Microprocessor: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Computer processor contained on an integrated-circuit chip}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}

{{EngvarB|date=June 2022}}[[File:C4004 two lines.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|4-bit [[Intel 4004]] (1971) ]]

[[File:Motorola XC6800A 1.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|8-bit [[Motorola 6800]] (MC68001974)]]

[[File:C4004Intel twoC8086 lines1.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|16-bit [[Intel 40048086]] (1978)]]

[[File:KL IBM PowerPC 601.jpg|thumb|32-bit [[PowerPC 601]] (1993)]]

[[File:Scan des AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7970X 20240407 075.jpg|thumb|[[64-bit]], 32-core (64-threads), AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7970X based on [[x86-64]] [[Zen 4]] (2023)]]A '''microprocessor''' is a [[computer]] [[processor (computing)|processor]] for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single [[integrated circuit]] (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circuitry required to perform the functions of a computer's [[central processing unit]] (CPU). The IC is capable of interpreting and executing program instructions and performing arithmetic operations.<ref>{{cite web |last=Orion |first=Veritas |date=2024-08-23 |title=What distinguishes a microprocessor from a microcontroller? |url=https://www.ampheo.com/blog/microprocessor-vs-microcontroller-comparison |website=Ampheo Electronics |publisher=Orion Veritas}}</ref> The microprocessor is a multipurpose, [[Clock signal|clock]]-driven, [[Processor register|register]]-based, [[digital integrated circuit]] that accepts [[binary code|binary]] data as input, processes it according to [[instruction (computing)|instruction]]s stored in its [[computer memory|memory]], and provides results (also in binary form) as output. Microprocessors contain both [[combinational logic]] and [[sequential logic|sequential digital logic]], and operate on numbers and symbols represented in the [[binary number]] system.

The integration of a whole CPU onto a single or a few integrated circuits using [[Very-Large-Scale Integration]] (VLSI) greatly reduced the cost of processing power. Integrated circuit processors are produced in large numbers by highly automated [[metal–oxide–semiconductor]] (MOS) [[semiconductor device fabrication|fabrication processes]], resulting in a relatively low [[unit price]]. Single-chip processors increase reliability because there are fewer electrical connections that can fail. As [[Processor design|microprocessor designs]] improve, the cost of manufacturing a chip (with smaller components built on a semiconductor chip the same size) generally stays the same, according to [[Rock's law]].

[[File:TI TMS1000NLL 1.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Texas Instruments [[Texas Instruments TMS1000|TMS1000]]]]

[[File:C4004 two lines.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Intel 4004]] ]]

[[File:Motorola XC6800A 1.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Motorola 6800]] (MC6800)]]

[[File:Scan des AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7970X 20240407 075.jpg|thumb|A modern [[64-bit]] [[x86-64]] processor (AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7970X, based on [[Zen 4]], 2023)]]

[[File:AMD Ryzen 7 1800X.jpg|thumb|AMD Ryzen 7 1800X (2017, based on [[Zen (microarchitecture)|Zen]]) processor in an [[socket AM4|AM4]] socket on a motherboard]]

Before microprocessors, small computers had been built using racks of [[circuit board]]s with many [[medium-scale integration|medium-]] and [[small-scale integration|small-scale integrated circuits]],. These were typically of the [[Transistor–transistor logic|TTL]] type. Microprocessors combined this into one or a few [[large-scale integration|large-scale]] ICs. While there is disagreement over who deserves credit for the invention of the microprocessor, the first commercially available microprocessor was the [[Intel 4004]], designed by [[Federico Faggin]] and introduced in 1971.<ref name = "IEEE">{{cite web | url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-surprising-story-of-the-first-microprocessors | title=The Surprising Story of the First Microprocessors | date=30 August 2016 | access-date=4 October 2022 | archive-date=4 October 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004011825/https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-surprising-story-of-the-first-microprocessors | url-status=live }}</ref>

