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The Everchanging State of the CPU market
Computers and our overall digital landscape have changed drastically in the last few decades. Machines are getting faster and more sophisticated with every passing year. While several advancements have pushed technology to where we are today, it's the evolution of CPUs that have made the biggest difference.
CPUs have gone through some major changes in the last twenty years alone. No longer delegated to just desktop machines, CPUs have made smartphones and mobile gaming devices possible.
While PCs can cool their CPUs using high-end CPU coolers, it's different for mobile phones. Smartphones don't have space for any fans, which is why they utilize a completely different processor architecture sacrificing power for heat management.
As mobile technology changes and processing power demands get higher, CPUs are only going to get more advanced. The market is constantly changing, resulting in new chips that will push technology to new heights we never thought were possible.
The History of the CPU
CPUs had very humble beginnings. The very first general-purpose CPU was the Intel 4004. Back then, this tiny processor changed the game. It had the most complex integrated circuit design up to that point. Originally, the 4004 was commissioned to be used for a calculator. It was a 4-bit CPU that could only perform 92,000 instructions per second. Eventually, this tiny CPU would start the tech revolution and launch the Intel brand to the powerhouse that it is today.
Several years later, Intel launched the 8086 processor. This CPU is important because it introduced the important architecture that Intel continues to use today. The technology in the 8086 would lead to x86 architecture. It's regarded as the advent that would lead to personal computers.
In 2001, IBM released a CPU that would change computing forever. Called the Power4, this processor was the very first dual-core CPU available. Essentially, it was a single chip with two separate cores on it. By adding that second core, IBM was able to increase performance, reduce processing times, and create more load. Despite its simple specs by today's standards, this CPU paved the way for the multi-core systems we use today.
The Focus on Cores and Clock Speed
In the 1990s and early 2000s, CPU manufacturers were constantly pushing to increase clock speeds. For several years, there were regular improvements to what CPUs could do. In the 1990s alone, the average clock speed of CPUs rose by about 300 percent. However, at the turn of the new millennium, clock speeds became a bit more stagnant.
 Up until that point, CPUs were advancing nicely according to Moore's Law. Moore's Law stated that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit would double every two years or so. By the middle of the 2000s, CPU manufacturers hit a wall. They could not increase clock speeds on a single chip. So, they simply added more chips.
Multi-core CPUs quickly became the norm. After IBM released its first commercially-available dual-core CPU, other companies followed suit. AMD and Intel both adopted a multi-core design. Eventually, this paved the way for quad-core CPUs. Many attribute the massive adoption of personal computers to quad-core chips, as computers became more capable. They made PC gaming more widespread, and easily accessible. Intel's Core i5 and i7 processors have been used in countless desktops, laptops, and PDAs.
Eventually, CPU manufactures pushed on and introduced more multi-core processors. For example, the 8th Generation Intel Core processors use six cores. These CPUs can be found on several modern computers, such as the Dell Latitude 7220.
The Introduction of Handheld Technology
Handheld devices and smartphones completely changed the way our world operated. Rugged PDAs became a must-have for everyone from business professionals to construction workers. As we mentioned earlier, the needs of mobile devices are vastly different than those of your desktop. Thus, manufacturers have had to create new CPUs to handle the load.
The first mobile smartphone processor was the NEC V30HL. It was used on IBM's Simon PDA. It was a simple 16-bit CPU that was compatible with 8086 architecture. This was a huge feat back in those days. Eventually, other companies started to get in on the mobile action. Manufacturers like Qualcomm, Sony Erikson, and even Intel started to produce CPUs that were focused on portability rather than power.
You see, before the advent of mobile technology, computers were stationary devices that were always connected to a power source. Once smartphones and PDAs were created, the primary needs of the device shifted. Users wanted more battery life and better efficiency. So, the market had to adapt to meet those needs. Chip manufacturers started to make mobile-specific CPUs to accommodate this new focus on mobile computing. For most of those early years, desktop and mobile CPUs were separated in classes of their own. However, the lines between those classes are started to get a little muddier.
Today, mobile CPUs are just as fast as the equipment you'll find on desktops. Tablets and smartphones are very efficient and can complete numerous tasks without sacrificing power or efficiency. Some manufacturers have stopped differentiating their CPUs altogether due to similar specs between mobile and desktop gear.
Where We Are Today
Today, the CPU market continues to change. The focus has, once again, shifted. Modern devices are getting smaller and smaller. Mobile technology has taken over and smartphones are similar to desktops in terms of performance. So, where is there to go?
Well, manufacturers continue to create multi-core CPUs for enhanced power. However, most are looking to increase power in other areas. One way that this is achieved is through threading. Hyperthreading is the process of splitting up physical cores into smaller virtual ones. This allows the CPU to handle more tasks at once without the need for more physical space.
To accommodate that new architecture, the size of individual components within the CPU is getting overhauled as well. Transistors have shrunken down to 10 nanometers. Of course, decreasing the size affects how electrons pass through. So, new transistor gates and advanced components are being introduced as well.
The CPU market has been evolving for nearly four decades. As technology changes, CPU manufacturers look for new ways to increase power and performance. There are no signs of that stopping anytime soon. Big-name CPU companies like Intel and AMD have a lot of great tech coming, so computers and mobile devices are only going to get better moving forward.
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