IBM and 45nm Chip Development - MacRumors
Skip to Content

IBM and 45nm Chip Development

IBM and Toppan Printing Co Ltd announced a $200 million deal to jointly develop a 45-nanometer chip making process aimed at production by mid-2007.

Specifically, the companies hope to develop a photomask process, which would be used to etch patterns of integrated circuits onto silicon wafers, to enable early production of advanced 45nm semiconductors.

IBM's PowerPC 970 was initially produced at a 130-nm manufacturing process while 90nm based PowerMacs were introduced in June 2004. Poor 90nm production yields has been cited for delays in PowerPC shipments and development.

Smaller manufacturing processes typically increase clock-speeds and decrease costs for the processors.

Buyer's Guide: Mac Pro (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: Mac Pro

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple's Next Era Begins September 1

Thursday May 7, 2026 10:36 am PDT by
Apple recently announced that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO later this year, after 15 years of leading the company. Effective September 1, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus will become the company's next CEO, while Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors. In his new role, Apple said Cook will assist with "certain aspects" of the company,...
Instagram Feature 2

PSA: Instagram Encrypted Messaging Ends on Friday, May 8

Tuesday May 5, 2026 8:24 am PDT by
Instagram will remove end-to-end encryption for direct messages between users from May 8, 2026. When the date comes around, Meta will potentially be able to see the contents of all messages between users on the social media platform. Encrypting messages has been an optional feature in Instagram since 2023, but in March of this year the social media platform quietly updated a help page to say ...
macbook neo launch day

Apple May Drop Base $599 MacBook Neo as Chip, DRAM Costs Climb

Thursday May 7, 2026 4:55 am PDT by
Apple is considering dropping the cheapest MacBook Neo configuration as one possible response to the rising cost of building the popular laptop, according to Taiwan-based tech columnist and former Bloomberg reporter Tim Culpan. The Neo currently starts at $599 for a 256GB model, with a 512GB version at $699. Writing in his latest Culpium newsletter, Culpan says cutting the entry-level...