A '''microprocessor''' is a [[computer]] [[processor (computing)|processor]] for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single [[integrated circuit]] (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circuitry required to perform the functions of a computer's [[central processing unit]] (CPU). The IC is capable of interpreting and executing program instructions and performing arithmetic operations.<ref>{{cite web |last=Orion |first=Veritas |date=2024-08-23 |title=What distinguishes a microprocessor from a microcontroller? |url=https://www.ampheo.com/blog/microprocessor-vs-microcontroller-comparison |website=Ampheo Electronics |publisher=Orion Veritas}}</ref> The microprocessor is a multipurpose, [[Clock signal|clock]]-driven, [[Processor register|register]]-based, [[digital integrated circuit]] that accepts [[binary code|binary]] data as input, processes it according to [[instruction (computing)|instruction]]s stored in its [[computer memory|memory]], and provides results (also in binary form) as output. Microprocessors contain both [[combinational logic]] and [[sequential logic|sequential digital logic]], and operate on numbers and symbols represented in the [[binary number]] system.

The integration of a whole CPU onto a single or a few integrated circuits using [[Very-Large-Scale Integration]] (VLSI) greatly reduced the cost of processing power. Integrated circuit processors are produced in large numbers by highly automated [[metal–oxide–semiconductor]] (MOS) [[semiconductor device fabrication|fabrication processes]], resulting in a relatively low [[unit price]]. Single-chip processors increase reliability because there are fewer electrical connections that can fail. As [[Processor design|microprocessor designs]] improve, the cost of manufacturing a chip (with smaller components built on a semiconductor chip the same size) generally stays the same according to [[Rock's law]].

Before microprocessors, small computers had been built using racks of [[circuit board]]s with many [[medium-scale integration|medium-]] and [[small-scale integration|small-scale integrated circuits]], typically of [[Transistor–transistor logic|TTL]] type. Microprocessors combined this into one or a few [[large-scale integration|large-scale]] ICs. While there is disagreement over who deserves credit for the invention of the microprocessor, the first commercially available microprocessor was the [[Intel 4004]], designed by [[Federico Faggin]] and introduced in 1971.<ref name = "IEEE">{{cite web | url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-surprising-story-of-the-first-microprocessors | title=The Surprising Story of the First Microprocessors | date=30 August 2016 | access-date=4 October 2022 | archive-date=4 October 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004011825/https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-surprising-story-of-the-first-microprocessors | url-status=live }}</ref>

Continued increases in microprocessor capacity have since rendered other forms of computers almost completely obsolete (see [[history of computing hardware]]), with one or more microprocessors used in everything from the smallest [[embedded system]]s and [[handheld device]]s to the largest [[mainframe]]s and [[supercomputer]]s.

A microprocessor is distinct from a [[microcontroller]] including a [[system on a chip]].<ref name="Warnes 2003 pp. 443–477">{{cite book | last=Warnes | first=Lionel | title=Electronic and Electrical Engineering | chapter=Microprocessors and microcontrollers | publisher=Macmillan Education UK | publication-place=London | date=2003 | isbn=978-0-333-99040-7 | doi=10.1007/978-0-230-21633-4_23 | pages=443–477 | quote=microprocessor is not a stand-alone computer, since it lacks memory and input/output control. These are the missing parts that the microcontroller supplies, making it more nearly a complete computer on a chip.}}</ref><ref name="Morris 1985 p.">{{cite book | last=Morris | first=Noel M. | title=Microelectronic and Microprocessor-based Systems | publisher=Macmillan Education UK | publication-place=London | date=1985 | isbn=978-0-333-36190-0 | doi=10.1007/978-1-349-06978-1 | page=16 | quote=A microprocessor itself is incapable of performing calculations and requires a support system in order to do so. The CPU support system includes a storage system in which not only the operating instructions but also the data (operands) are stored.}}</ref> A microprocessor is related but distinct from a [[digital signal processor]], a specialized microprocessor chip, with its architecture optimized for the operational needs of [[digital signal processing]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Yovits |editor-first1=Marshall C. |last1=Dyer |first1=Stephen A. |last2=Harms |first2=Brian K. |chapter=Digital Signal Processing |title=Advances in Computers |date=1993-08-13 |volume=37 |pages=59{{hyphen}}118 |publisher=[[Academic Press]] |doi=10.1016/S0065-2458(08)60403-9 |isbn=978-0120121373 |issn=0065-2458 |lccn=59015761 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vL-bB7GALAwC&pg=PA104 |ol=OL10070096M |oclc=858439915 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>{{rp|pages=104{{hyphen}}107}}<ref name="Liptak">{{cite book |last=Liptak |first=B. G. |title=Process Control and Optimization |series=Instrument Engineers' Handbook |edition=4th |year=2006 |volume=2 |pages=11–12 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0849310812 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TxKynbyaIAMC&pg=PA11 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

