Evolution of Computer Hardware, The

On a cutting-edge PC in 1990, the processor, the heart of any computer, would run at a paltry 33 megahertz. The first Pentium processor from Intel appeared in 1993, performing calculations at a then-quick clock speed of 66 MHz. The race to build faster, more capable processors continued unabated, with milestones such as 1 GHz and 3 GHz reached along the way. Today, the emphasis is on building multiple processing cores in a single chip, with Intel's second-generation Core i7 offering four cores running at 3.4 GHz.