Chapter 768 An unexpected fire broke out at the Sanhang Electronics Factory
This move indeed surprised Qin Tao.
Yes, Qin Tao was surprised. He didn't know what the other party's brain circuit was. Didn't the other party know that he had the most advanced chip technology in the world?
Lithography giant ASML has not yet emerged. The immersion lithography technology has been mastered by SMIC. Now they are not only a chip production unit, they are also a supplier of chip equipment.
Now, chip manufacturers such as Nikon and Intel have noticed that the real technical route of lithography machines is immersion lithography machines. They want to catch up, but catching up in this aspect will cost money!
Loongson has been selling well in the past few years. When the immersion lithography machine was put into production and its chip manufacturing process became more advanced, it had completely mastered the right to speak. Its chips have first-class performance and high prices.
Yes, the prices are indeed not low, especially those exported chips. Some people even smuggle chips and smuggle chips in the domestic market abroad to make money. It's completely the other way around.
Our prices are high, costs are low, and profits are of course huge. Therefore, over the years, SMIC’s factories have been continuously built and started one after another. The latest factories that have been started are all made with domestic equipment.
He never thought that someone would actually want to start a price war with him!
"Now, the frequency of our mass-produced Loongson-3 is 1.2GHZ. Some players increase the FSB from 100 to 133, and the frequency rises to 1.6GHZ. If we hadn't locked the frequency multiplier, it would probably exceed 2GHZ." Huating , in a certain conference room, Mr. Ni excitedly reported to Qin Tao.
At our side, Moore's Law has expired, because our progress in the chip field is higher than what Moore's Law stipulates!
"The production cost of this kind of chip is probably less than 100 yuan. In the domestic market, our retail price is 1,800 yuan. So for a period of time, many people purchased our Loongson computers and then processed them. To this end, we have done a lot of work and raised the price of Loongson computers several times to solve this problem."
There is no way, there is no one on the market that can beat it!
Taking the most powerful Intel as an example, the current mainstream product is still the Pentium 2 processor, with a main frequency of only 233 MHz, which is one level lower than itself. The Pentium 3 processor is still under development, and it is said that the main frequency can be increased to 1GHZ.
However, by the time their Pentium 3 came out, we had already entered the era of Loongson 4 computers.
"We are currently developing the Loongson 4 processor. The main frequency of this processor will start from 1.7GHZ, and the frequency can easily go up to 2GHZ." Mr. Ni said: "In the field of processors, we have no rivals. "
"Of course, our processor can be developed so quickly without the foundry of SMIC. Their production technology is very advanced. Now, Loongson 3 uses the advanced 0.13 micron technology. This technology makes Our processor generates less heat and can reach higher frequencies."
Relying on immersion lithography machine technology, our chip production suddenly made a big leap.
Looking at our competitors, the 0.25-micron production process is now widely used, and the 0.18-micron production process has just been completed, and there is no mass production yet.
The 0.18-micron production process will allow the processor to finally break through the GHZ mark. Intel relied on this production process to achieve a historic 1GHZ breakthrough on Pentium 3, but now, it has been preempted by Dongfang.
This 0.18 micron process has been used for a long time. Even in the Pentium 4, this process was still used. It was not until the Northwood core Pentium 4 processor that the 0.13 micron process began to be used. This process allowed the processor frequency to reach 3.2 The terrifying heights of GHZ.
Of course, then we began to give up the frequency competition and turned to multi-core.
Loongson currently uses a 0.13-micron process, which can produce high-frequency processors. However, they still use a multi-core solution, and the frequency is not high, but there are two cores built into it, which makes it smoother to use.
Our own 0.13 micron process can be used for many years, but they must not rest on their achievements.
"Yes, we are now developing a 90-nanometer production process. It is expected that after the new millennium, we will be able to perfectly master this production process. By then, it will be matched with the Loongson-4 computer. The processing produced by this process will The processor will accommodate hundreds of millions of transistors, or even two to three billion." Zhang Rujin said: "We are full of expectations for this kind of processor."
“Our technology has developed too fast, right?” Qin Tao asked, “How did you do it?”
Zhang Rujin smiled: "Our company is rich. In addition to investing in building factories, we also poach a large number of people. Now, we have a large number of my former colleagues in our factories."
Now, to say that the strongest one in the field of chip production technology is of course SMIC. This is not only because they have chosen the right technical route, but also because they have recruited talents. The smartest minds in the world who develop chips are all with them. here.
They are certainly making rapid progress.
When Zhang Rujin said this, he found that Qin Tao's face became serious, and asked curiously: "What's wrong?"
“Zhang Gong, I want to make a request to you.”
“Mr. Qin, please speak.”
