Every once in awhile, I like to consider how far CPUs have come since my first computer which had an Intel 486DX2 (66 Mhz, c. 1992). For comparison, let’s take the AMD 9950X3D (c. 2025). Both have similar MSRPs (~$700), but the 486 cost my dad much more in real terms, which he bought just for us since he never touched the computer.

The plot is in log scale because the numbers are so far apart. Incredible progress that represents multiple career-lifetimes of various engineering specialties. The quote from Newton is appropriate here, “if I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”