Standard CPU coolers, while adequate for managing basic thermal loads, often fall short in terms of noise reduction and superior cooling efficiency. This limitation drives advanced users and system builders to seek aftermarket solutions tailored to their specific needs. The high-end aftermarket cooler market is highly competitive, with manufacturers striving to offer products with exceptional performance.
Endorfy, previously known as SilentiumPC, is a Polish manufacturer that has undergone a significant transformation to expand its presence in global markets. The brand is known for delivering high-performance cooling solutions with a strong focus on balancing efficiency and affordability. By rebranding as Endorfy, the company aims to enter premium market segments while continuing to offer reliable, high-quality cooling products.
SilentiumPC became very popular in the value/mainstream segments of the PC market with their products, the spearhead of which probably was the Fera 5 cooler that we reviewed a little over two years ago and had a remarkable value for money. Today’s review places Endorfy’s largest CPU cooler, the Fortis 5 Dual Fan, on our laboratory test bench. The Fortis 5 is the largest CPU air cooler the company currently offers and is significantly more expensive than the Fera 5, yet it still is a single-tower cooler that strives to strike a balance between value, compatibility, and performance.
Cases/Cooling/PSUsSK hynix is set to unveil their first Gen5 consumer NVMe SSD lineup shortly, based on the products at display in their GTC 2024 booth. The Platinum P51 M.2 2280 NVMe SSD will take over flagship duties from the Platinum P41 that has been serving the market for more than a year.
Similar to the Gold P31 and the Platinum P41, the Platinum P51 also uses an in-house SSD controller. The key updates are the move to PCIe Gen5 and the use of SK hynix's 238L TLC NAND. Other details are scarce, and we have reached out for additional information.
| SK hynix Platinum P51 Gen5 NVMe SSD Specifications | ||||
| Capacity | 500 GB | 1 TB | 2 TB | |
| Controller | SK hynix In-House (Alistar) | |||
| NAND Flash | SK hynix 238L 3D TLC NAND at ?? MT/s ('4D' with CMOS circuitry under the NAND as per SK hynix marketing) | |||
| Form-Factor, Interface | M.2-2280, PCIe 5.0 x4, NVMe 2.0 | |||
| Sequential Read | 13500 MB/s | |||
| Sequential Write | 11500 MB/s | |||
| Random Read IOPS | TBD | |||
| Random Write IOPS | TBD | |||
| SLC Caching | Yes | |||
| TCG Opal Encryption | TBD | |||
| Warranty | TBD | |||
| Write Endurance | TBD | TBD | TBD | |
Only the peak sequential access numbers were available at the GTC booth, indicating that the drive's firmware is still undergoing tweaks. It is also unclear how these numbers are going to vary based on capacity. Availability and pricing are also not public yet.
This is a significant launch for the Gen5 consumer SSD market, where the number of available options are quite limited. The Phison E26 controller and Micron's B58R NAND combination is already in its second generation (with the NAND operating at 2400 MT/s in the newest avatar), but other vertically integrated vendors such as Samsung, Western Digital / Kioxia, and SK hynix (till now) are focusing more on the Gen4 market which has much higher adoption.
We will update the piece with additional information once the specifications are officially available.
StorageSamsung this week has unveiled its latest process technologies roadmap at the company's Samsung Foundry Forum (SFF) U.S. The new plan covers the evolution of Samsung's 2nm-class production nodes through 2027, including a process technology with a backside power delivery, re-emphasizing plans to bring out a 1.4nm-class node in 2027, and the introduction of a 'high value' 4nm-class manufacturing tech.
Samsung Foundry's key announcements for today are clearly focused on the its 2nm-class process technologies, which are set to enter production in 2025 and will span to 2027, when the company's 1.4-nm class production node is set to enter the scene. Samsung is also adding (or rather, renaming) another 2nm-class node to their roadmap with SF2, which was previously disclosed by Samsung as SF3P and aimed at high-performance devices.