"From now on, you don't want to go anywhere. You will stay in our country. If anything happens abroad, you can send your men there. Whether it's to discuss business or poach people, you don't show up in person."
Zhang Rujin was even more curious: "Mr. Qin, technology knows no borders. I go to the United States to recruit people so that I can provide them with better treatment."
I don’t know why, but Zhang Rujin’s words about technology without borders made Qin Tao more palatable. The reason is also very simple. When people talk about technology without borders, they use this banner to buy things. To engage in technology, you leave the technology to others to develop, and you just make money. But for Zhang Rujin, technology without borders means that we engage in technology, and other countries should not stop it.
"Yes, technology knows no borders. However, when we become stronger, there will always be red eyes. These red eyes will not think about working hard to develop themselves, but will rob us. Needless to say, European companies may be robbed openly. , we have to be careful.”
Zhang Rujin nodded: "Okay. Anyway, I have no nostalgia for foreign countries. It is naturally the best choice to stay in my own motherland."
“We have a great advantage in the processor field, so even if they want to start a price war, we are not afraid. If this price war is fought, their company will definitely suffer in the end.” Mr. Ni continued.
“No, they will not start a price war with us on processors. If a new battlefield opens, it will definitely be memory.” Qin Tao said.
Although processors are expensive, the prices do not fluctuate much after all. This is not the case with memory sticks. The prices of these things are like riding a roller coaster, fluctuating too much back and forth.
The same memory stick may cost two to three hundred, or it may be one or two thousand! It's just so magical.
If nothing else, take the most common 64 MB memory stick as an example. In 1998, the normal price was about 300. However, in 1999, there was an earthquake in Baodao, and the price of the memory stick suddenly dropped. It rose to 800, and speculators began to appear and stock up in large quantities. As a result, the price of memory modules continued to soar to more than 1,000.
However, in just a few months, supply increased, memory sticks dropped back to three to four hundred, and speculators lost all their money. This is not the worst part. Due to the replacement, SDR memory modules suddenly lost popularity. After DDR memory modules took over the market, the price of 128 MB memory modules dropped to 60 yuan.
That’s right, it’s sixty yuan.
Because it is so cheap, some people even use memory sticks to make keychains, which once cost only one or two thousand! It ended up being a keychain worth a few bucks!
When Mingzhou Group first entered the memory stick industry, it introduced the latest 64-megabyte memory from Sanxing Company. In the past few years, this kind of memory has been the main force, and since Loongson Company has been researching processor technology, it has also There is no brand new memory introduced.
Now, Qin Tao begins to make arrangements.
“Our processors continue to develop, can SDR memory modules no longer keep up with the needs of processors?”
The memory stick currently used is SDRAM, which is the abbreviation of SynchronousDRAM in English. When translated into Chinese, it means synchronous dynamic memory.
And this kind of memory stick will soon be eliminated, DDR will appear, it should actually be called DDRSDRAM, the full name is DoubleDataRateSDRAM, the Chinese name is "Double Data Rate SDRAM". However, most people call it DDR for short. In fact, it is not the same word as DR after SDR.
Traditional SDRSDRAM can only transmit data on the rising edge of the signal, while DDRSDRAM can transmit data on both the rising edge and the falling edge of the signal. This means that the transmission speed is doubled. Therefore, DDR quickly occupied the market.
However, before this technical route, there is another route.
That is RDR.
"Yes, the speed of SDR memory will be more and more delayed. Now, Intel is studying RDR technology, which has a broader prospect." Mr. Ni said: "When we consider the Loongson 4 processor, we need to consider It supports the memory module technology route."
“We can’t use Intel’s technology. Do we have our own technical route?” Qin Tao asked.
“Now, the industry also has a technical roadmap for DDR. Simply modifying the SDR technology is enough. However, the development prospects of this technology are limited and it is not optimistic.”
“Then we will take this route.” Qin Tao said: “We must be the first to develop and register the patent. In the future, our Loongson computers will be equipped with this kind of memory module.”
“However, I’m afraid no one will follow this technical route.”
"What are you afraid of? We have the largest market in the world. Whatever route we take, others will have to follow!" Qin Tao said: "We relied on this route to destroy Intel's high-end memory!"
Although Qin Tao is not a professional in electronics, he still knows the basic route. Just look at the memory sticks of his time to know which way is correct. What's more, he still knows some of these things.
This point is even more vividly reflected in the new energy vehicle route of later generations. Islanders shout that hydrogen energy is the ultimate solution every day, so they focus on hydrogen energy and master a large number of patents. In the future, they try to make money by eating patent fees. As a result , no one plays with him.
