Intel 4004

Uncommon card · No. 95273

The Intel 4004, released by the Intel Corporation on November 15, 1971, was the first in a long line of Intel central processing units (CPUs). Priced at US$60 (equivalent to $477 in 2025), the chip marked both a technological and economic milestone in computing. The 4-bit 4004 CPU was the first significant commercial example of large-scale integration, using the abilities of the MOS silicon gate technology (SGT) to integrate the CPU into a single chip. Compared to the existing technology, SGT enabled twice the transistor density and five times the operating speed, making future single-chip CPUs feasible. The MCS-4 chipset design, of which the 4004 was a part, served as a model on how to use SGT for complex logic and memory circuits, accelerating the adoption of SGT by the world's semiconductor industry. The project originated in 1969 when Busicom Corp. commissioned Intel to design a family of seven chips for electronic calculators, including a three-chip CPU. Busicom initially envisioned...

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