[macosxnerd101]

Moore's Law has reached its limits in two dimensions. No longer can we cram more electronic switches. Rather, the only place left to go is up. Today, Intel revealed its brand new 3D computer chip, which will be start appearing in computers in 2012. Intel believes this will continue the trend of Moore's Law for the future.

Quote

The fins give the transistor three "gates" to control the flow of electric current, instead of just one. That helps prevent current from escaping. There's a limit to how much current a chip can take, and the new design allows more of that power to be spent on computing rather than being wasted.

Intel has been talking about 3-D, or "tri-gate," transistors for nearly a decade, and other companies are experimenting with similar technology. Wednesday's announcement is noteworthy because Intel has figured out how to manufacture the transistors cheaply in mass quantities.

[stayscrisp]

That is awesome, it makes perfect sense to go that way

[baavgai]

I don't know that Moore's Law can be taken to describe a technological specifications beyond "number of components per integrated circuit." Also, the "3-D" looks like a marketing term...

Intel produces massive CISC chips that chew power and can cook eggs. The trend for small devices has been many MIPS chips, each of which consume little power and can be given a specific job. Intel is fighting this and it sounds like they're breaking down components into "gates" to emulate one of the competition's advantages.

The physical limitation of size was reached some time ago. There's only so tight you can pack a circuit before the electrons bleed. They've been coming up with novel ways to get around this ever since.

[Shane Hudson]

I was expecting graphene to be involved in the next standard CPU design. But I suppose it makes sense to add layers, when I first started hearing of dual core I thought it meant one on top of another haha.

[codeprada]

Here's another link to it. Maximum PC

I can't wait until they integrate this technology in graphic cards. Less power consumption and heat along with more power? It's like a dream come through.

[Sergio Tapia]

This short story seems fitting with the thread theme. It's definitely worth the read.

http://qntm.org/responsibility

[modi123_1]

Bah - wake me up when the spherical processors of 2001 are a reality.
http://faculty.wiu.e...Sph-Summary.htm

[Creecher]

modi123_1, on 05 May 2011 - 09:37 AM, said:

Bah - wake me up when the spherical processors of 2001 are a reality.
http://faculty.wiu.e...Sph-Summary.htm

That website makes me want to kill myself.

[Brandon_R]

I just bought an i7-990x and now my jealousy has returned. Can't wait for this.