Pemalite said:
Not always.
For instance, a new fabrication process can be more expensive than an old one, that's why low-end PC GPU's are in some cases... Still using 40nm rather than 28nm, there isn't much wiggle room when a Graphics card is only costing $20.
Another example is that Intel's new 14nm process node is now at a point where it's a viable alternative to 22nm cost wise due to yields now being in an acceptable range.
Plus a new fabrication process could introduce new leakage problems, which can drive up heat and power consumption.
It's actually not as black and white as one would think.
The Xbox One could actually get smaller without the process shrink, if only Microsoft would take a page out of the PC's book with more exotic cooling, but again... Price, which would be counter productive.
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@Bold That doesn't exactly make any sense ... Unless chip designers want to avoid the cost of redesigning the low end segment or avoid cluttering the foundries newly offered process node with order's of low margin parts so that the volume of high end parts aren't compromised. 28nm is always going to be cheaper per transistor than 40nm and that's the most important quality.
I'm not even sure if Intel's 14nm process node will provide a cost reduction. That aspect remains to be seen since we haven't got our first die size measurements ...
