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Intel Shipped 1 Billionth Computer Chip

murat submitted linkage to a simple little story that proclaims that Intel has recently shipped it's One Billionth Chip. Quite an impressive accomplishment... it took them 25 years to reach the billions, but they estimate that they will hit 2 billion by only 2007.

28 of 350 comments (clear)

  1. 1 billion chips by SpanishInquisition · · Score: 5, Funny

    any beer to go with that?

    --
    Je t'aime Stéphanie
  2. obligatory jokes about intel by rootofevil · · Score: 4, Funny

    blah blah blah 999999999th chip blah blah blah divide error blah blah blah

    all futher jokes are now redundant

    --
    turn up the jukebox and tell me a lie
  3. I'd like to congratulate them but... by frieked · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...Unfortunately their count was thrown off a bit during the early Pentium years... They've really only shipped 999,999,999.999239230823 processors

    --

    I have often regretted my speech, never my silence.
    -Xenocrates
  4. Puts pinky finger to lips by numbski · · Score: 5, Funny

    "But why have billions when we can have.....millions?"

    --

    Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).

  5. In other news... by Loki_1929 · · Score: 5, Funny

    AMD released it's AMD-1Billionth today, which the company states is actually rated as it's 17,275,000th processor.

    --
    -- "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
  6. In other news... by select+*+from · · Score: 5, Funny

    Intel ships its 100th Itanium processor.

    By 2007 it should reach the 200 milestone.

  7. Microsoft launching an investigation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Citing Intel's recent announcement that they have shipped over 1 billion CPUs, and the fact that they have not licensed a billion copies of DOS/Windows, Microsoft has launched a piracy investigation. "It's clear that there are CPU's out there running Windows illegally. The numbers simply do not match up." said Microsoft counsel Mike Rebadow. "We've of course accounted for IBM DOS and DR DOS sold in the 80's, as well as OS/2 which licensed Windows, but that still leaves hundreds of millions of CPUs unaccounted for. Piracy is the only way to explain this."

  8. 8086 not the first processor... by pir8garth · · Score: 5, Informative

    The intel family of PC processors actually started with the 8080. It was released in April 1974 running at 2MHz, and is generally considered to be the first truly usable microprocessor design. It was used in many early computers, and formed the basis for machines running CP/M. The first single-board microcomputer was built on the basis of the 8080. The 8088 was actually released before the 8086, but as the article states the 8086 was developed first.

    --
    Something clever...
    1. Re:8086 not the first processor... by Zocalo · · Score: 4, Informative

      Confused me too, but having actually *read* the Intel PR - it's the one billionth x86 CPU specifically. So that excludes all the other silicon not classed as CPUs as well as other non-x86 CPUs shipped by Intel. They must have shippped a few 10m of the i[89]60 "RISC" chip for intelligent peripherals over the years as well.P. Anyway, you didn't mention the 4004 either... :P

      --
      UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
    2. Re:8086 not the first processor... by rogerl · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The 8088 was actually released before the 8086, but as the article states the 8086 was developed first.

      No, the 8086 did come out first. It had a full 16 bit bus. The 8088 came out later with an 8 bit bus (I think the memory bus, but I am not sure about that) because manufactures were finding it was to expensive to make motherboards based on the 16 bit bus.

    3. Re:8086 not the first processor... by tomhudson · · Score: 4, Informative
      from about.com
      In November, 1971, a company called Intel publicly introduced the world's first single chip microprocessor, the Intel 4004 (U.S. Patent #3,821,715),
      It was used in several computers, including a build-it-yourself from heathkit, that ran payroll packages, and boxes from several other manufacturers.
    4. Re:8086 not the first processor... by Loki_1929 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      This site actually has a lot of good info on the early microprocessors, complete with pictures. They've even got info and pictures of the 4004! :)

      --
      -- "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
  9. Re:Yeah but... by HowlinMad · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well the original had 29,000 transistors, and the P4 has about 55 million... so to sum it up... a shitton (thats is a technical term for the number).

  10. 10^9th CPU by cperciva · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It sounds like this is actually the billionth *CPU* from Intel, not the billionth chip. Intel produces quite a lot of other silicon in addition to the CPUs it is best known for, and I suspect that Intel actually passed the billion *chip* mark many years ago.

  11. Re:Yeah but... by pixelpusher220 · · Score: 5, Funny

    define 'in use'

    I have ancient/old PCs currently serving in a security mode...

    i.e. piled from floor to ceiling infront of the only window with ground access ;-)

    --
    People in cars cause accidents....accidents in cars cause people :-D
  12. More than one per second by suso · · Score: 5, Interesting

    That's more than 1 per second since 1 billion seconds is almost 32 years.

    1. Re:More than one per second by micromoog · · Score: 4, Funny

      Unless you're in England. Then 1 billion seconds is almost 32000 years.