==Structure==

[[File:Z80 arch.svg|thumb|upright=1.7|AThe block diagram of the[[Computer architecture|architecture]] of the [[Zilog Z80|Z80]] microprocessor, showing(1976) theinternally uses an 8-bit [[Arithmetic logic unit|arithmetic and logic section]], and [[Processor register|register]] file, [[controlbut logic]]accesses section,external andmemory [[Datausing buffer|buffer]]s to external16-bit [[Memory address|addressaddresses]] and data lines]]

The complexity of an integrated circuit is bounded by physical limitations on the number of [[transistors]] that can be put onto one chip, the number of package terminations that can connect the processor to other parts of the system, the number of interconnections it is possible to make on the chip, and the heat that the chip can [[Thermal management (electronics)|dissipate]]. Advancing technology makes more complex and powerful chips feasible to manufacture.

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* Other specialized units exist for [[video processing]] and [[vision processing unit|machine vision]]. (See: [[Hardware acceleration]].)

* [[Microcontroller]]s in [[embedded system]]s and [[peripheral device]]s.

* [[Systems on chip]] (SoCs) often integrate one or more microprocessor and microcontroller cores with other components such as [[radio modemsmodem]]s, and are used in smartphones and tablet computers.

===Speed and power considerations===

[[File:Intel i9-9900K.jpg|thumb|Intel Core i9-9900K (2018, based on [[Coffee Lake]])]]

Microprocessors can be selected for differing applications based on their word size, which is a measure of their complexity. Longer word sizes allow each [[clock cycle]] of a processor to carry out more computation, but correspond to physically larger integrated circuit dies with higher standby and operating [[power consumption]].<ref name="cmicrotek">CMicrotek.

[http://cmicrotek.com/wordpress_159256135/?p=22 "8-bit vs 32-bit Micros"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714123158/http://cmicrotek.com/wordpress_159256135/?p=22 |date=2014-07-14 }}.</ref> 4-, 8- or 12-bit processors are widely integrated into microcontrollers operating embedded systems. Where a system is expected to handle larger volumes of data or require a more flexible [[user interface]], 16-, 32- or 64-bit processors are used. An 8- or [[16-bit]] processor may be selected over a 32-bit processor for [[system on a chip]] or microcontroller applications that require extremely [[low-power electronics]], or are part of a [[mixed-signal integrated circuit]] with noise-sensitive on-chip [[analog electronics]] such as high-resolution analog to digital converters, or both.

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The first use of the term "microprocessor" is attributed to [[Viatron|Viatron Computer Systems]]<ref>[http://bitsavers.org/pdf/viatron/ViatronSystem21Brochure.pdf Viatron Computer Systems. "System 21 is Now!"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110321143159/http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/viatron/ViatronSystem21Brochure.pdf |date=2011-03-21 }} (PDF).</ref> describing the custom integrated circuit used in their System 21 small computer system announced in 1968.

