At Computex 2024, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang engaged in a public debate regarding the validity of Moore’s Law, which predicts a doubling of transistors on computer chips every two years. Gelsinger maintains that Moore’s Law is alive and well, while Huang believes it is no longer practical. Intel plans to build a chip with a trillion transistors by the end of the decade, and Gelsinger refuted Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chip, claiming that Intel’s Lunar Lake outperforms it on CPU, GPU, and AI performance.
The debate stems from Gordon Moore’s original observation in 1965 that the number of transistors on integrated circuits doubles about every two years. This observation has held true for decades, leading to exponential growth in computing power. However, in recent years, progress has slowed down significantly.
Gelsinger argues that Moore’s Law is still valid, and that Intel is committed to continuing the trend of increasing transistor density. He points to Intel’s plans to build a chip with a trillion transistors by the end of the decade as evidence of this commitment.
Huang, on the other hand, believes that Moore’s Law is dead. He argues that the physical limits of silicon are being reached, and that it is no longer possible to continue doubling transistor density every two years.
The debate between Gelsinger and Huang is likely to continue for some time. However, it is clear that Moore’s Law is facing challenges. The next few years will show whether Intel can truly keep chasing Moore’s Law and claim that it’s alive and well, and they will also serve to prove whether Gelsinger’s belief in the superiority of the x86 platform will remain.
