30 years ago, Intel’s cofounder, Mr. Gordon Moore, predicted that the computer processing power could be doubled every 18-24 months. This is measured by doubling the transistor counts in a microprocessor, the brain of a computer. This prediction is now known as Moore’s Law.

Pn = Po ´ 2ⁿ

Where

Pn = computer processing power in future years

Po = computer processing power in the beginning year

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n = number of years to develop a new microprocessor divided by 2, i.e., every two years

In 1988, the number of transistors in the Intel 386 SX microprocessor was 275,000. What were the transistor counts of the Pentium II  Intel microprocessor in 1997?

If Intel doubles the number of transistors every two years, the new processor would have

Pn = 275,000 ´ 2ⁿ (where n = 9/2 = 4.5)

= 275,000 ´ 22.63

= 6.2 million transistors

In 1997, the Pentium II had 7.5 million transistors. In other words, in the last 9 years, Intel has been doubling the number of transistors in its microprocessors in less than every two years.

Using Moore’s Law, what would be the number of transistor counts of the Intel Micro 2012 microprocessor in the year 2012?

Estimate the answer:

Less than 100 million
Between 100 million and 900 million
Over 900 million