zmatt
The Bulldog
- Messages
- 4,660
- Location
- In an empty Ramen packet
It was a transistor. But Using the same technology I cant see why we couldn't have Desktop cpus running at 50ghz or so.
Clock speeds only matter when you are comparing similar chips, a 2.2ghz Core2duo is faster than a 1.8ghz core2duo. But a 3.4ghz P4 is much slower than both.
Now the big problem With clock speeds is they cause a lot of heat the higher you clock, you can get around this by making shorter and more efficient pipelines, faster micro code, better designed cache etc etc. Intel, AMD, IBM and Freescale are looking into new technologies to raise the clock speeds higher. because there is still a foreseeable advantage whe nyou take an efficient design and clock it very high, you get get the best of both worlds. Things Like the Silicon on Germanium process which IBM used on the 500ghz transistor, Carbon nanotubes. Fiber interconnects and other technologies are suppsoed to be able to overcome the short comings of our current silicon and copper ICs of today.
Even though the design of cpus has changed and the technologies shave improved, we still more or less use the same materials to make cpus as they did when the Intel 4004 was made. So its no surprise that we have finally reached the theoretical limit of clock speed you would want to safely run on a silicon based ship. Time for something new.
Clock speeds only matter when you are comparing similar chips, a 2.2ghz Core2duo is faster than a 1.8ghz core2duo. But a 3.4ghz P4 is much slower than both.
Now the big problem With clock speeds is they cause a lot of heat the higher you clock, you can get around this by making shorter and more efficient pipelines, faster micro code, better designed cache etc etc. Intel, AMD, IBM and Freescale are looking into new technologies to raise the clock speeds higher. because there is still a foreseeable advantage whe nyou take an efficient design and clock it very high, you get get the best of both worlds. Things Like the Silicon on Germanium process which IBM used on the 500ghz transistor, Carbon nanotubes. Fiber interconnects and other technologies are suppsoed to be able to overcome the short comings of our current silicon and copper ICs of today.
Even though the design of cpus has changed and the technologies shave improved, we still more or less use the same materials to make cpus as they did when the Intel 4004 was made. So its no surprise that we have finally reached the theoretical limit of clock speed you would want to safely run on a silicon based ship. Time for something new.
