Slashdot Mirror


Andy Grove Says End Of Moore's Law At Hand

Jack William Bell writes "Intel chief Andy Grove says Moore's Law has reached its limit. Pointing to current leaks in modern chips, he says -- "Current is becoming a major factor and a limiter on how complex we can build chips," said Grove. He said the company' engineers "just can't get rid of" power leakage. -- But, of course, this only applies to semiconductor chips, there is no guarantee that some other technology will not take over and continue the march of smaller, cheaper and faster processors. I remember people saying stuff like this years ago before MOSFET." Update: 12/11 22:01 GMT by T : Correction: the text above originally mangled Andy Grove's name as "Andy Moore."

30 of 507 comments (clear)

  1. I remember... by 216pi · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...hearing this news the first time in 1989 and I read it the second time in 1994.

    So. we'll see. I wonder if it now starts applying to graphic cards.

    1. Re:I remember... by Dave2+Wickham · · Score: 4, Funny

      Don't worry; you'll hear it again on slashdot a few more times in the next couple of days.

      *ducks*

  2. 15% ! by nogoodmonkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    The industry is used to power leakage rates of up to fifteen per cent, but chips constructed of increasing numbers of transistors can suffer power leakage of up to 40 per cent said Grove.

    No wonder my laptop only gets about a hour of runtime on its battery. :-)

  3. Great! by Lagged2Death · · Score: 5, Funny

    So, this means that anything that possibly can go wrong no longer will! Hey, I'm all for that!

    What? Moore's Law? Oh. Nevermind.

  4. sure sure... by jfroot · · Score: 4, Funny

    As the submitter eluded to; this has been said so many times before that I simply don't believe it. I remember reading the same thing about 100Mhz being the fastest we could build. Technology will find away as long as people are willing to buy it. And people will be willing to buy it because we all need to run Quake 4, 5, 6 etc.

    1. Re:sure sure... by Sdrawcab · · Score: 2, Funny

      Actually, its more like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

  5. Great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now I can just buy a really fast computer and know that I'll never need to upgrade again!

  6. Newton? by pa3gvr · · Score: 5, Funny

    As long as Newton's law stays in effect I am not to worried.

    BTW do most of the users really need fast machines? I can do all my work without any problems on my 333Mhz PII

    CU :-) Sjaak

    1. Re:Newton? by stratjakt · · Score: 3, Funny

      >> BTW do most of the users really need fast machines?

      Yes. Better, faster, cheaper.

      >> can do all my work without any problems on my 333Mhz PII

      And you could probably ride a horse to work, too. So what?

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
  7. Shucks... by swordboy · · Score: 5, Funny

    I was waiting for the commemorative Pentium XT running at 4.77GHz.

    --

    Life is the leading cause of death in America.
  8. On a related note ... by vasqzr · · Score: 3, Funny


    Intel stock goes down like 50% ...

  9. RMS Goes to the Zoo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    With a twinkle in his eye and a skip in his step, RMS slammed his sky-blue Chevette's rusted-out car door and turned on heel toward the MIT Zoo entrance. Today was a Sunday, and RMS had decided the daily stresses of Free Software, the GPL, and his "crazy" drug habits could go away for just one afternoon while he enjoyed the zoo.

    "That'll be twenty-five dollars, sir," the lady at the admission booth said glumly. She looked at RMS expectantly.

    "I was expecting this zoo to be Free," RMS stated loudly, eyes darting around to gauge onlookers' reactions. There were none: RMS's capital F had went unnoticed. "Can you ensure me that this money will not help fund--"

    The admissions lady cut him off. "Twenty-five dollars, or twenty bucks with a Mr. Pibb can," the lady cut in.

    With a grumble and shake of his beard, RMS handed over twenty five of his hard-earned dollars. Considering that the GPL works to unemploy programmers, one must wonder where this money came from...

    By evening, RMS found himself in front of the penguin exhibit. He felt himself start to sweat, which would have been no surprise-- his thick, full, grizzly beard must be worth a thousand down comforters-- except that he was wearing only a pair of nylon biking shorts and a travel pack around his waist. He stared at his hands. What was wrong?

    "AWWWK!" a nearby bird offered. RMS wheeled in the direction the screech had come from. He was met with the steely, unfeeling stares of a penguin. "AWK! Ooooh God, the penguin said AWK... lord, lord lord, it's LINUX. THE PENGUIN IS TUX!" RMS blurted out. He felt dizzy, and cold sweat now washed over his brittle, hairy chest. He looked this way and that. From nearby a bird again squawked.

    "AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWK"

    RMS ran as fast as his atrophied hippy-programmer legs could carry him, right thru a gate and into an exhibit. He realized what he had done, and before he could turn around, he heard a low, ominous sound. Like the Devil's riding mower. "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" RMS gasped.

    MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

    He was standing in the Gnu section, and it seemed these bull yaks were in rut and ready to mate with the first hairy thing with a hole in its center they found. Bad luck for RMS and his beard. Just then he felt cloven hooves push him down...

  10. DAMN IT! by Nevermore-Spoon · · Score: 2, Funny

    I wanted to live to see 1 atom wide transistors

    --
    I have great faith in fools; My friends call it self-confidence. Edgar Allan Poe 1809-1845
  11. Re:So, back to Don Knuth's Books? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Perhaps we could write code to optimize code, then run that code through the code optimizer?

  12. Re:Moore's Law by Twirlip+of+the+Mists · · Score: 4, Funny

    Oooh, so Mother Nature needs a favor?! Well maybe she should have thought of that when she was besetting us with droughts and floods and poison monkeys! Nature started the fight for survival, and now she wants to quit because she's losing. Well I say, "Hard cheese."

    --

    I write in my journal
  13. Moore's Law Applies to Stories Like This by MattW · · Score: 4, Funny

    The number of stories posted on Slashdot about the end of Moore's Law will double every 18 months.

  14. Re:Andy Moore? by p3d0 · · Score: 3, Funny

    You obviously weren't invited to their wedding.

    --
    Patrick Doyle
    I mod down every jackass who puts his moderation policy in his sig. Oh, wait a sec....
  15. Re:Great! -Murphy by Amazing+Quantum+Man · · Score: 3, Funny

    I think Silverman's Paradox applies here...

    "If Murphy's Law can go wrong, it will."

    --
    Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
  16. Re:"The End" by tigertigr · · Score: 5, Funny

    I predict that, henceforth, these "The End of Moore's Law" articles will double in number every 18 months or so. Eventually all the posts we see on Slashdot will be about The End of Moore's Law. Furthermore, I propose we call this new law Les's Law.

  17. Breaking the law, breaking the law... by Zildy · · Score: 4, Funny

    A law is a law...and it's time corporations were held responsible.

    I expect the Feds to start handing out stiff penalties to processor manufacturers who fail to meet the law's demands.

    --
    Karma: Excer..ex...excellahhh...realll good (mostly affected by drinking not done in moderation)
  18. Materials? What other materials? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    But, of course, this only applies to semiconductor chips, there is no guarantee that some other technology will not take over and continue the march of smaller, cheaper and faster processors.

    I think they will just move away from silicon. Perhaps we have reached the limits of silicon but their is lots of research being done by acedamia and chip manufacturers on other materials.

    With our 4.7 billion junction lightprocessor we haven't experienced any such limitation...

    Oops, I've said too much alrea

    [NO CARRIER]

  19. Re:Hmm.... by ez76 · · Score: 5, Funny
    well, a super-conductor will not be in my computer for a long time since high temp ones operate at 32k
    You underestimate the resolve of overclockers' cooling solutions.
  20. Re:Hmm.... by E_elven · · Score: 2, Funny

    Er. 32k probably referred to kelvins (hint: it's pretty cold). So the solution is to use a lot of MS software and hope the machine heats up to a boiling point :)

    --
    Marxist evolution is just N generations away!
  21. Re:Moors Law by stratjakt · · Score: 2, Funny

    >> I thought the Moors law had something to do with invading Spain, and then sticking around until they got kicked out in 1492...

    Nope, sorry. That was the MOOPs

    --
    I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
  22. Re:Yes... -- was Re:Andy Moore? by poot_rootbeer · · Score: 5, Funny


    Well, don't worry. I'm sure one of the crack Slashdot editors will just go in and fix... oh yeah.

  23. This has to be a classic quote by GroundBounce · · Score: 3, Funny

    The power is largely dissipated as heat. [emphasis added]

    Duh! Funny, I have never seen any (properly connected) microprocessor chip generating much in the way of light , sound, or X-rays. I suppose a teensy weensy amount might go off as RF emissions, but not from the DC leakage current.

  24. Re:Andy Moore? by bobdotorg · · Score: 3, Funny

    Shouldn't that be Andy Grove and Gordon Moore?


    No No No No No! It's Gordon Moore's dorky brother
    Andy Moore

    --
    __ Someday, but not this morning, I'll finally learn to use the preview button.
  25. Re:Yes... -- was Re:Andy Moore? by falzer · · Score: 3, Funny

    Well, the keys ARE pretty close togethor.

  26. Easy Answer by Genady · · Score: 3, Funny

    Just enclose the processor in a static warp field and adjust the speed of light in your new proto-universe. Sheesh, come on people.

    --


    What if it is just turtles all the way down?
  27. Re:Yes... -- was Re:Andy Moore? by foxtrot · · Score: 3, Funny

    Well, don't worry. I'm sure one of the crack Slashdot editors will just go in and fix... oh yeah.

    Usually when folks say "crack", they mean "elite", not as a description of what they must be smoking...