"We have refined and improved the SF3P, resulting in what we now refer to as SF2," a Samsung spokesperson told AnandTech. "This enhanced node incorporates various process design improvements, delivering notable power, performance, and area (PPA) benefits."
| Samsung Foundry for Leading-Edge Nodes Announced on June 12, 2024 Compiled by AnandTech |
||||||||
| HVM Start | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2027 | ||
| Process | SF3E | SF3 | SF2 (aka SF3P) |
SF2P/SF2X | SF2Z | SF1.4 | ||
| FET | GAAFET | |||||||
| Power Delivery | Frontside | Backside (BSPDN) | ? | |||||
| EUV | 0.33 NA EUV | ? | ? | ? | ? | |||
This is another example of a rebranding of leading-edge fabrication nodes in the recent years by a major chipmaker. Samsung Foundry is not disclosing any specific PPA improvements SF3P has over SF2, and for now is only stating in high-level terms that it will be a better-performing node than the planned SF3P.
Meanwhile, this week's announcement also includes new information on Samsung's next batch of process nodes, which are planned for 2026 and 2027. In 2026 Samsung will have SF2P, a further refinement of SF2 which incorporates 'faster' yet less dense transistors. That will be followed up in 2027 with SF2Z, which adds backside power delivery to the mix for better and higher quality power delivery. In particular, Samsung is targetting voltate drop (aka IR drop) here, which is an ongoing concern in chip design.
Finally, SF1.4, a 1.4nm-class node, is on track for 2027 as well. Interestingly, however, it looks like it does not feature a backside power delivery. Which, per current roadmaps, would have Samsung as the only foundry not using BSPDN for their first 1.4nm/14Å-class node.
"We have optimized BSPDN and incorporated it for the first time in the SF2Z node we announced today," the spokesperso... Semiconductors
During Computex 2024, ASRock held an event to unveil some of its upcoming X870E motherboards, designed for AMD's Zen 5-based Ryzen 9000 series processors. ASRock's announcement includes a pair of Taichi-branded boards, the X870E Taichi and the lighter X870E Taichi lite, which uses AMD's X870E (Promontory 21) chipset for AM5.
The current flagship model announced from ASRock's X870E line-up for Ryzen 9000 is the ASRock X870E Taichi. ASRock is advertising a large 27-phase power delivery through 110A SPS, suggesting this board is designed for overclockers and all-around power users. Two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots (operating in either x16/x0 or x8/x8) provide high-speed bandwidth for cutting-edge graphics cards and other devices. Meanwhile, ASRock has gone with 4 DIMM slots on this board, so system builders will be able to max out the board's memory capacity at the cost of bandwidth.
The storage offering is impressive; besides the obligatory PCIe Gen5 x4 M.2 slot (Blazing M.2), ASRock has outfit the board with another three PCIe Gen4 x4 (Hyper) M.2 slots. Also present are two USB4 Type-C ports for high-bandwidth external I/O, while networking support is a solid pairing of a discrete Wi-Fi 7 controller with a Realtek 5Gb Ethernet controller (and the first AM5 board we've come across with something faster than a 2.5GbE controller).
The audio setup includes a Realtek ALC4082 codec and ESS SABRE9218 DAC supporting high-fidelity sound. The BIOS flashback feature is also a nice touch, and we believe this should be a feature on all mid-range to high-end motherboards, which provides an easy way to update the firmware without installing a CPU. And, as no high-end board would be complete without it, ASRock has put RGB lighting on the X870E Taichi as well.
Ultimately, as ASRock's high-end X870E board, the X870E Taichi comes with pretty much every last cutting-edge technology that ASRock can fit on the board.
Comparatively, the ASRock X870E Taichi Lite is a more streamlined and functional version of the X870E Taichi. The Lite retaining all of the latter's key features, including the 27-phase power delivery with 110A smart power stages, dual PCIe 5.0 x16 slots operating at x16 or x8/x8, four DDR5 DIMM slots, and four M.2 slots (1x Gen5 + 3x Gen4). The only significant difference is aesthetics: the Taichi Lite features a simpler silver-themed design without the RGB lighting, while the standard Taichi has a more intricate gold-accented and fanciful aesthetics.
