Probably the KNC design is the only sense that would make sense to have at 14 or 20nm.
It's cheap for them.
It's just an fpga conversion, right?
It's cheap for them.
It's just an fpga conversion, right?
I would be surprised if they didn't do a full custom at this size.
They saved a lot of money/time by not doing a full custom on the 28nm node allowing them to push the money saved/made from being first to produce to the lower node and maintaining their competitive edge as well as being the first on that node as well.
Also to correct you, their last 28nm is standard cell which is one step up from a straight forward FPGA conversion (like eASIC)
I agree with Puppet that the NRE will be very difficult to gather back as the price of ASICs become less and less expensive, however KnC might be in the only position to actually pull this off since they got a slight head start. If they do produce this first, I imagine that any other Bitcoin ASIC Manufacturer would literally be stuck with their 28nm node as the NRE could never be paid for at that point.
Then again, could just be a marketing ploy that other vendors have used to trick customers into thinking the company they chose will stay competitive.