Since the early 1970s, the increase in capacity of microprocessors has followed [[Moore's law]]; this originally suggested that the number of components that can be fitted onto a chip doubles every year. With present technology, it is actually every two years,<ref>{{citeCite FTP journal|last=Moore |first=Gordon |title=Cramming more components onto integrated circuits |journal=Electronics |volume=38 |issue=8 |date=19 April 1965 |url=ftp://download.intel.com/museum/Moores_Law/Articles-Press_Releases/Gordon_Moore_1965_Article.pdf |access-date=2009-12-23 |url-status=dead |archive-urlserver=https://web.archive.org/web/20080218224945/http://download.intel.com/museum/Moores_Law/Articles-Press_Releases/Gordon_Moore_1965_Article.pdf |archive-date=18 February 2008Electronics }}</ref> {{Obsolete source|date=August 2019}} and as a result Moore later changed the period to two years.<ref>{{cite journalweb |title=Excerpts from A Conversation with Gordon Moore: Moore's Law |publisher=Intel |year=2005 |url=ftp://download.intel.com/museum/Moores_Law/Video-Transcripts/Excepts_A_Conversation_with_Gordon_Moore.pdf |access-date=2009-12-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/2012102906005020080218225540/http://download.intel.com/museum/Moores_Law/Video-Transcripts/Excepts_A_Conversation_with_Gordon_Moore.pdf |archive-date=20122008-1002-2918 |url-status=dead |access-date=2009-12-23 }}</ref>

===First projects===

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====Four-Phase Systems AL1 (1969)====

The [[Four-Phase Systems AL1]] was an 8-bit [[bit slice]] chip containing eight registers and an ALU.<ref>{{cite book | page=121 | chapter=When is a Microprocessor not a Microprocessor? The Industrial Construction of Semiconductor Innovation | author=Basset, Ross | title=Exposing Electronics | editor=Finn, Bernard | publisher=Michigan State University Press | year=2003 | isbn=978-0-87013-658-0 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rsRJTiu1h9MC | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330235547/http://books.google.com/books?id=rsRJTiu1h9MC | archive-date=2014-03-30 }}</ref><!-- UK ed. same page scheme--> It was designed by [[Lee Boysel]] in 1969.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.computerhistory.org/semiconductor/timeline/1971-MPU.html | publisher=Computer History Museum | website=The Silicon Engine | title=1971 - Microprocessor Integrates CPU Function onto a Single Chip | access-date=2010-07-25 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608102128/http://www.computerhistory.org/semiconductor/timeline/1971-MPU.html | archive-date=2010-06-08 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://home.comcast.net/~gordonepeterson2/schaller_dissertation_2004.pdf | title=Technological Innovation in the Semiconductor Industry: A Case Study of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors | author=Shaller, Robert R. | date=15 April 2004 | publisher=George Mason University | access-date=2010-07-25 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061219012629/http://home.comcast.net/~gordonepeterson2/schaller_dissertation_2004.pdf | archive-date=2006-12-19 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/hasrg/histsci/silicongenesis/moore-ntb.html | title=Interview with Gordon E. Moore | date=3 March 1995 | ___location=Los Altos Hills, California | author=RW | publisher=Stanford University | website=[[LAIR]] History of Science and Technology Collections | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204045916/http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/hasrg/histsci/silicongenesis/moore-ntb.html | archive-date=4 February 2012 }}</ref> At the time, it formed part of a nine-chip, 24-bit CPU with three AL1s. It was later called a microprocessor when, in response to 1990s litigation by [[Texas Instruments]], Boysel constructed a demonstration system where a single AL1 with a 1969 datestamp formed part of a courtroom demonstration computer system, together with RAM, ROM, and an input-output device.<ref>Bassett 2003. pp. 115, 122.</ref> The AL1 wasn't sold individually, but was part of the System IV/70 announced in September 1970 and first delivered in February 1972.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web| title=Four-Phase System IV Series | url=https://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/datapro/datapro_reports_70s-90s/Four_Phase/M11-435-10_7908_Four-Phase_System_IV.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241231053554/https://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/datapro/datapro_reports_70s-90s/Four_Phase/M11-435-10_7908_Four-Phase_System_IV.pdf | archive-date=2024-12-31}}</ref>