In terms of availability, ASRock is not disclosing a release date for the board at the show. And, checking around with other tech journalists, Andreas Schilling from HawrdwareLUXX has heard that X870E and X870 motherboards aren't expected to be available in time for the Ryzen 9000 series launch. We will investigate this and contact the motherboard vendors to confirm the situation. Though as X870E/X870 boards barely differ from the current crop of X670E/B650E boards to begin with, the Ryzen 9000 series won't be fazed by a lack of slightly newer motherboards.
MotherboardsSK hynix is set to unveil their first Gen5 consumer NVMe SSD lineup shortly, based on the products at display in their GTC 2024 booth. The Platinum P51 M.2 2280 NVMe SSD will take over flagship duties from the Platinum P41 that has been serving the market for more than a year.
Similar to the Gold P31 and the Platinum P41, the Platinum P51 also uses an in-house SSD controller. The key updates are the move to PCIe Gen5 and the use of SK hynix's 238L TLC NAND. Other details are scarce, and we have reached out for additional information.
| SK hynix Platinum P51 Gen5 NVMe SSD Specifications | ||||
| Capacity | 500 GB | 1 TB | 2 TB | |
| Controller | SK hynix In-House (Alistar) | |||
| NAND Flash | SK hynix 238L 3D TLC NAND at ?? MT/s ('4D' with CMOS circuitry under the NAND as per SK hynix marketing) | |||
| Form-Factor, Interface | M.2-2280, PCIe 5.0 x4, NVMe 2.0 | |||
| Sequential Read | 13500 MB/s | |||
| Sequential Write | 11500 MB/s | |||
| Random Read IOPS | TBD | |||
| Random Write IOPS | TBD | |||
| SLC Caching | Yes | |||
| TCG Opal Encryption | TBD | |||
| Warranty | TBD | |||
| Write Endurance | TBD | TBD | TBD | |
Only the peak sequential access numbers were available at the GTC booth, indicating that the drive's firmware is still undergoing tweaks. It is also unclear how these numbers are going to vary based on capacity. Availability and pricing are also not public yet.
This is a significant launch for the Gen5 consumer SSD market, where the number of available options are quite limited. The Phison E26 controller and Micron's B58R NAND combination is already in its second generation (with the NAND operating at 2400 MT/s in the newest avatar), but other vertically integrated vendors such as Samsung, Western Digital / Kioxia, and SK hynix (till now) are focusing more on the Gen4 market which has much higher adoption.
We will update the piece with additional information once the specifications are officially available.
StorageSamsung this week has unveiled its latest process technologies roadmap at the company's Samsung Foundry Forum (SFF) U.S. The new plan covers the evolution of Samsung's 2nm-class production nodes through 2027, including a process technology with a backside power delivery, re-emphasizing plans to bring out a 1.4nm-class node in 2027, and the introduction of a 'high value' 4nm-class manufacturing tech.
Samsung Foundry's key announcements for today are clearly focused on the its 2nm-class process technologies, which are set to enter production in 2025 and will span to 2027, when the company's 1.4-nm class production node is set to enter the scene. Samsung is also adding (or rather, renaming) another 2nm-class node to their roadmap with SF2, which was previously disclosed by Samsung as SF3P and aimed at high-performance devices.
"We have refined and improved the SF3P, resulting in what we now refer to as SF2," a Samsung spokesperson told AnandTech. "This enhanced node incorporates various process design improvements, delivering notable power, performance, and area (PPA) benefits."
| Samsung Foundry for Leading-Edge Nodes Announced on June 12, 2024 Compiled by AnandTech |
||||||||
| HVM Start | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2027 | ||
| Process | SF3E | SF3 | SF2 (aka SF3P) |
SF2P/SF2X | SF2Z | SF1.4 | ||
| FET | GAAFET | |||||||
| Power Delivery | Frontside | Backside (BSPDN) | ? | |||||
| EUV | 0.33 NA EUV | ? | ? | ? | ? | |||
This is another example of a rebranding of leading-edge fabrication nodes in the recent years by a major chipmaker. Samsung Foundry is not disclosing any specific PPA improvements SF3P has over SF2, and for now is only stating in high-level terms that it will be a better-performing node than the planned SF3P.
