By continuously upgrading its production equipment to the latest technology, Intel Corp. maintains a low cost per chip of around US$40, according to a report issued by industry researcher In-Stat.
Although Intel sells a variety of chips, including lower-cost NOR flash memory chips and computer chipsets, its lowest-priced desktop CPU (central processing unit), one of the Celeron D series, fetches US$69 while its top PC chip, the Pentium Extreme Edition 3.73GHz, sells for US$999, according to Intel’s latest price list, released on Sunday. The most expensive chip on the list is its premium server chip, the Xeon 3.33GHz, at US$3,692 each.
The world’s largest chip maker is able to keep costs low by continually using more advanced production technology. Semiconductors are carved out of large silicon wafers, thousands at a time, and better technology means more chips can be made on each wafer.
Intel has three factories using advanced 90-nanometer technology to make chips, and it will bring four factories using even smaller 65-nanometer technology on line in 2006, according to In-Stat. A nanometer is a measurement of the size of transistors and other parts that are etched onto chips. The more transistors on a chip, and the closer they are together, the faster the chip can perform tasks.
By making the swift transition to 90-nanometer etching technology, Intel saved about US$1 billion in manufacturing costs last year, according to In-Stat.
Intel declined to comment. The company collects cost-per-chip information for internal use but does not make that information public, said Laura Anderson, an Intel representative in Hong Kong.
In-Stat said its figures were based on its own research estimates and did not come from Intel.