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Semiconductors Demand 30% Above Supply, 20% Year-on-Year Growth

anandtech.com

21–30 of 170 posts

Re: Semiconductors Demand 30% Above Supply, 20% Year-on-Year Growth

#21
post #18
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean, like manufacturing electronics? It takes about 1MWh to manufacture a laptop, the same energy needed to drive a Tesla for 3000 miles. https://www.networkworld.com/article/2229029/computer-factor...

Since we're trying to use human-understandable units for measuring energy inputs, It's also the same amount of energy that is necessary to boil 600 pots of soup.

That's almost as much soup as I eat in a year.

Re: Semiconductors Demand 30% Above Supply, 20% Year-on-Year Growth

#22
post #15
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean, like manufacturing electronics? It takes about 1MWh to manufacture a laptop, the same energy needed to drive a Tesla for 3000 miles. https://www.networkworld.com/article/2229029/computer-factor...

So probably 10MWh to build a Tesla, before even driving it?

Nearer 25MWh, and that's just for the battery pack.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00078...

Re: Semiconductors Demand 30% Above Supply, 20% Year-on-Year Growth

#23
post #18
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean, like manufacturing electronics? It takes about 1MWh to manufacture a laptop, the same energy needed to drive a Tesla for 3000 miles. https://www.networkworld.com/article/2229029/computer-factor...

Since we're trying to use human-understandable units for measuring energy inputs, It's also the same amount of energy that is necessary to boil 600 pots of soup.

Not much use unless you specify the size of the pot ;)

By my calculation, 1MWh is enough to boil 600 17-liter pots, which isn't very human-relatable.

Re: Semiconductors Demand 30% Above Supply, 20% Year-on-Year Growth

#24
post #23
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since we're trying to use human-understandable units for measuring energy inputs, It's also the same amount of energy that is necessary to boil 600 pots of soup.

Not much use unless you specify the size of the pot ;) By my calculation, 1MWh is enough to boil 600 17-liter pots, which isn't very human-relatable.

We're talking about the full energy budget of common household objects, like laptops, so you need to take into account the inefficiency of your gas stove, as well as the full energy cost of extracting and transporting the natural gas to your apartment.

Re: Semiconductors Demand 30% Above Supply, 20% Year-on-Year Growth

#25

Given the strategic importance of semiconductors and how expensive new fabs are and how long they take to start production (if you start planning a new state of the art fab now it'll take ~5 years before it's ready to produce chips) it seems like perhaps we need to look a public-private partnerships here in the US. The Chinese government is funding fabs. While we tend to be squeamish about such things here in the US,…

Are you saying that Chinese semiconductor companies are outcompeting US semiconductor companies because they have greater access to capital? That doesn't seem right to me.

Re: Semiconductors Demand 30% Above Supply, 20% Year-on-Year Growth

#26
post #24
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not much use unless you specify the size of the pot ;) By my calculation, 1MWh is enough to boil 600 17-liter pots, which isn't very human-relatable.

We're talking about the full energy budget of common household objects, like laptops, so you need to take into account the inefficiency of your gas stove, as well as the full energy cost of extracting and transporting the natural gas to your apartment.

Well then, let's see your working. Gas is really quite efficient in all ways.

Re: Semiconductors Demand 30% Above Supply, 20% Year-on-Year Growth

#27

Given the strategic importance of semiconductors and how expensive new fabs are and how long they take to start production (if you start planning a new state of the art fab now it'll take ~5 years before it's ready to produce chips) it seems like perhaps we need to look a public-private partnerships here in the US. The Chinese government is funding fabs. While we tend to be squeamish about such things here in the US,…

Are you saying that Chinese semiconductor companies are outcompeting US semiconductor companies because they have greater access to capital? That doesn't seem right to me.

I'm saying that the Chinese government has determined that semiconductors are strategically important and is willing to pour yuan into fabs and developing their own process equipment industry. Semiconductor manufacturing is a very capital intensive business and the short-term market view in the West isn't well suited to remaining competitive in that space. Silicon Valley has very little to do with silicon anymore because our markets decided to pour money into other areas where the payoff is quicker.

Re: Semiconductors Demand 30% Above Supply, 20% Year-on-Year Growth

#28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you saying that Chinese semiconductor companies are outcompeting US semiconductor companies because they have greater access to capital? That doesn't seem right to me.

I'm saying that the Chinese government has determined that semiconductors are strategically important and is willing to pour yuan into fabs and developing their own process equipment industry. Semiconductor manufacturing is a very capital intensive business and the short-term market view in the West isn't well suited to remaining competitive in that space. Silicon Valley has very little to do with silicon anymore bec…

Thats great for them and great for US semiconductor companies since we are trading partners.

Re: Semiconductors Demand 30% Above Supply, 20% Year-on-Year Growth

#29
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the same energy needed to drive a Tesla who are the memeticists driving this analagy into our collective consciousness? why is this popularizing? ive been seeing this crop up more and more frequently. it feels a bit like begging the question, except the arguer also holds TSLA

It's just a handy reference for energy usage, and I assume this figure is more readily available due to the car being battery powered. It's a bit harder to work out for an ICE-powered car, as you'd have to calculate the energy required to move the car based on aerodynamics and weight. I have no interest in TSLA stock, nor do I think Tesla is anything like the sustainable future of transportation. I mostly picked Tels…

You can do exactly the same back-of-the-envelope calculation for ICE engines as you did for the Tesla, you just need to know the average fuel consumption per mile and the energy density of gasoline. No need to worry about areodynamics.

Re: Semiconductors Demand 30% Above Supply, 20% Year-on-Year Growth

#30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm saying that the Chinese government has determined that semiconductors are strategically important and is willing to pour yuan into fabs and developing their own process equipment industry. Semiconductor manufacturing is a very capital intensive business and the short-term market view in the West isn't well suited to remaining competitive in that space. Silicon Valley has very little to do with silicon anymore bec…

Thats great for them and great for US semiconductor companies since we are trading partners.

That would be fine if the US and China were great friends and allies - like if it was the UK instead of China that was the semiconductor powerhouse. But things look stormy on the horizon. Even discounting a military conflict with China (not likely anytime soon, I think) an economic conflict seems very possible. As China begins to manufacture a larger share of semiconductors they could easily decide to favor their own internal industries that are customers of said semiconductors and not allow state-of-the-art chips to be sold outside (or to certain countries). We (the US) have done similar things in the past.
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