Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1076 Things are changing

In any industry, people doing the same thing have different levels of skill.

The same is true in the chip industry. Even chips made with the same process can have very different performances.

Intel has become the chip overlord, and its achievements in chips are certainly far superior to its peers, otherwise how could it dominate the world?
Even though AMD has always been challenging Intel, there is still a big gap between AMD's chip performance and Intel's.

For Dongxin, it would be rare if the Tianji chip it developed was no different from Intel's Pentium.

Therefore, when Li Dongling heard Huang Lingyi's words, he did not feel disappointed. This was something he had expected.

“First develop the chip, then the performance can be improved!
Tianji is lacking in power consumption and performance, so Shenzhou Computer will focus on software optimization, adaptability, and human-computer interchangeability!"

Li Dongling said to everyone in the conference room.

What makes Shenzhou computers famous is their smooth operation, which fully brings out the performance of the machine.

Because the main components and chips of Shenzhou computers are developed by themselves, and the graphics cards they use are from NVIDIA, which have also been debugged. NVIDIA is invested by the Zhixing Foundation and fully cooperates with Dongling Hi-Tech in terms of graphics cards.

At this time, NVIDIA had not yet reached the level of Long Aotian. It was very flexible and cooperated very well with the requirements of Shenzhou Computer.

Just like in the previous life, Intel entered the mobile phone market for Xiaomi's orders, and the Leather Swordsman was able to personally stand up for Xiaomi just to promote its own chips.

Today's graphics cards have not yet become mainstream, and their status cannot be compared with that of chips. In addition, NVIDIA also has a large number of graphics card competitors. Shenzhou computers are all major customers for NVIDIA, so they will naturally cooperate in optimization.

Chips, graphics cards, motherboards, screens and other components of Shenzhou computers have been debugged to the extreme. Although the computer system is from Microsoft, it has also been optimized to a certain extent.

As for computer software, office software, antivirus, websites, games, etc. from Kingsoft, Tianya, Jiangmin, and Xishanju have also been optimized, which gives Shenzhou computers that smooth operating feel.

By the second generation of Shenzhou computers, as long as the chip performance was not too poor, it could be comparable to Intel's Pentium.

Then Shenzhou computers will be able to maximize the hardware adaptation performance and optimize the software to make up for the shortcomings of the chip.

To be honest, there are no large-scale computer games of dozens or hundreds of GB, nor graphics card mining, cloud computing, large models, AI training and the like. Except for people who use computers for design and development work, it is difficult for ordinary computer users to maximize the performance of a computer.

Not to mention half of it, just going online to send an email, browse the website, or play common games does not even utilize 10% of the computer's performance.

Shenzhou computers optimize the functions, software, games, and websites that users commonly use to meet most user needs, making Shenzhou computers "look" much smoother than other computers!
To a certain extent, Apple computers also use this method, because the hardware and system software are all developed by Apple itself, so it is much easier to optimize this aspect.

This is also a kind of "eye-catching trick", but this kind of eye-catching trick requires a computer manufacturer that has the authority to optimize hardware, software, etc. Looking at the domestic market, there is almost no other company except Shenzhou, which is backed by Dongling Hi-Tech!

After hearing what Li Dongling said, Ni Guangnan and Huang Lingyi nodded one after another. Li Dongling had made up his mind to equip the next generation of Shenzhou computers with the Tianji 350-nanometer chip, so they had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue with the research and development.

"How is the cooperation with AMD going now?"

Li Dongling then asked again about the cooperation with AMD, that is, the chip to be installed in the Shenzhou all-in-one computer project.

The chip used in the Shenzhou all-in-one computer is the current top-end 250-nanometer chip. With Dongxin Semiconductor's capabilities, it is simply impossible to develop it and can only seek external assistance.

But there are actually very few partners for Dongxin to choose from. After all, the only companies capable of developing 250nm chips are Intel, Toshiba, NEC and AMD.

Among them, AMD is the weakest and is under greater pressure. Most computer manufacturers now use Intel's high-end chips.

Precisely because of the urgent need to open up the high-end chip market, AMD did not refuse the olive branch thrown by Dongxin.

In addition, Donxin also brought in IBM, which is known as a troublemaker and has been trying every means to make things difficult for Intel in the chip industry.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and IBM knows this well.

AMD was also lobbied by Walden International and IBM to help Dongxin. Now the three companies are jointly developing 250-nanometer chips. Dongxin is mainly responsible for the funding. After all, if it needs help from the other party, it must pay for it.

The design and R&D are led by AMD, and there is nothing that can be done about it. Now Doxin’s technology is inferior to others, so it can only be inferior to others in such projects.