Meanwhile, this week's announcement also includes new information on Samsung's next batch of process nodes, which are planned for 2026 and 2027. In 2026 Samsung will have SF2P, a further refinement of SF2 which incorporates 'faster' yet less dense transistors. That will be followed up in 2027 with SF2Z, which adds backside power delivery to the mix for better and higher quality power delivery. In particular, Samsung is targetting voltate drop (aka IR drop) here, which is an ongoing concern in chip design.
Finally, SF1.4, a 1.4nm-class node, is on track for 2027 as well. Interestingly, however, it looks like it does not feature a backside power delivery. Which, per current roadmaps, would have Samsung as the only foundry not using BSPDN for their first 1.4nm/14Å-class node.
"We have optimized BSPDN and incorporated it for the first time in the SF2Z node we announced today," the spokesperso... Semiconductors
During Computex 2024, ASRock held an event to unveil some of its upcoming X870E motherboards, designed for AMD's Zen 5-based Ryzen 9000 series processors. ASRock's announcement includes a pair of Taichi-branded boards, the X870E Taichi and the lighter X870E Taichi lite, which uses AMD's X870E (Promontory 21) chipset for AM5.
The current flagship model announced from ASRock's X870E line-up for Ryzen 9000 is the ASRock X870E Taichi. ASRock is advertising a large 27-phase power delivery through 110A SPS, suggesting this board is designed for overclockers and all-around power users. Two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots (operating in either x16/x0 or x8/x8) provide high-speed bandwidth for cutting-edge graphics cards and other devices. Meanwhile, ASRock has gone with 4 DIMM slots on this board, so system builders will be able to max out the board's memory capacity at the cost of bandwidth.
The storage offering is impressive; besides the obligatory PCIe Gen5 x4 M.2 slot (Blazing M.2), ASRock has outfit the board with another three PCIe Gen4 x4 (Hyper) M.2 slots. Also present are two USB4 Type-C ports for high-bandwidth external I/O, while networking support is a solid pairing of a discrete Wi-Fi 7 controller with a Realtek 5Gb Ethernet controller (and the first AM5 board we've come across with something faster than a 2.5GbE controller).
The audio setup includes a Realtek ALC4082 codec and ESS SABRE9218 DAC supporting high-fidelity sound. The BIOS flashback feature is also a nice touch, and we believe this should be a feature on all mid-range to high-end motherboards, which provides an easy way to update the firmware without installing a CPU. And, as no high-end board would be complete without it, ASRock has put RGB lighting on the X870E Taichi as well.
Ultimately, as ASRock's high-end X870E board, the X870E Taichi comes with pretty much every last cutting-edge technology that ASRock can fit on the board.
Comparatively, the ASRock X870E Taichi Lite is a more streamlined and functional version of the X870E Taichi. The Lite retaining all of the latter's key features, including the 27-phase power delivery with 110A smart power stages, dual PCIe 5.0 x16 slots operating at x16 or x8/x8, four DDR5 DIMM slots, and four M.2 slots (1x Gen5 + 3x Gen4). The only significant difference is aesthetics: the Taichi Lite features a simpler silver-themed design without the RGB lighting, while the standard Taichi has a more intricate gold-accented and fanciful aesthetics.
In terms of availability, ASRock is not disclosing a release date for the board at the show. And, checking around with other tech journalists, Andreas Schilling from HawrdwareLUXX has heard that X870E and X870 motherboards aren't expected to be available in time for the Ryzen 9000 series launch. We will investigate this and contact the motherboard vendors to confirm the situation. Though as X870E/X870 boards barely differ from the current crop of X670E/B650E boards to begin with, the Ryzen 9000 series won't be fazed by a lack of slightly newer motherboards.
