The Intel 4004 Microprocessor
The first "computer on a chip."
Explore this event on the interactive timeline →Before 1971, computer processors were built across multiple circuit boards. Intel changed history by packing all the essential functions of a central processing unit (CPU)—including the ALU and control unit—onto a single silicon chip roughly the size of a fingernail.
Verified Facts
- It was originally designed to power a Japanese calculator (the Busicom 141-PF), not a general-purpose computer.
- It packed 2,300 transistors onto a single chip. By comparison, modern consumer CPUs contain tens of billions of transistors.
- This miniaturization made it possible to build computers small and cheap enough to fit in a home or a pocket.