====Garrett AiResearch CADC (1970)====

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{{Further|F-14 CADC}}

In 1968, [[Garrett AiResearch]] (who employed designers [[Ray Holt (computer scientist)|Ray Holt]] and Steve Geller) was invited to produce a digital computer to compete with [[electromechanical]] systems then under development for the main flight control computer in the [[US Navy]]'s new [[F-14 Tomcat]] fighter. The design was complete by 1970, and used a [[MOSFET|MOS]]-based chipset as the core CPU. The design was significantly (approximately 20 times) smaller and much more reliable than the mechanical systems it competed against and was used in all of the early Tomcat models. This system contained "a 20-bit, [[Pipeline (computing)|pipelined]], [[Parallel computing|parallel]] [[multiprocessor|multi-microprocessor]]". The Navy refused to allow publication of the design until 1997. Released in 1998, the documentation on the [[Central Air Data Computer|CADC]], and the [[MP944]] chipset, are well known. Ray Holt's autobiographical story of this design and development is presented in the book: The Accidental Engineer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://firstmicroprocessor.com/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106143912/http://www.firstmicroprocessor.com/|url-status=dead|title=First Microprocessor|archivedate=January 6, 2014|website=First Microprocessor &#124; 50th Anniversary of the Microprocessor 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=World's First Microprocessor Chip Set | last=Holt | first=Ray M. | url=http://www.firstmicroprocessor.com | publisher=Ray M. Holt website | archive-date=January 6, 2014 | access-date=2010-07-25 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106143912/http://www.firstmicroprocessor.com/ }}</ref>

[[Ray Holt]] graduated from [[California State Polytechnic University, Pomona]] in 1968, and began his computer design career with the CADC.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Fallon |first=Sarah |title=The Secret History of the First Microprocessor, the F-14, and Me |url=https://www.wired.com/story/secret-history-of-the-first-microprocessor-f-14/ |access-date=2024-01-21 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028 |archive-date=18 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118132936/https://www.wired.com/story/secret-history-of-the-first-microprocessor-f-14/ |url-status=live }}</ref> From its inception, it was shrouded in secrecy until 1998 when at Holt's request, the US Navy allowed the documents into the public ___domain. Holt has claimed that no one has compared this microprocessor with those that came later.<ref>{{cite speech | title=Lecture: Microprocessor Design and Development for the US Navy F14 FighterJet | last=Holt | first=Ray | date=27 September 2001 | ___location=Room 8220, Wean Hall, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, US | url=http://www.pdl.cmu.edu/SDI/2001/092701.html | access-date=2010-07-25 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001020654/http://www.pdl.cmu.edu/SDI/2001/092701.html | archive-date=1 October 2011 }}</ref> According to Parab et al. (2007), {{Blockquote|text=The scientific papers and literature published around 1971 reveal that the MP944 digital processor used for the F-14 Tomcat aircraft of the US Navy qualifies as the first microprocessor. Although interesting, it was not a single-chip processor, as was not the Intel 4004{{snd}}they both were more like a set of parallel building blocks you could use to make a general-purpose form. It contains a CPU, [[RAM]], [[ROM]], and two other support chips like the Intel 4004. It was made from the same [[PMOS logic|P-channel]] technology, operated at [[military specifications]] and had larger chips{{snd}}an excellent computer engineering design by any standards. Its design indicates a major advance over Intel, and two year earlier. It actually worked and was flying in the F-14 when the Intel 4004 was announced. It indicates that today's industry theme of converging [[Digital signal processor|DSP]]-[[microcontroller]] architectures was started in 1971.<ref>{{cite book | title=Exploring C for Microcontrollers: A Hands on Approach | last1=Parab | first1=Jivan S. | last2=Shelake | first2=Vinod G. | last3=Kamat | first3=Rajanish K. | last4=Naik | first4=Gourish M. | publisher=Springer | page=4 | year=2007 | isbn=978-1-4020-6067-0 | url=http://ee.sharif.edu/~sakhtar3/books/Exploring%20C%20for%20Microcontrollers.pdf | access-date=2010-07-25 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720043756/http://ee.sharif.edu/~sakhtar3/books/Exploring%20C%20for%20Microcontrollers.pdf | archive-date=2011-07-20 }}</ref>}} This convergence of DSP and microcontroller architectures is known as a [[digital signal controller]].<ref>{{cite book|editor=Yovits, M. C.|author1=Dyer, S. A.|author2=Harms, B. K.|chapter=Digital Signal Processing|title=Advances in Computers|year=1993|volume=37|pages=104–107|publisher=Academic Press|doi=10.1016/S0065-2458(08)60403-9|isbn=9780120121373|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vL-bB7GALAwC&pg=PA104|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229031814/https://books.google.com/books?id=vL-bB7GALAwC&pg=PA104|archive-date=2016-12-29}}</ref>