MotherboardsThe PCI-SIG sends word over this morning that the special interest group has completed their development efforts on the group’s new PCI-Express cabling standard, CopprLink. Designed to go hand-in-hand with PCIe 5.0 and PCIe 6.0, CopprLink defines both internal and external copper cabling for the latest PCIe standards, giving system vendors and assemblers the ability to use wires to connect devices within a system, or even whole systems.
The CopprLink standard is, in practice, a pair of standards sharing the same brand-name under the PCI-SIG umbrella. The internal standard, “CopprLink Internal Cable”, is designed to allow for a new generation of PCIe cables up to 1 meter in length that are capable of sustaining PCIe 5.0 and PCIe 6.0 signaling. Internal CopprLink effectively supplants a host of older internal PCIe cabling standards (including the abandoned OCuLink), which were originally designed for earlier generations of PCIe signaling.
At a high level, internal CopprLink is intended to provide not only host-to-device connectivity, but even more transparent backhaul applications such as motherboard-to-backplane connectivity, and unique applications such as chip-to-chip PCIe connections. In other words, CopprLink allows for cabled PCIe to be used in almost any situation where a PCIe connection needs to be established within a system. Strictly speaking, CopprLink doesn't replace the PCIe CEM connector in any way – but the relatively thick copper cables have less signal loss than PCB traces, making a cabled standard extremely useful even for internal connections. PCI-SIG sees CopprLink cables taking hold in the storage and data center markets, product categories where we already see PCIe cabling in use today.
The companion connector standard for internal CopprLink is the SNIA-developed SFF-TA-1016 connector, which bears more than a passing resemblance to the widely-used SFF-8654 (SlimSAS) connector. SFF-TA-1016 is available in x4, x8, and x16 configurations, and while the PCI-SIG doesn’t go so far as to defining widths within their own standard, the connectors available paint a clear picture of the options at hand. Internal CopprLink x4 should be especially popular with storage, as we already see today.

Top: SFF-TA-1016 Family of Connectors (Figure 4-1, Image Courtesy SNIA)
Bottom: Sample SFF-TA-1016 x4 Contact Plug and Recepticle (Figure 4-2, Image Courtesy SNIA)

Meanwhile, the group has also developed an external cabling standard to cover those same PCIe 5.0/6.0 data rates. External CopprLink cables can go up to 2 meters, allowing for board-to-board connections within a rack, and even short rack-to-rack PCIe connections.
The external version of CopprLink also uses a more robust connector, relying on SNIA’s SFF-TA-1032 standard. Like internal/1016, this is available with x4, x8, and x16 configurations, using 44, 68, and 120 positions/pins respectively. The PCI-SIG is expecting this version of the standard to be primarily adopted by the AI/Machine Learning markets, which need to move heaps of data between systems. Notably, however, they don’t really expect the storage market to make use of this spec – instead, they’ll be served by an updated version of the classic PCI Express External Cabling standard.

SFF-TA-1032 x16 Plug and Connector (Figure 4-1, Image Courtesy SNIA)
Finally, a bit farther out on the group’s roadmap, PIG-SIG is al... PCIe
SK hynix this week reported its financial results for the second quarter, as well as offering a glimpse at its plans for the coming quarters. Notably among the company's plans for the year is the release of a SK hynix-branded 60 TB SSD, which will mark the firm's entry into the ultra-premium enterprise SSD league.
"SK hynix plans to expand sales of high-capacity eSSD and lead the market in the second half with 60TB products, expecting eSSD sales to be more than quadrupled compared to last year," a statement by SK hynix reads.
Currently there are only two standard form-factor 61.44 TB SSDs on the market: the Solidigm D5-P5336 (U.2/15mm and E1.L), and the Samsung BM1743 (U.2/15mm and E3.S). Both are built from a proprietary controller (Solidigm's controller still carries an Intel logotype) with a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface and use QLC NAND for storage.