In the conference room, Wu Xinyi and Ni Guangnan and others looked at each other, and finally shook their heads and said, "AMD is a little too overbearing!" "The 250-nanometer chip project used in the all-in-one machine is now completely dominated by AMD. AMD does not allow Dongxin to intervene too much. Dongxin does not have much say in this project.

At present, Dongxin has only sent some R&D personnel to participate in the project, but it is still unknown how much they can learn! ”

Speaking of this project, Wu Xinyi's words were somewhat resentful towards AMD. In the 250nm chip project that Dongxin cooperated with AMD, Dongling Hi-Tech had borne nearly $ million in research and development costs.

Moreover, according to the agreement signed previously, after the development of this chip is completed, Dongxin will give AMD 25% of the profit and IBM 8% of the chip profit for each chip sold.

To be honest, the profit that finally fell into Dongxin's hands was not that much.

This is equivalent to spending money to customize a chip from AMD for the Shenzhou all-in-one computer.

Dongxin is not the only company to do this. The chip used in Apple's iMac G3 all-in-one computer was also developed with the help of Motorola, and the cost is estimated to be not much different from that of Dongxin.

As a result, AMD did not give Dongxin much say at all. The key positions in the entire project were all controlled by AMD people, and AMD was very wary of Dongxin.

Wu Xinyi feels that AMD has no idea of ​​the situation. You know, Intel is AMD's biggest rival. For a long time in the future, Donxin will stand in the same camp with AMD to resist Intel.

As a result, AMD is so wary of Donchip. How can it defeat Intel with such an attitude towards its allies? Its vision is too narrow!

Li Dongling was not too surprised to hear this. It has been a long time since foreign manufacturers have been wary of domestic products.

“Those who participated in the 250nm chip project at Dongxin can learn from the experience, so it is not a loss!

Things will change over time. I think one day, AMD will ask Dongxin for help. At that time, Dongxin will have the final say on the rules!"

The pressure on AMD is much greater than that on Dongxin. Even in the worst case scenario, if Dongxin loses all external orders, it still has the support of orders from Dongling Hi-Tech, so at least it will not starve to death.

What about AMD?
Once a chip is not well made, the entire market will collapse in an instant. The fact that AMD almost went bankrupt several times in the past is the best proof of this.

Now it is Dongxin that needs help from AMD and has been ripped off by the other party. Dongxin has accepted the loss.

But AMD had better pray that it never falls into the hands of Dongxin, otherwise it will be badly hurt!

Is it so easy to reap the leeks of Mr. Li Dashan? It’s not that they haven’t tried before. The most recent one that wanted to reap the leeks of Dongling Hi-Tech was the Nippon Benzene Telephone and Telegraph Company. Just look at their current situation and you will know what kind of life they are living!

"Tell AMD that the 250-nanometer chip must be completed on schedule and must not delay Dongling Hi-Tech's all-in-one computer launch!"

Li Dongling explained to Wu Xinyi that the money had already been given to AMD by Dongling Hi-Tech and Doxin Semiconductor. If AMD fails to get the job done, don't blame Dongling Hi-Tech for turning its back on them.

Li Dongling feels that Apple's iMac all-in-one computer is probably about to be completed in research and development, and Dongling Hi-Tech needs to be one step ahead in launching the all-in-one computer.

Otherwise, with the advantage of media opinion in America, Dongling Hi-Tech might be accused of copying Apple's all-in-one computers. This is too heavy a label for Dongling Hi-Tech to bear.

After the chip department, Zhou Shi, who was in charge of the Dongxin lithography department, reported to Li Dongling, "Currently, the Dongxin II 365-nanometer process lithography machine is under development!
The Dongxin No. 1 lithography machine is currently in mass production, and it is expected that eight Dongxin No. 1 lithography machines will be delivered this year.

Now, the Dongxin No. 1 lithography machine is being continuously improved, and the cost has been reduced to about 5 million US dollars. In the future, the cost can be further reduced, forming a price advantage over Nikon, Canon, ASML and other lithography machines of the same level! "

Compared with the chip department which is under great pressure, the lithography machine department seems to be a bit scattered. After all, this thing cannot be solved by urging it.

Zhou Shi and his lithography team have worked diligently over the years and developed Dongxin's first 450-nanometer process lithography machine. Although Dongxin No. 193 is a bit antique compared to Nikon's latest -nanometer lithography machine, it was developed by Dongxin itself after all.

Dongxin's No. 1 lithography machine is now in mass production. This thing cannot be sold at a high price and can only be sold in large quantities. It is estimated that for a long time, Dongxin's lithography machines will have to stay in the mid- and low-end lithography machine market, relying on price to increase sales.

The domestic chip market has not yet exploded. When the domestic chip market takes off, Dongxin's lithography machines will have no trouble selling in the domestic market with their cost advantages.

As long as there is a domestic market, Dongxin’s lithography machines will never starve!

(End of this chapter)