Happy 35th birthday, Intel 4004
Nov 7, 2006 — by LinuxDevices Staff — from the LinuxDevices Archive — 3 views
The chip that started it all is approaching middle age. Back in November of 1971, Intel publicly announced the world's first customer-programmable microprocessor and “started an electronics revolution that changed our world,” according to Intel's archive website for the 4004.
The project began in 1969 when Nippon Calculating Machine Corp. asked Intel to design 12 custom chips for its new Busicom 141-PF printing calculator, according to Intel. Instead of creating a dozen chips specifically for a calculator, Intel engineers Marcian E. “Ted” Hoff, Federico Faggin, and Stan Mazor (pictured at right) came up with a design of just four chips, including one that could be programmed for use in a variety of applications.
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The four-chip set included the CPU, a ROM (read only memory) for holding the program, a RAM (random access memory) for holding variable data, and a shift register chip for use as an I/O (input/output) port.
Intel offered Busicom a reduced price for the chipset, in return for retaining the rights to the design, as well as the rights to market it for non-calculator applications. Busicom (which eventually sold some 100,000 of the calculators) was in financial trouble at the time, and agreed to the deal.
Ad in the Nov. 15, 1971 issue of Electronic News that introduced the 4004
(Image copyright Intel Corp.)
The 4004 CPU chip had a whopping 2300 transistors. To put that in perspective, the latest Intel Core Duo processors have over 291 million transistors, according to the company.
In celebration of this “milestone anniversary,” Intel 4004 designers Ted Hoff and Federico Faggin will present a historical perspective on the evolution of the 4004 at the Computer History Museum on Nov. 13. A member and invited guest reception begins at 6 pm. The lecture, which is free with a suggested donation of $10 for non-members, begins at 7 pm. Pre-registration is requested.
Photos on this page are copyright (c) Intel Corp.
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