Microprocessor Timeline

Because the Bible tells us the Antichrist will someday achieve total control over the global economy, technological advancements are a necessary factor in his rise to power. The development of the microprocessor is one of the most amazing timelines you can observe. I've compiled a list of the significant milestones Intel Corporation, the world's largest producer of microprocessors, achieved from 1972 to the present day. If you're like me, you may not understand what difference between the speed of a Megahertz (MHz) and a Gigahertz (GHz) represents. All you really need to know is speed comparison. Basic math will tell you 200 MHz is ten times the speed of 20 MHz, and 1 GHz is simply equally to 1000 MHz.

April 1972
Name of Processor: 8008
Clock speed: 200 kilohertz
Number of transistors: 3,500

December 1974
Name of Processor: 8080
Clock speed: 2 MHz
Number of transistors: 6,000
August 1976
Name of Processor: 8085
Clock speed: 5 MHz
Number of transistors: 6,500
September 1978
Name of Processor: 8086
Clock speed: 10 MHz
Number of transistors: 29,000
February 1982
Name of Processor: 286
Clock speed: 12 MHz
Number of transistors: 134,000
October 1985
Name of Processor: 386
Clock speed: 16 MHz
Number of transistors: 275,000
February 1987
Name of Processor: 386
Clock speed: 20 MHz
Number of transistors: 275,000
April 1989
Name of Processor: 486
Clock speed: 25 MHz
Number of transistors: 1,200,000
June 1991
Name of Processor: 486
Clock speed: 50 MHz
Number of transistors: 1,200,000
March 1993
Name of Processor: Pentium
Clock speed: 60 MHz
Number of transistors: 3.1 million
March 1994
Name of Processor: Pentium
Clock speed: 75 MHz
Number of transistors: 3.2 million
March 1995
Name of Processor: Pentium
Clock speed: 120 MHz
Number of transistors: 3.2 million
June 1995
Name of Processor: Pentium
Clock speed: 133 MHz
Number of transistors: 3.3 million
January 1996
Name of Processor: Pentium
Clock speed: 166 MHz
Number of transistors: 3.3 million
June 1996
Name of Processor: Pentium
Clock speed: 200 MHz
Number of transistors: 3.3 million
May 1997
Name of Processor: Pentium II
Clock speed: 300 MHz
Number of transistors: 3.3 million
April 1998
Name of Processor: Pentium II
Clock speed: 400 MHz
Number of transistors: 7.5 million
August 1998
Name of Processor: Pentium II
Clock speed: 450 MHz
Number of transistors: 7.5 million
August 1999
Name of Processor: Pentium III
Clock speed: 600 MHz
Number of transistors: 9.5 million
October 1999
Name of Processor: Pentium III
Clock speed: 733 MHz
Number of transistors: 28 million
January 2000
Name of Processor: Pentium III
Clock speed: 800 MHz
Number of transistors: 28 million
March 2000
Name of Processor: Pentium III
Clock speed: 1.0 GHz
Number of transistors: 28 million
November 2000
Name of Processor: Pentium 4
Clock speed: 1.5 GHz
Number of transistors: 42 million
April 2001
Name of Processor: Pentium 4
Clock speed: 1.7 GHz
Number of transistors: 42 million
Aug 2001
Name of Processor: Pentium 4
Clock speed: 2 GHz
Number of transistors: 42 million
Jan 2002
Name of Processor: Pentium 4
Clock speed: 2.2 GHz
Number of transistors: 42 million
Jun 2002
Name of Processor: Pentium 4
Clock speed: 2.53 GHz
Number of transistors: 55 million
Aug 2002
Name of Processor: Pentium 4
Clock speed: 2.8 GHz
Number of transistors: 55 million
Nov 2002
Name of Processor: Pentium 4
Clock speed: 3.0 GHz
Number of transistors: 55 million
Jun 2003
Name of Processor: Pentium 4
Clock speed: 3.2 GHz
Number of transistors: 55 million
Feb 2004
Name of Processor: Pentium 4
Clock speed: 3.4 GHz
Number of transistors: 55 million

July 2006
Name of Processor: Core 2 Duo
Level 2 cache 4 MB
Number of transistors: 253 million

Nov 2006
Name of Processor: Core 2 Extreme QX6700
Level 2 cache 8 MB
Number of transistors: 582 million
Multi-core Era
2008
Microprocessor giant Intel on Monday provided the first details of its next microprocessor architecture, codenamed Larrabee, which will combine multiple processor cores with graphics processing functionality. The first Larrabee processors will appear in late 2009 or early 2010, Intel says. Intel describes the Larrabee processor family as being "many-core" chips that will utilize an array of many processors, probably 16 to 48 cores per chip at the start. (Today's PCs typically utilize microprocessors with 2 or maybe 4 processor cores.) But because the Larrabee chips will be based on the family x86 processor instruction set used by today's PCs and servers, the chip will be backwards compatible with today's software.
December- A team led by Intel researchers created a silicon-based Avalanche Photodiode (APD) to achieve a "gain-bandwidth product" of 340 GHz. Intel claims this is "the best result ever measured for this key APD performance metric" and allows lower-cost optical links running at data rates of 40Gbps or higher. The research was jointly funded by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Numonyx, a flash memory chip maker, provided manufacturing and process development.(CNET News)