Intel Claims 14A Is 15-20% Faster Than 18A—But Much More Expensive

The successor to its current 18A development will reportedly deliver big performance and/or efficiency gains, though Intel has warned the per-wafer cost will increase. But its 18A and soon 14A nodes are at the bleeding edge of silicon performance and capabilities. Intel claims 14A will enable a performance increase of 15 to 20% all on its own, not to mention any architectural improvements from new generations of processors. The more complex the wafer design, the more expensive the eventual products could be. "14A is more expensive than 18A," said David Zinsner, chief financial officer of Intel, at Citi’s 2025 Global TMT Conference.