Computer Chips

C3301AGrayTraceSMThis section is a listing of some of the most interesting and popular chips. There is a preponderance of microprocessors here, but I will add others types as time allows. I list chips in two ways: by the date that the chips were introduced and by the manufacturer that designed them. I list chips by manufacturer so that you can see the portfolio of chips that a manufacturer made. Sometimes the range, or lack of range, is surprising. I list types chips by introduction date so that you can see how that type of chip progressed in the industry. It allows you to see the leaders and laggards, which can be surprising as well.

You can use also the search box to the right to look for specific chips numbers or families of chips.

Microprocessor Chips

Antique microprocessors are classified as one of four types of devices: single-chip processing units (ex. Intel 4004), multi-chip processing units (Fairchild 3850), multi-chip bit-slice units (ex. AMD 2901), and single-chip microcomputers, also called microcontrollers (ex. TI TMS1000). Modern technology also includes a type that has an entire computer system-on-chip. Collectors sometimes don’t distinguish between the types …

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Memory Chips

This nice thing about collecting memory chips is that it is easy to explain to the average person what they do. They store data, information, bits! At a high level it is easy to explain, but go one step further into the rabbit hole and it gets fun. The first confusion is the difference between …

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Other Chips

The are so many types of chips it would tough to cover them all. These are some of chips that collectors should consider.

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