVIDIA for 16nm FinFET+ products will also reposition TSMC on an ascending trend, following its recent 28.3% annual growth. When the prioritized production of Apple SoCs is completed, the company will start producing FinFET-based products, so we should see the Pascal GP100 GPU make a debut in Q1 2016 by the earliest, with Q2 being the more realistic estimate.
AMD will also bring its Zen micro-architecture in 2016 and the Arctic Islands GPU will also be built on a FinFET node, but it is unknown what final process technology the company will go for. According to TSMC, the 16FF+ will provide above 65 percent higher speed, twice the density, and 70 percent less power consumption than its 28HPM technology.