  13. a billion eh? by pschmerg · · Score: 5, Funny

    I hear they're planning on releasing a new chip to celebrate this milestone. The chip will be based on the p4 architecture, and will be known as the p4 Type S. It will feature speed increasing kanji stickers, sporty wing, and a custom fan guaranteed to dull your hearing.

    All these new features will come at a bit more of a cost but are guaranteed to increase your cpu's power by 50%.

  14. According to the RIAA.... by Lord_Slepnir · · Score: 5, Funny

    There have actually been 50 billion chips shipped. "Some of these chips, such as the 3.06ghz, are as much as 100 times faster than others, allowing pirates to encode music 100 times as fast. Thus, for our numbers, Intel has shipped over 50 billion chips" said RIAA president Hilary Rosen.

  15. Re:The article never really said it... by HowlinMad · · Score: 4, Informative

    Probably not. Ripped from intel.com:

    Based on combined desktop, laptop and server shipment data from industry analyst firm Mercury Research*, Intel has shipped over one billion x86 CPUs as of April 2003, roughly 25 years after the debut of the first 8086 microprocessor on June 8, 1978.

    It was from the x86 family. Have a nice day, thanks for playing.

  16. Hmm... they need a new corporate slogan then... by Bvardi · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm thinking they should go with
    "Over 1 billion Server'd" ;)

  17. what about 4004? by eggplantpasta · · Score: 4, Informative
    From the article...
    "Remember the 8086? That was Intel Corp.'s first microprocessor for personal computers in 1978"
    I was sure that intel had a 4004 in about 1971... followed by the 8008 and 8080.
    --
    "Don't forget the prunes." L. Francis Herreshoff
  18. In unrelated news... by kzinti · · Score: 4, Funny

    shipped it's One Billionth Chip.

    In an unrelated story, Slashdot served up its one billionth page containing a CmdrTaco grammatical error...

  19. fun facts by whovian · · Score: 4, Interesting

    McDonalds opened in the Midwest (Des Plaines, IL, acutally) in 1955.

    Their 50 billionth hamburger was served in New York city in or around 1984.

    That's ~30 years, or an average of 1 2/3 billion per year.

    --
    To-do List: Receive telemarketing call during a tornado warning. Check.
  20. Re:AMD effect ... by Loki_1929 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "They had already hit the 2 billion by now if AMD hadn't appeared in the scene as it has."

    x86 wouldn't be the dominant chip without AMD. Intel never would have landed the life-giving government contracts without AMD, as government regulations regarding purchasing required that a backup distributor be available with compatible products in case the primary distributor fell on hard times. Intel should be thanking AMD wholeheartedly for their help in securing x86's, and of course, Intel's future as market leaders.

    --
    -- "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
  21. A techincal Defintion by Lord_Slepnir · · Score: 5, Funny

    Shitton (n.): 1) An ambibously large number, larger than a crapton, but less than a holyfuckton.

  22. Bubba asks about the /. Culture by Arbogast_II · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Am I imagining it, or is it socially unacceptable to say good things about the "Powers That Be" in the IT industry in certain /. circles???

    Now, I have bought many AMD powered PCs, use Linux alot for getting work done, but think Windows is excellent (MS may be dirty dealing, but that's beside my point), and you gotta be blind not to realize Intel has made a gazillion excellent chips, even if like myself, you chose cheaper alternatives.

    It just seems like there are some creepy "Thought Police" types around here anytime something positive is said about corporations like Intel and MS..

    PS, I buy AMD and VIA CPU's cause they are cheap and work, not cause Intel "sux"...

    --


    HenryJamesFeltus.com
  23. Intel Processor Production follows the equation by DotComVictim · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Thus,

    13139006 * e^(.17329 * x)

    Where x is in years is the cumulative output of Intel.

    This allows us to calculate with high accuracy the size of Intel's production line, a secret coveted by industry insiders. Differentiating, we have:

    2276816 * e^(.17329 * x)

    Thus, Intel currently has 173 million processors in various production stages.
    This allows us to calculate another secret, coveted by all geeks - the true value of an Intel CPU.

    Intel's current market capitalization is 141.6 billion US$. Based on their Q1 2003 quarterly report, 53.6% of their cost of production (including R&D and other expenses) goes into the Intel Architecture business unit.

    If we know the size of the production line, the current valuation, and the percentage dedicated to CPU production, we can compute an average valuation for an Intel CPU.

    Each current issue Intel CPU should be worth, on average .536*141.6e9/173e6 dollars. That works out to $438.67 Current list prices for the Intel Pentium III, 3.06 GHz, range from $365-$759.99, with an average price listing of $459.53.

    Conclusion - for every current release Intel CPU you buy, on average you are being ripped off by about $20.86, about 4.75% the value of the product. That is less than sales tax, and doesn't seem like the work of a greed hungry power monster.

    Any similar statistics on Microsoft's product valuation would be highly interesting.