Fifty years ago this month, Intel introduced the first commercial microprocessor, the 4004. Microprocessors are tiny, general-purpose chips that use integrated circuits made up of transistors to ...

The Microprocessor at 50: How the 4004 Changed The World The first general-purpose processor of the modern age came off the line today in 1971 to power a calculator. It changed the world.

The processors in today’s computers have grown tremendously in performance, capabilities and complexity over the past decade. Clock speed has skyrocketed, and size has dwindled, even as the number of ...

If you own a modern computer, it is probably several times faster than the one that landed the first lunar module on the moon. Modern personal computers consist of many components that work together ...

Of the hundreds of components that make up a modern computer, the microprocessor chip consumes the most energy. An essential part of any PC, laptop or mobile device, a microprocessor performs ...

The CPU, or Central Processing Unit, is a key component of your system that enables it to function. Whatever you see on your screen is processed by the CPU. It’s the core of your computer; you can ...

Mark Hempstead owns shares in Intel Corp in a retirement account. He has received federal and industry funds for his research in power-management and computer architecture. Computers’ amazing ...