Are electric cars not environmentally friendly? When I say it is environmentally friendly, it is environmentally friendly. When I say its route is correct, it is correct. Look at my subsidy method! As a result, the islanders had no choice but to follow suit and develop electric vehicles. Unfortunately, they were seriously lagging behind.
Now, the East still has the largest electronics market and chip market. After all, the economy in the East is developing rapidly. In the future, every household will have a computer and everyone will have a mobile phone. What technological route the East wants to develop can be determined by the market!
"Okay, then let's take the DDR route." Mr. Ni said: "Now, we should also devote our efforts to developing memory, and we can't let it hold us back."
“Mr. Ni, what we need to develop is not just processors and memory. In the future, to accumulate strength, we must also research graphics cards.”
“Graphics card? Is that important?” Mr. Ni was a little curious.
In this era, a graphics card is a must and cannot be integrated into the motherboard. However, the importance of the graphics card is not high. After all, computers in the previous era mainly displayed characters, and the graphics card only needed to help translate. Later, there were There is a graphical interface and there are games, but they are all small games. If I tell Mr. Ni that in the future, the processor will no longer be important, and the graphics card will be king, I don’t know what Mr. Ni will think.
Intel, which produces processors, is struggling to survive. Even if it launches a new processor, not many people update it. After all, the computing power of the processor is seriously excessive. However, the importance of graphics cards is getting higher and higher. If you want to play games and have high resolution, you must have a good graphics card. The price of graphics cards quickly exceeds that of processors, and it is getting higher and higher. Become the favorite of scalpers.
Moreover, you can also find other uses, such as inventing a digital currency that can be pursued by countless people, and playing the game of drumming and passing flowers. Although it does not create value, it can concentrate the value in the hands of a few people. For another example, when it comes to artificial intelligence, the graphics card has completely trampled on the processor.
At this time, Mr. Ni did not understand.
"Yes, it is very important." Qin Tao said: "Especially the 3D accelerator card, it is even more important."
For a long time, the graphics card industry was dominated by 2D graphics cards, which only displayed flat images. In the era of word processing, this was fine, but in the era of graphical interfaces, it began to lag behind.
Therefore, various graphics card manufacturers have begun to tinker with 3D accelerator cards, and a large number of manufacturers have emerged, making the entire graphics card industry prosperous.
3dfx, Matrox, S3, Trident, SiS, NVIDIA, and ATI are among the countless graphics card giants vying for it, and it feels like a hundred flowers blooming.
Looking at future generations, Lao Huang can cut whatever he wants. There is no manufacturer that can compete with NVDIA. What are those manufacturers doing?
Of course, it means bankruptcy of bankruptcy, and acquisition of acquisition.
“By the way, I heard that 3dfx, the current leader in the graphics card market, is going to make a big move.” Speaking of this, Mr. Ni had something in mind.
The current leader in this market is 3dfx, but no one expected that the largest graphics card manufacturer at its peak would kill itself.
“Yes, they are negotiating with the board supplier STB. After the acquisition is completed, they will take back the property rights of their most profitable Voodooing chip and produce and sell it themselves.” Zhang Rujin knew more about the inside story and said.
"A manufacturer that only wants to eat its own meat and refuses to share it with others cannot be strong." Qin Tao said: "I think we can start with 3dfx."
It’s okay to offend one or two partners, but if the largest 3dfx does this, it will destroy the jobs of all the partner board suppliers. It’s a damned thing if they can succeed!
Qin Tao's guess is reasonable. After STB was acquired, the board suppliers that originally cooperated with 3dfx, including ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, Leadtek, Innovation, Diamond, etc., are no longer available. Can switch to the arms of other manufacturers, such as NVDIA.
After acquiring STB, 3dfx got into chaos. It was not easy to integrate the production of a board. After all, what they were good at was making chips. As a result, the production of boards was delayed and it delayed their own research and development. In the end, NVDIA caught up, and as a result, NVDIA acquired 3dfx just a year later.
Originally, the purpose of acquiring other manufacturers was to strengthen itself, but 3dfx was really the first to go bankrupt due to acquisitions.
"Mr. Qin, did you predict that 3dfx would be in civil unrest? Let's acquire this manufacturer?" Ni Lao opened his eyes wide.
Qin Tao shook his head: "They will definitely be in chaos, but since it is not our turn to acquire, we will take this opportunity to recruit a group of people who are engaged in graphics cards to form our graphics card R&D team."
Mingzhou Group has grown, so it is no longer possible to open up the acquisition of other manufacturers, don't even think about it.
As long as there is a rumor, someone will come out to stop it.
Many processor manufacturers enter the field of graphics cards through acquisitions. Whether it is Intel or AMD, they all follow this route. However, they are all American companies. They can acquire whatever they want, and no one will stop them. That won’t work.
