In half a century, chip technology has undergone a revolution: this journey from the Intel 4004 to Nvidia Blackwell reveals an astonishing 217 million-fold increase in computing power.

The Intel 4004 microprocessor, released in the early 1970s, represented a modest beginning in computing power. Today, Nvidia’s AI-focused Blackwell B200 chip showcases the incredible point reached in this field over 50 years. Indeed, the computing performance between the two chips has increased by a staggering 217 million times.

Looking back at the history of computing needs, humanity actually dealt with numbers much earlier using abacuses and mechanical calculators. However, in the late 19th century, the necessity for complex and large data processing, especially for tasks like census taking, created a demand for speed and capacity. This need led to the first steps in information technology with punch card systems developed by the US government to store census data.

A 270 Million-Fold Difference

Subsequently, in 1971, Intel launched the 4004, commercially the world’s first microprocessor. This chip was initially designed for calculators by the Japanese company Busicom, but Intel saw its potential and expanded its use cases. With its 4-bit CPU, 740 kHz clock speed, 4 KB ROM, and 640 bytes RAM, it was revolutionary at the time.

This processor is considered the foundation of today’s modern devices and opened the doors to modern computer architecture. While processors back then were typically single-function and large, the 4004 made it possible to integrate the entire processor onto a single chip. In the following years, guided by Moore’s Law—which states that the number of transistors on a processor roughly doubles every 18-24 months—the industry rapidly developed. This made processors faster, smaller, and more powerful. In the 1980s and 90s, advancements such as multi-core processors, parallel processing technologies, and multi-threading came into play. These innovations exponentially increased computing capacity.

The current state of affairs demonstrates the magnitude of this development. Today’s most advanced chips, like the Nvidia B200, were compared with the Intel 4004. Particularly striking is the 90 million-fold increase in transistor count. The ability to fit these transistors into smaller areas (transistor density increased 685 thousand times) and miniaturization in manufacturing technology (the smallest print interval decreased to 0.0028 times) enabled astronomical increases in clock speeds (2400 times increase) and, consequently, performance (217 million times increase).

You Might Also Like;

• Is GTA 6 Proof We’re Living in a Simulation?
• The Metaverse in 2040: A Trajectory of Hype, Hope, and the Human Condition
• What Happened to NFT and Metaverse Land Buyers?