Good is enough

At forty years of age, Moore's Law is facing challenges not unlike its very adherents - relevancy. Is it really necessary or even beneficial to double the number transistors on a chip every two years?

The success of Moore's Law contributes to its very relevancy. Increasing numbers of chip consumers are finding that their current chips are good enough. They are adopting the new technology on a slower cycle.

The increased cost to build and run a new fab - $2.5 - $4.0 billion - has also begun to slow the miniaturization of transistorstors. Additionally, technical issues - leakage - may further slow the cycle. Leakage is when electricity in one transistor leaks to another transistor which is not being used at the moment.

Intel Corporation co-founder Gordon Moore has said that revision of the Law is inevitable. However, he remains optimistic about the Law's future for the next decade or so.

Read Anton Shilov writing for xbitlabs.com

Hat tip to Joe of the Pinehurst Thread for the link.