TSMC vice chairman and CEO C.C. Wei announced the company's plans for 5 nm are on track, which means High Volume manufacturing (HVM) on the node is expected to be achieved by 2Q 2020. The company has increased expenditures in ramping up its various nodes from an initially projected $10 billion to something along the lines of $14 billion - 15 billion; the company is really banking on quick uptake and design wins on its most modern process technologies - and the increased demand that follows.

TSMC's 5 nm process (N5) will use extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) in many more layers than its N7+ and N6 processes, with up to 14 layers being etched in the N5 silicon compared to five and six, respectively, for its "older" N7+ and N6 processes. As the company increases capital expenditure in acquiring EUVL-capable equipment that sets up its production nodes for the market they foresee will just gobble up the chips in 2020, the company is optimistic they can achieve growth in the 5-10% number.

TSMC today announced that its seven-nanometer plus (N7+), the industry's first commercially available Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology, is delivering customer products to market in high volume. The N7+ process with EUV technology is built on TSMC's successful 7 nm node and paves the way for 6 nm and more advanced technologies.

The N7+ volume production is one of the fastest on record. N7+, which began volume production in the second quarter of 2019, is matching yields similar to the original N7 process that has been in volume production for more than one year.

TSMC in its quarterly earnings call expressed confidence in that most of its 7 nm (N7) process production node customers would be looking to make the transition to their 6 nm (N6) process. In fact, the company expects that node to become the biggest target for volume ordering (and thus production) amongst its customers, since the new N6 fabrication technology will bring about a sort of "backwards compatibility" with design tools and semiconductor designs that manufacturers have already invested in for its N7 node, thus allowing for cost savings for its clients.

This is despite TSMC's N6 process being able to take advantage of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) to lower manufacturing complexity. This lowering is achieved by the fact that less exposures of the silicon are required for multi-patterning - which is needed today as TSMC's N7 uses solely deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography. Interestingly, TSMC expects other clients to pick up its N7+ manufacturing node that aren't already using their 7nm node - the need to develop new tools and lesser design compatibility between its N7 and N7+ nodes compared no N7 and N6 being the justification. TSMC's N7+ will be the first node to leverage EUV, using up to four EUVL layers, while N6 expands it up to five layers, and the upcoming N5 cranks EUVL up to fourteen (allowing for 14 layers.)

NZXT and Bethesda Softworks , a ZeniMax Media company, team up again to bring you the fourth entry into NZXT's CRFT series of limited edition licensed gaming gear. Introducing the H500 Vault Boy PC gaming case and optional all-metal cover for the NZXT N7 Z390 motherboard based on the Fallout universe's iconic Vault-Tec mascot. With the H500 Vault Boy, it is even easier to show your Fallout fandom while you and your build weather the apocalypse in the confines of your gaming shelter.

"For our second Fallout entry for CRFT, it was an easy choice to have Vault Boy be the focus," says Johnny Hou, founder, and CEO of NZXT. "He is easily one of gaming's most respected icons and synonymous with the beloved Fallout franchise. This is why it was important we created a case worthy of his legacy and of the hard-earned caps of this dedicated community."

BioWare today is reflecting on both the story and history of the Mass Effect franchise, through an event entitled #ten7. Fire-started by the celebration of ten years since release of the original Mass Effect, BioWare's celebration includes a throwback trailer, an invite for users to perusal The Archive with their in-game choices, and a suite of streaming events for all of the franchise entries, from the original Mass Effect all the way to the latest Mass Effect: Andromeda.

While this celebration of BioWare's IP accomplishments is a welcome sight, it doesn't exactly put to rest fears of an "iced" IP, which has been reported to be the case regarding the Mass Effect franchise. It's a shame that a publisher's pressures towards meeting launch deadlines sometimes goes ahead even at the cost of final product quality. Mass Effect: Andromeda is a perfect example of a good game that died, through massive effect, by word of mouth and a thousand cuts. Let's see where the future takes us in this universe, though I for one am eagerly awaiting for a new installment in this sci-fi setting. You can head over to the source link and scroll to the bottom of the page to take a look at a uber-resolution collage of what BioWare considers the Mass Effect franchise's best moments. You can also check out a 7-minute video, after the break.