Intel Foundry might win the contract to manufacture base dies for HBM4E memory from SK hynix, according to the South Korean Herald. Reportedly, SK hynix is considering diversifying its base die supplier from solely TSMC to a dual sourcing strategy involving both TSMC and Intel, with Intel Foundry potentially securing a significant portion of the contract. As readers may recall, HBM4E memory allows for the implementation of a base die with custom logic, with DRAM dies stacked on top. Until now, SK hynix has only considered TSMC for this application, but now Intel is also being considered.

For instance, customers could implement custom logic like memory controllers and PHYs directly on the HBM4E base die, significantly reducing the area occupied by these components on the main compute chiplet. SK hynix would send the design to Intel, which would then provide these base dies to SK hynix. The South Korean memory giant would subsequently stack DRAM on top. This approach would free up space on the main compute tile in any AI accelerator for more processing units, reduce latency, and significantly improve performance. However, the question remains as to which Intel node would be used. Up until HBM3E, SK hynix used its own nodes to manufacture base dies. However, as those are 10 nm class nodes, customers are now requiring something more advanced.

Much to the chagrin of Arrowhead and PlayStation Publishing, Helldivers 2 fans have been clamoring for resolution upscaling tech for a long time, and it seems like they're about to get what they want, according to an announcement on the game's Steam Store page. On May 27, Helldivers 2 will be getting upscaling support on all platforms where the game is available. This means that PC players will get DLSS 4.5, FSR 4.0.3, and XeSS 3.0, while Xbox Series X|S and PS5 players will be able to use FSR 3.1, and PS5 Pro players get PSSR 1 support.

Furthermore, the announcement reveals that there are other optimizations and features coming to the game to address image quality, frame pacing, and hardware utilization. For starters, the PS5 and PS5 Pro will get VRR to smooth over stuttering and frame rate dips. Variable Rate Shading will also be coming to the game to reduce GPU load, and Dynamic Resolution Scaling for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X will drop the resolution scale in demanding scenes to maintain a stable frame rate. Lastly, Helldivers 2 will get AMD Anti-Lag 2 and NVIDIA Reflex for decreased latency on relevant PC hardware.

Intel's Q3 earnings delivered a solid number, but a few interesting things are happening at Intel's Fabs that aren't related to any leading-edge node production. According to Intel CFO David Zinsner, "In Q3, Intel Foundry delivered Intel 10 and 7 volume above expectations," indicating that demand for Intel's products built on these nodes is significantly exceeding supply. Zinsner noted, "Capacity constraints, especially on Intel 10 and Intel 7, limited our ability to fully meet demand in Q3 for both data center and client products," suggesting strong demand for Core and Xeon processors built on these nodes.

Intel first introduced Intel 7 node, previously known as 10 nm Enhanced SuperFin, with 12th Generation "Alder Lake." However, that is now discontinued and Intel continues to ship 13th Generation "Raptor Lake" and 14th Generation Core "Raptor Lake Refresh" client CPUs on the Intel 7 node. For Xeon server chips, the company uses the Intel 7 node for the 4th Generation "Sapphire Rapids," 5th Generation "Emerald Rapids" Xeon Scalable and manufactures the I/O die for the latest "Granite Rapids" Xeon 6, where the compute dies are made on the Intel 3 node. High demand from the gaming sector for 13th and 14th Gen gaming CPUs, along with strong demand for Xeon processors, has created a manufacturing bottleneck. Intel will prioritize delivering data center products first and gaming products second.