According to a report from Tom’s Hardware, a Chinese computer hardware producer recently introduced a new chip that is suspected to be a rebranded version of an integrated circuit (IC) from Intel Corp.
This suspicion arose after a central processing unit (CPU) benchmark test conducted by Geekbench, an online cross-platform utility run by Primate Labs, revealed that Powerleader’s Powerstar P3-01105 CPUs were identical to Intel’s Core i3-10105 Comet Lake CPU.
China’s history of silicon and scandals
The findings from Geekbench were widely reported by both Chinese and foreign media outlets specializing in computer hardware. If confirmed, this would be the latest scandal to affect China’s efforts in developing domestic chips, following the notorious Hanxin case in 2006.
The Hanxin chip initially celebrated as a project that would establish Shanghai as a leading chip manufacturing centre, was later revealed to involve serious falsification and fraud by Chen Jin, the developer from Shanghai’s Jiaotong University.
Powerleader’s manipulative move
Powerleader, a company manufacturing servers and personal computers since 1997, had previously relied on Intel processors before announcing on May 7 the release of its first-generation Powerstar CPUs.
The company is owned by Shenzhen Powerleader Investment Holding, which also owns the Hong Kong-listed PowerLeader Science & Technology Group Co. Prior to its Powerstar chip development initiative, Powerleader had been using Intel processors for its flagship computer products for a considerable period of time.
Powerleader previously stated that its Powerstar CPUs were built on the x86 architecture and were well-suited for a wide range of applications, including government, education, energy, industry, finance, healthcare, gaming, and retail. In addition, the company introduced desktop personal computers and workstations that were equipped with the Powerstar chip.
These products are manufactured in multiple production facilities located in provinces such as Guangdong, Sichuan, Hunan, Hebei, Guangxi, Shaanxi, Jiangsu, and also in Beijing.
China’s struggle to make their processing chips or CPUs
China has been striving to develop its own ICs but has faced obstacles such as intellectual property (IP) limitations and a lack of locally created instruction set architecture. As a result, Intel’s x86 architecture continues to dominate the computer market, while Arm’s architecture leads in the mobile devices sector.
Chinese companies have sometimes resorted to purchasing chip designs from foreign companies, as was the case with Advanced Micro Devices licensing its Zen x86 processor design to Chinese chip designer Haiguang in 2016.
Fabless semiconductor company Zhaoxin, a joint venture between VIA Technologies and the Shanghai municipal government, manufactures x86-compatible desktop and laptop CPUs for the domestic market.
Additionally, Montage Technology’s Jintide CPUs are based on Intel’s proprietary x86 IP cores, with certain modifications to ensure data-processing security.
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