Qin Tao knows how difficult the road ahead will be, so he doesn’t even dream about things that are impossible to achieve.
However, although you can’t acquire it, you can just recruit a group of people! After all, talent is the most important.
At this time, after hearing what Qin Tao said, the two of them nodded. They were also the most familiar with poaching people.
"The matter of poaching people should be left to my subordinates and done in secret. Don't go out." Qin Tao gave another instruction.
Processor, memory, graphics card, you can do these by yourself, what else is restricted?
The motherboard chipset is supplied by VIA. This company is now prosperous and suffers both losses and losses. It will definitely withstand the pressure. If they go bankrupt, even all their teams can directly enter Loongson and China. Chip International, this will allow the domestic chip industry to continue to grow.
"Now, we are left with hard drives that we cannot produce ourselves. However, several hard drive manufacturers have emerged in our country. If other major manufacturers do not sell us hard drives, then we will supply our own domestic hard drives." Mr. Ni said.
Speaking of hard drives, Seagate and Western Digital definitely have a monopoly position. At most, Toshiba can be added to the mix. After monopolizing the market, they can do whatever they want. If they feel that the price of hard drives is too low, they will create some crises, such as Talking about the flood in Siam, it only happened in a few days, but the price of mechanical hard drives just can’t come down and remains high. For another example, in an era when digital currencies are prevalent, a digital currency suddenly comes out and says that hard drives should be used in large quantities. As a result, the price of hard drives has dropped.
In fact, in the early 21st century, there were still many hard drive manufacturers.
Seagate, Western Digital, IBM, Samsung, Maxtor, Quantum, Fujitsu and many other manufacturers compete in the hard drive market. At the same time, there are also a series of domestic hard drives, such as "Great Wall, Yituo, State-owned", etc. However, due to competition in the ruthless market, many manufacturers have been acquired.
For example, in 2000, Quantum was acquired by Maxtor; in 2002, IBM was acquired by Hitachi; in 2005, Seagate acquired Maxtor; in 2009, Toshiba acquired Fujitsu; in 2011, Seagate acquired Samsung; in 2011, Seagate acquired Hitachi... Domestic hard drive manufacturers , and cannot escape this fate.
Qin Tao nodded: "As long as the performance of our domestic products meets the standards, our Loongson computers can be equipped with domestic hard drives. If we don't support domestic hard drives, who else will support them? We must make our domestic hard drives stronger!"
The two nodded.
The saying that science and technology has no borders can only be said when you have mastered the entire industrial chain. We advocate that technology has no borders, so other countries don’t need to study it, they just need to use ours!
After the meeting, when Qin Tao came out, Xu Zhengyang whispered in his ear: "Mr. Qin, everything has been arranged."
Qin Tao nodded, trying to saturate the market and lower prices through mass production? Hahaha, let me show you how to rise against the trend!
Three rows of electrons.
“Now, we need to start working at full speed to produce memory chips, suspend all other projects, and produce memory chips together along the entire production line.” Mr. Li told those present.
Yin Jinlong's face was extremely ugly: "Mr. Li, we have already made no money on memory chips. Now, if we continue to increase the production of memory chips, we will lose money. Do we really want to do this?"
In the 1990s, Sanxing Electronics was developing rapidly. They first targeted the field of memory chips. They poached Toshiba's engineers with high salaries and guided their production. They even offered compensation to those engineers who were unwilling to give up Toshiba. , The flying guy came over to give guidance. As long as the **** dances well, there is no corner that cannot be dug down.
Toshiba's memory is gradually falling behind, and Sanxing Electronics has grown stronger. When they first developed 64 MB memory, it meant that they were at the forefront in this field.
But what next?
Exporting 64 MB memory and 0.25 micron technology to the East is definitely the worst decision they have ever made!
Dongfang has mastered the production process, and Dongfang began to improve it. Now, Dongfang is the leader in the field of memory chips, and their three-line electronics is in the second echelon!
Let them increase the production of memory chips, drive down the price of chips in the East, and hit the profits of the East. This is definitely an act that kills one thousand enemies and damages oneself two thousand five thousand.
"Do you think we are willing to do this? If there is no pressure, we are willing to fight against the Orientals?" Mr. Li said with a dark face: "This matter cannot be changed. It must be done seriously. If we don't do it well, our entire three industries will suffer." Electronics may be in big trouble. In addition to us, other memory manufacturers are also doing this."
Hearing what he said, others did not dare to say anything more.
Yin Jinlong looked out the window and fell into deep thought. Suddenly, something caught his attention.
Black smoke, where did the black smoke come from?
No, the factory is on fire!
(End of this chapter)