====Gilbert Hyatt (1970) ====

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====Texas Instruments TMX 1795 (1970–1971)====

Texas Instruments developed in 1970&ndash;1971 a one-chip CPU replacement for the [[Datapoint 2200]] terminal, the TMX 1795 (later TMC 1795). Like Intel's later [[8008]], it was rejected by customer Datapoint. According to Gary Boone, the TMX 1795 never reached production. Still it reached a prototype state at 1971 February 24.<ref name="righto_com">{{cite web | url=https://www.righto.com/2015/05/the-texas-instruments-tmx-1795-first.html | title=The Texas Instruments TMX 1795: The (Almost) first, forgotten microprocessor }}</ref> Since it was built to the same specification, its instruction set was very similar to the Intel 8008.<ref name="genie">{{cite book |first1=Frederick |last1=Seitz |first2=Norman G. |last2=Einspruch |chapter=19. The 1970s and the Microprocessor § Texas Instruments |title=Electronic Genie: The Tangled History of Silicon |publisher=University of Illinois Press |date=1998 |isbn=0252023838 |pages=228–9 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IT90cDPh54wC&pg=PA229 |access-date=14 August 2022 |archive-date=19 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219195307/https://books.google.com/books?id=IT90cDPh54wC&pg=PA229 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="shirriff">{{cite journal |first=Ken |last=Shirriff |title=The Surprising Story of the First Microprocessors |journal=IEEE Spectrum |volume=53 |issue=9 |pages=48–54 |date=2016 |doi=10.1109/MSPEC.2016.7551353 |s2cid=32003640 |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7551353 |access-date=14 August 2022 |archive-date=14 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814014410/https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7551353 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Texas Instruments TMS 1802NC (1971)====

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[[File:C4004 (Intel).jpg|thumb|Intel's first microprocessor, the [[4004]], with cover removed (left) and as actually used (right)]]

[[File:Intel_4004_ad.jpg|thumb|Intel advertisement in [[Electronic News]] magazine from 1971 emphasizing the 4004's affordability, compactness, ease of programming, and flexibility.]]

