Boasting of 'China's CPU'... "Unwrapped, It's Intel" Controversy

China's Semiconductor Self-Reliance Leader CPU
Accused of Repackaging Intel Products
"Physical Design and Performance Identical Including PCB"

A claim has emerged that the central processing unit (CPU) developed by a company once hailed as the leading figure in China's 'semiconductor self-reliance' is actually nothing more than a superficial modification of an existing product from the American company Intel.

On the 30th (local time), according to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP), this claim was first raised by the American hardware review specialist website 'Tom's Hardware.'

Previously, the Chinese semiconductor design company 'PowerLeader' released its self-developed CPU called 'PowerStar.' PowerStar is the first CPU developed purely with the company's own technology by a Chinese firm. Because of this, PowerStar attracted attention not only in China but also overseas. It was considered a 'symbol' that China could procure advanced semiconductors independently without relying on American semiconductor technology.

Chinese-made CPU 'Powerstar' (left) and Intel's Comet Lake CPU. [Image source=Tom's Hardware]

However, Tom's Hardware argued that this product might actually be nothing more than an Intel 'i3-10105 Comet Lake CPU' with only the exterior changed. The basis for this claim lies in the CPU's actual program processing performance test known as a 'benchmark.'

The benchmark for PowerStar was posted on the world's largest benchmark information site, 'Geekbench.' After analyzing this, Tom's Hardware found that PowerStar is almost identical to Intel's Comet Lake CPU.

Regarding this, the media pointed out, "(The two CPUs) have identical physical board designs, heat spreader (a copper plate used for CPU cooling) designs, and printing formats," adding, "Both have the same base clock of 3.70GHz, and the QR code on the upper right of PowerStar matches Intel's."

The media also expressed suspicion about PowerStar's model number '01105,' suggesting it seems like a slight twist on Comet Lake's number (10105). However, despite these various pieces of evidence, the media added that they cannot be 100% certain about PowerStar's true identity because it is difficult to fully trust the system information recorded on Geekbench.

China's Semiconductor Rise
Photo by Yonhap News

PowerLeader claimed at a product development briefing earlier this month that their product could completely replace Intel. The company initially planned to produce more than 1.5 million PowerStar chips annually.

However, PowerLeader itself is not a semiconductor design company. Since its establishment in 1997, it has mainly provided server and PC assembly services and distributed Intel CPUs but has never directly developed chips.

If it is confirmed that PowerStar is indeed a product that merely swapped the exterior of an existing Intel CPU, China's semiconductor rise would suffer a 'second humiliation.'

In 2020, a company called 'Hanxin Semiconductor' claimed to have developed a groundbreaking semiconductor chip with substantial government investment. This chip was named 'Hanxin No. 1,' but investigations revealed it was a fake that scraped off the text on the back of a Motorola product from an American technology company and printed only their own logo.

Meanwhile, China announced the 'National Semiconductor Industry Development Promotion Outline' in June 2014 and established a massive semiconductor investment fund. The fund, jointly invested by the Ministry of Finance of China, the China Development Bank, and China Tobacco, was worth tens of trillions of Korean won at the time.

At that time, Chinese authorities set a goal to raise the semiconductor self-sufficiency rate to 70% by 2025, but achieving this goal remains distant. According to analysis by market research firm 'IC Insights,' China's semiconductor self-sufficiency rate was only 15.9% as of 2020.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.