What is 28nm, 14nm and 7nm in GPU?

[IAEInferno]

What is 28nm, 14 nm and 7nm in GPU?

Is higher better?
What does nm do?

 

[ComputerSecurityGuy]

They're fab sizes. Smaller is generally better. Currently we are rolling from 28nm to 14nm and experimenting with 7nm.

 

[leo2kp]

As stated, smaller is better. It describes the size of the transistors in a processor package. The smaller they are, the less energy they need and the more you can fit on to a processor core, enabling more performance, lower power, and lower temperatures. Sometimes they pack enough extra transistors to make up for the power and heat difference, but the end result there is usually much more performance while using the same power.

 

[IAEInferno]

As stated, smaller is better. It describes the size of the transistors in a processor package. The smaller they are, the less energy they need and the more you can fit on to a processor core, enabling more performance, lower power, and lower temperatures. Sometimes they pack enough extra transistors to make up for the power and heat difference, but the end result there is usually much more performance while using the same power.

So that means a possible 7 nm will have lower temperature and better graphics performance?

 

[Isokolon]

lower temperature, less power consumption, better performance

 

[IAEInferno]

Holy hell is 1 nm possible?

 

[Isokolon]

Holy hell is 1 nm possible?

hard to say.
right now: nope. as we're getting at a size where we're bound by the size of atoms.
but you know, a hundred years ago, people said a car will not be able to drive 100km/h ever
or that a plain would defy the laws of physics and can't possibly work (okay this was more like 150 years ago)
and a few years back it was said that you can't go below 10nm

 

[IAEInferno]

Holy hell is 1 nm possible?

hard to say.
right now: nope. as we're getting at a size where we're bound by the size of atoms.
but you know, a hundred years ago, people said a car will not be able to drive 100km/h ever
or that a plain would defy the laws of physics and can't possibly work (okay this was more like 150 years ago)
and a few years back it was said that you can't go below 10nm

Another future vs present, I hope the Future wins.

 

[ZippyPeanut]

Holy hell is 1 nm possible?

Yes. In fact, Intel is working on their newest processor technology that will use a 5-angstrom fabrication, code named Utopia Lake!

 

[ComputerSecurityGuy]

If you can use carbon nanotubes or graphene I think you can hit ~1nm in theory, at least. But I think that 7nm is going to be where silicon bottoms out, which is good for prices since we will have a lot of very mature fab capacity after that.

Probably going to be years from 7nm to anything smaller.