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CPU DB: Looking At 40 Years of Processor Improvements

Posted by timothy on from the why-in-my-day-we-didn't-have-binary dept.

CowboyRobot writes "Stanford's CPU DB project (cpudb.stanford.edu) is like an open IMDB for microprocessors. Processors have come a long way from the Intel 4004 in 1971, with a clock speed of 740KHz, and CPU DB shows the details of where and when the gains have occured. More importantly, by looking at hundreds of processors over decades, researchers are able to separate the effect of technology scaling from improvements in say, software. The public is encouraged to contribute to the project."

5 of 113 comments (clear)

  1. An even longer way by hendrikboom · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Processors have come an even longer way wince the days when main memory was on a magnetic drum, and the machine had to wait for the drum to revolve before it could fetch the next instruction. That was the first machine I used.

    1. Re:An even longer way by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 5, Funny

      It could be him...look, he only has a /. ID of 154 and he managed to make Slashcode print it out in binary to boot!

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    2. Re:An even longer way by hendrikboom · · Score: 5, Funny

      How I did that will have to be my little secret.

      -- hendrik

  2. They've come a long way... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... but apparently haven't improved enough to survive a beatdown from /.

  3. Seems rather limited to Intel. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Processors did exist before Intel. IBM, Sperry, Amdal, Burroughs, DEC, Honeywell...

    And the speed improvement there paved the way for Intel.

    for an "IMDB" of processors, it really needs to include others - ARM, AMD (though that might be covered by the Intel) and still others exist. The DSP processors are also significant as many improvements there migrated to other implementations.