History of the Microprocessor, Part 3

As we celebrate the anniversary of the Intel 4004, this article extends our microprocessor history by covering the top trends from the past decade, including the rise of AI, Nvidia, processor startups, and RISC-V.
16Nov

50 Billion Transistors in 50 Years

Microprocessors have improved by seven orders of magnitude—from 2,300 to 54 billion transistors—in only five decades. To illustrate these changes, we highlight a handful of industry-defining products.
16Nov

Apple Scales M1 GPU to the Max

Apple’s M1 Max processor delivers a massive boost in integrated-graphics performance compared with the original M1, offering throughput similar to that of Nvidia’s top-end laptop GPU card.
16Nov

Pixel 6 Packs Semicustom Processor

For the first time, Google designed the main processor in its flagship smartphone. The Tensor SoC is based on a Samsung design but integrates Google’s AI accelerator and image processor (ISP).
09Nov

R-Car S4 Boosts Connected-Car Safety

The Renesas R-Car S4 serves as a vehicle’s central networking hub, but it also integrates ASIL-capable application CPUs, real-time CPUs, and safety microcontrollers along with multiple hardware security features.
09Nov

Alder Lake Steals Gaming-CPU Crown

Intel’s Core i9-12900K chip delivers a double-digit performance advantage over AMD’s fastest Ryzen processor. To do so, it runs at a sweltering 241W while using new superfast DDR5 DRAM.
02Nov

Marvell 5nm Switch Handles 5G RAN

Marvell’s first Ethernet switch built in 5nm technology is for carrier access rather than data centers. The Prestera DX7321 joins the DX73xx family, which handles Ethernet speeds up to 400Gbps.
02Nov

Apple A15 Extends Battery Life

The new A15 processor doubles its system cache to an industry-leading 32MB and drives double-digit performance gains across the CPU, GPU, and AI engine, while boosting battery life.
26Oct