Here is a very interesting post from Robin Harris of ZDNet on how Moore’s law (that the number of transistors on a chip doubles every 18 to 24 months, named after Intel’s Co-founder Gordon Moore) is no longer applicable. More important, he very clearly explains what this means for computers and devices which make use of these chips in the future (which I heartily agree with).
Moore’s Wall
Robin Harris
Used to be you could buy a new computer every 3 years and get 2x the performance. Not anymore. Performance has hit a wall – or at least a steep hill. What’s this mean for the industry?
Moore’s law
Moore’s Law says that the number of transistors on a chip will double every 18 to 24 months. But Moore’s Law has been simplified to mean a doubling of performance every 18 to 24 months.
Not anymore.
Transistors ≠ performance. Yes, clock speeds have improved from the 1 MHz 6502 processor in the original Apple II to over 3 GHz today. But clock speeds have leveled out: in a third of a nanosecond light moves about 4 inches or 10 cm – and electricity is slower than light.
The link to the article is here:
