Generation Four - Microprocessors

The microprocessor is the heart of the computer, it is also known as the CPU (Central Processing Unit). The introduction of the microprocessor made it so that all the parts that make a computer think are put onto one chip. This included the Central Processing Unit, Memor, input and output controls on the first microprocessor the Intel 4004. When your computer is turned on the microprocessor gets the first instruction from the basic input/output system (BIOS) that comes with the computer as part of its memory. After it is on the BIOS, or the operating system that the BIOS loads into computer memory drives the microprocessor, giving it tasks to perform. The integration of a whole CPU onto a single chip greatly reduced the cost of processing power. Moore's Law also applies to this, as this would not be possible without integrated circuits. Before the microprocessor engineers build computers from either a collection of chips or from the discreet components. (Transistors wired one at a time) In comparison to the 4 bits of the Intel 4004 micrprocessor, today we have 32, and 64.

Intel 4004

The Intel (The company name is a shortened version of Integrated Electronics) 4004 is believed to be the first microprocessor. It only operated on 4 bits. The Intel engineers that created it were Federico Faggin, Ted Hoff, and Stanley Mazor. It was smaller than the integrated circuit. The Intel 4004 powered one of the first portable calculators.