Intel 4004 - The First Microprocessor (NOS, P4004, 1976, 7645, Date Code, Computer
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:7036233 | Brand: Intel |
| Type: Microprocessor |
About this Listing:This listing is for a very rare new-old-stock Intel 4004 microprocessor.The Intel 4004 was the world's first microprocessor. The 4004 was created by Intel with Ted Hoff and Federico Faggin as the lead designers and Stan Mazor and Masatoshi Shima as co-contributors. The 4004 provided a new tool to the world. Up to that time semiconductors and integrated circuits were built for specific purposes. The 4004 was the first semiconductor device that provided, at the chip l...evel, the functions of a general purpose computer. Federico Faggin signed the 4004 with his initials, FF, which can be seen at the lower right side of the 4004 chip die.In 1970, computer designers had two choices in building their machines. The more common practice was to use printed circuit boards with 100's of logic chips arranged to the unique specifications of the machine. Building the central processor often required multiple large boards. The second approach was used to save space, but was much more expensive. Companies would commission the creation of custom chips. These chips would take the design implemented with 100's of logic chips and condense the design onto a few custom made chips. Changes were expensive and slow in coming.Intel introduced the 4004 as “random logic”, in other words, the 4004 allowed designers to change the circuit's logic at random, through programming. Essentially, the physical chips that logic designers were building circuits with could now be represented by bit patterns in memory and implemented by the 4004 microprocessor. Although a common notion today, this was a very new concept and Intel spend lots of time and effort educating engineers across the country. Intel's interest was not in money to be made from selling the 4004, but in selling the memory to support it. Intel was a memory company, not a logic chip company. This was a chance to gain market share for memory at the expense of the logic chip manufacturers. The 4004 provided the basic building blocks that are still found in today's microcomputers: the arithmetic and logic unit and the control unit. The 4-bit Intel 4004 ran at a clock speed of 108 kHz and contained 2300 transistors. It processed data in 4 bits, but its instructions were 8 bits long. The 4004 addressed up to 1, 024 bits of program memory and up to 4, 096 bits of data memory. It had sixteen 4-bit (or eight 8-bit) general-purpose registers, and an instruction set containing 46 instructions.The 4004 was 1/8th inch wide by 1/6th inch long. This small microprocessor had more computing power than the first electronic computer, the ENIAC, which occupied 3, 000 cubic feet and weighed 30 tons.The chip offered here is a never used new-old-stock Intel P4004. This chip was made in the 45th week of the 1976 (most P4004s on the market, if you can find one, have date codes in the 1980s). The 18 leads are tin and the body is black polyresin. There are no significant manufacturing defects. The printing is clear and bold, and all lines are straight and clean. View the pictures to see the complete condition. I would rate this chip a 9 on scale of 10. Included is the original shipping carrier (see last picture). This chip would be a great addition to your microprocessor collection.Shipping: I ship by US Priority Mail, shipping in the US is $5, international is $35. I charge only one shipping charge no matter how many items you buy, just add them all to your cart, and then checkout.
Want to see more AntiqueTech items? Click here to see more AntiqueTechTM in my store on eBayWant to see my artworks made with computer chips? Click here to see more ChipScapesTM in my store on eBayTo Learn More:For more information about chip collecting as a hobby, please check out my AntiqueTechTM website. For more information about ChipScapesTM, please check out my ChipScapesTM website.
Want to see more AntiqueTech items? Click here to see more AntiqueTechTM in my store on eBayWant to see my artworks made with computer chips? Click here to see more ChipScapesTM in my store on eBayTo Learn More:For more information about chip collecting as a hobby, please check out my AntiqueTechTM website. For more information about ChipScapesTM, please check out my ChipScapesTM website.