SK hynix's brief mention of the drive means that tere aren't any formal specifications or capabilities to discuss just yet. But it is reasonable to assume that the company will use its own QLC memory for their ultra-high-capacity drives. What's more intriguing are which controller the company plans to use and how it is going to position its 60 TB-class SSD.
Internally, SK hynix has access to multiple controller teams, both of which have the expertise to develop an enterprise-grade controller suitable for a 60 TB drive. SK hynix technically owns Solidigm, the former Intel SSD and NAND unit, giving SK hynix the option of using Solidigm's controller, or even reselling a rebadged D5-P5336 outright. Alternatively, SK hynix has their own (original) internal SSD team, who is responsible for building their well-received Aries SSD controller, among other works.
Ultra-high-capacity SSDs for performance demanding read-intensive storage applications, such as AI inference on the edge or content delivery networks, is a promising premium market. So SK hynix is finding itself highly incentivized to enter it with a compelling offering.
SSDsWhen Western Digital introduced its Ultrastar DC SN861 SSDs earlier this year, the company did not disclose which controller it used for these drives, which made many observers presume that WD was using an in-house controller. But a recent teardown of the drive shows that is not the case; instead, the company is using a controller from Fadu, a South Korean company founded in 2015 that specializes on enterprise-grade turnkey SSD solutions.
The Western Digital Ultrastar DC SN861 SSD is aimed at performance-hungry hyperscale datacenters and enterprise customers which are adopting PCIe Gen5 storage devices these days. And, as uncovered in photos from a recent Storage Review article, the drive is based on Fadu's FC5161 NVMe 2.0-compliant controller. The FC5161 utilizes 16 NAND channels supporting an ONFi 5.0 2400 MT/s interface, and features a combination of enterprise-grade capabilities (OCP Cloud Spec 2.0, SR-IOV, up to 512 name spaces for ZNS support, flexible data placement, NVMe-MI 1.2, advanced security, telemetry, power loss protection) not available on other off-the-shelf controllers – or on any previous Western Digital controllers.
The Ultrastar DC SN861 SSD offers sequential read speeds up to 13.7 GB/s as well as sequential write speeds up to 7.5 GB/s. As for random performance, it boasts with an up to 3.3 million random 4K read IOPS and up to 0.8 million random 4K write IOPS. The drives are available in capacities between 1.6 TB and 7.68 TB with one or three drive writes per day (DWPD) over five years rating as well as in U.2 and E1.S form-factors.
While the two form factors of the SN861 share a similar technical design, Western Digital has tailored each version for distinct workloads: the E1.S supports FDP and performance enhancements specifically for cloud environments. By contrast, the U.2 model is geared towards high-performance enterprise tasks and emerging applications like AI.
Without any doubts, Western Digital's Ultrastar DC SN861 is a feature-rich high-performance enterprise-grade SSD. It has another distinctive feature: a 5W idle power consumption, which is rather low by the standards of enterprise-grade drives (e.g., it is 1W lower compared to the SN840). While the difference with predecessors may be just 1W, hyperscalers deploy thousands of drives and for their TCO every watt counts.
Western Digital's Ultrastar DC SN861 SSDs are now available for purchase to select customers (such as Meta) and to interested parties. Prices are unknown, but they will depend on such factors as volumes.
Sources: Fadu, Storage Review
StorageSK hynix is set to unveil their first Gen5 consumer NVMe SSD lineup shortly, based on the products at display in their GTC 2024 booth. The Platinum P51 M.2 2280 NVMe SSD will take over flagship duties from the Platinum P41 that has been serving the market for more than a year.