The [[Intel 4004]] is often (falsely) regarded as the first true microprocessor built on a single chip,<ref>{{cite web | title=The Microcomputer Revolution | first=Pamela E. | last=Mack | date=30 November 2005 | url=http://www.clemson.edu/caah/history/FacultyPages/PamMack/lec122/micro.htm | access-date=2009-12-23 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114160413/http://www.clemson.edu/caah/history/FacultyPages/PamMack/lec122/micro.htm | archive-date=14 January 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journalweb | title=History in the Computing Curriculum | url=http://www.hofstra.edu/pdf/CompHist_9812tla6.PDF | access-date=2009-12-23 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719211222/http://www.hofstra.edu/pdf/CompHist_9812tla6.PDF | archive-date=2011-07-19 }}</ref> priced at {{US$|60|1971|round=-1}}.<ref>{{cite web |first=Peter |last=Bright |title=The 40th birthday of—maybe—the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004 |publisher=arstechnica.com |date=November 15, 2011 |url=https://arstechnica.com/business/2011/11/the-40th-birthday-ofmaybethe-first-microprocessor/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106233202/http://arstechnica.com/business/2011/11/the-40th-birthday-ofmaybethe-first-microprocessor/ |archive-date=January 6, 2017 }}</ref> The first known advertisement for the 4004 is dated November 15, 1971, and appeared in ''[[Electronic News]]''.<ref>{{citationCite neededweb|dateurl=Aprilhttps://www.intel.la/content/www/xl/es/history/museum-story-of-intel-4004.html#:~:text=1971:%20Era%20of%20integrated%20electronics,wide%20variety%20of%20electronic%20devices.|title=intel's 2023first microprocessor|access-date=2025-02-05}}</ref> The microprocessor was designed by a team consisting of Italian engineer [[Federico Faggin]], American engineers [[Marcian Hoff]] and [[Stanley Mazor]], and Japanese engineer [[Masatoshi Shima]].<ref>{{cite journal | title=The History of the 4004 | last1=Faggin | first1=Federico | last2=Hoff | first2=Marcian E. Jr. | last3=Mazor | first3=Stanley | last4=Shima | first4=Masatoshi | journal=IEEE Micro | date=December 1996 | volume=16 | issue=6 | pages=10–20 | doi=10.1109/40.546561 }}</ref>

The project that produced the 4004 originated in 1969, when [[Busicom]], a Japanese calculator manufacturer, asked Intel to build a chipset for high-performance [[desktop calculator]]s. Busicom's original design called for a programmable chip set consisting of seven different chips. Three of the chips were to make a special-purpose CPU with its program stored in ROM and its data stored in shift register read-write memory. [[Ted Hoff]], the Intel engineer assigned to evaluate the project, believed the Busicom design could be simplified by using dynamic RAM storage for data, rather than shift register memory, and a more traditional general-purpose CPU architecture. Hoff came up with a four-chip architectural proposal: a ROM chip for storing the programs, a dynamic RAM chip for storing data, a simple [[I/O]] device, and a 4-bit central processing unit (CPU). Although not a chip designer, he felt the CPU could be integrated into a single chip, but as he lacked the technical know-how the idea remained just a wish for the time being.

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The Power4 won "''Analysts’ Choice Award for Best Workstation/Server Processor of 2001", and'' it broke notable records, including winning a contest against the best players on the Jeopardy!<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/watson/|title = IBM100 - A Computer Called Watson|website = [[IBM]]|date = 7 March 2012|access-date = 19 July 2021|archive-date = 19 July 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210719124129/https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/watson/|url-status = live}}</ref> U.S. television show.

Intel's [[Yonah (microprocessor)|codename Yonah]] CPU's launched on Jan 6, 2006, and were manufactured with two dies packaged on a [[multi-chip module]]. In a hotly- contested marketplace [[List of AMD processors|AMD]] and others released new versions of multi-core CPU's, AMD's SMP enabled [[Athlon MP]] CPU's from the [[Athlon-XP|AthlonXP]] line in 2001, Sun released the [[UltraSPARC T1|Niagara]] and [[Niagara 2]] with eight-cores, AMD's [[Athlon 64 X2|Athlon X2]] was released in June 2007. The companies were engaged in a never-ending race for speed, indeed more demanding software mandated more processing power and faster CPU speeds.

By 2012 ''dual and quad-core'' processors became widely used in PCs and laptops, newer processors - similar to the higher cost professional level Intel Xeon's - with additional cores that execute instructions in parallel so software performance typically increases, provided the software is designed to utilize advanced hardware. Operating systems provided support for multiple-cores and SMD CPU's, many software applications including large workload and resource intensive applications - such as 3-D games - are programmed to take advantage of multiple core and multi-CPU systems.

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[[Category:Digital electronics]]

[[Category:Microcomputers]]

[[Category:Telecommunications engineering]]

[[Category:1971 introductions]]