Similar to the Gold P31 and the Platinum P41, the Platinum P51 also uses an in-house SSD controller. The key updates are the move to PCIe Gen5 and the use of SK hynix's 238L TLC NAND. Other details are scarce, and we have reached out for additional information.
| SK hynix Platinum P51 Gen5 NVMe SSD Specifications | ||||
| Capacity | 500 GB | 1 TB | 2 TB | |
| Controller | SK hynix In-House (Alistar) | |||
| NAND Flash | SK hynix 238L 3D TLC NAND at ?? MT/s ('4D' with CMOS circuitry under the NAND as per SK hynix marketing) | |||
| Form-Factor, Interface | M.2-2280, PCIe 5.0 x4, NVMe 2.0 | |||
| Sequential Read | 13500 MB/s | |||
| Sequential Write | 11500 MB/s | |||
| Random Read IOPS | TBD | |||
| Random Write IOPS | TBD | |||
| SLC Caching | Yes | |||
| TCG Opal Encryption | TBD | |||
| Warranty | TBD | |||
| Write Endurance | TBD | TBD | TBD | |
Only the peak sequential access numbers were available at the GTC booth, indicating that the drive's firmware is still undergoing tweaks. It is also unclear how these numbers are going to vary based on capacity. Availability and pricing are also not public yet.
This is a significant launch for the Gen5 consumer SSD market, where the number of available options are quite limited. The Phison E26 controller and Micron's B58R NAND combination is already in its second generation (with the NAND operating at 2400 MT/s in the newest avatar), but other vertically integrated vendors such as Samsung, Western Digital / Kioxia, and SK hynix (till now) are focusing more on the Gen4 market which has much higher adoption.
We will update the piece with additional information once the specifications are officially available.
StorageSamsung this week has unveiled its latest process technologies roadmap at the company's Samsung Foundry Forum (SFF) U.S. The new plan covers the evolution of Samsung's 2nm-class production nodes through 2027, including a process technology with a backside power delivery, re-emphasizing plans to bring out a 1.4nm-class node in 2027, and the introduction of a 'high value' 4nm-class manufacturing tech.
Samsung Foundry's key announcements for today are clearly focused on the its 2nm-class process technologies, which are set to enter production in 2025 and will span to 2027, when the company's 1.4-nm class production node is set to enter the scene. Samsung is also adding (or rather, renaming) another 2nm-class node to their roadmap with SF2, which was previously disclosed by Samsung as SF3P and aimed at high-performance devices.
"We have refined and improved the SF3P, resulting in what we now refer to as SF2," a Samsung spokesperson told AnandTech. "This enhanced node incorporates various process design improvements, delivering notable power, performance, and area (PPA) benefits."
| Samsung Foundry for Leading-Edge Nodes Announced on June 12, 2024 Compiled by AnandTech |
||||||||
| HVM Start | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2027 | ||
| Process | SF3E | SF3 | SF2 (aka SF3P) |
SF2P/SF2X | SF2Z | SF1.4 | ||
| FET | GAAFET | |||||||
| Power Delivery | Frontside | Backside (BSPDN) | ? | |||||
| EUV | 0.33 NA EUV | ? | ? | ? | ? | |||
This is another example of a rebranding of leading-edge fabrication nodes in the recent years by a major chipmaker. Samsung Foundry is not disclosing any specific PPA improvements SF3P has over SF2, and for now is only stating in high-level terms that it will be a better-performing node than the planned SF3P.
Meanwhile, this week's announcement also includes new information on Samsung's next batch of process nodes, which are planned for 2026 and 2027. In 2026 Samsung will have SF2P, a further refinement of SF2 which incorporates 'faster' yet less dense transistors. That will be followed up in 2027 with SF2Z, which adds backside power delivery to the mix for better and higher quality power delivery. In particular, Samsung is targetting voltate drop (aka IR drop) here, which is an ongoing concern in chip design.
Finally, SF1.4, a 1.4nm-class node, is on track for 2027 as well. Interestingly, however, it looks like it does not feature a backside power delivery. Which, per current roadmaps, would have Samsung as the only foundry not using BSPDN for their first 1.4nm/14Å-class node.
"We have optimized BSPDN and incorporated it for the first time in the SF2Z node we announced today," the spokesperso... Semiconductors
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