XBOX XPONENTIAL How have video game console speeds changed over time? licensed under CC-BY-NC name date Act One: Moore Fast 1 In 1965, computer scientist Gordon Moore predicted that computer processor speeds would double every two years. Twelve years later, Atari released the 2600 with a processor speed of 1.2 MHz. Based on Moore’s Law, how fast would you expect the processors to be in each of the consoles below? Atari 2600 Intellivision N.E.S. Atari Jaguar GameCube XBOX 360 1977 1979 1983 1993 2001 2005 1.2 MHz 2 Write an expression to estimate how fast console processors should be in 2077, a century after the original Atari. 3 We can think of the release of the Atari 2600 as the start of the new video game era, where 1977 is VG year 0. Let t represent the number of years that have passed since 1977, i.e. the “video game year.” Write an equation for the expected processor speed for a given year. Based on this, how fast would you expect the processor to be in a Nintendo Wii U, released in 2012?
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XBOXXPONENTIALHowhavevideogameconsolespeedschangedovertime?
licensedunderCC-BY-NC
name
date
ActOne:MooreFast
1 In1965,computerscientistGordonMoorepredictedthatcomputerprocessorspeedswoulddoubleeverytwoyears.Twelveyearslater,Atarireleasedthe2600withaprocessorspeedof1.2MHz.
BasedonMoore’sLaw,howfastwouldyouexpecttheprocessorstobeineachoftheconsolesbelow?
Atari2600 Intellivision N.E.S. AtariJaguar GameCube XBOX360
1977 1979 1983 1993 2001 2005
1.2MHz
2 Writeanexpressiontoestimatehowfastconsoleprocessorsshouldbein2077,acenturyaftertheoriginalAtari.
3 WecanthinkofthereleaseoftheAtari2600asthestartofthenewvideogameera,where1977isVGyear0.Lettrepresentthenumberofyearsthathavepassedsince1977,i.e.the“videogameyear.”Writeanequationfortheexpectedprocessorspeedforagivenyear.
Basedonthis,howfastwouldyouexpecttheprocessortobeinaNintendoWiiU,releasedin2012?
2
ActTwo:Past,Present…
4 UsingasitelikeWikipedia,findoutwheneachconsolebelowwasreleasedandcalculateitspredictedprocessorspeed. Thenfindouttheactualprocessorspeeds. HavevideogameprocessorspeedsfollowedMoore’sLaw?(Note:1GHz=1000MHz.Ifaconsoleusesmultipleprocessors,usethefastestone.)
Console Release VGYear Bestsellinggame MHz,Predicted MHz,Actual
Atari2600 1977 0 Pac-Man 1.2 1.2
MattelIntellivision
NintendoN.E.S.
SegaGenesis
SuperN.E.S.
AtariJaguar
SonyPlayStation
Nintendo64
SonyPlayStation2
NintendoGameCube
MicrosoftXBOX
MicrosoftXBOX360
SonyPlayStation3
NintendoWii
NintendoWiiU
5 Usingtechnology,writetheequationoftheexponentialfunctionthatfitstheactualdataascloselyaspossible.HowhasthegrowthinprocessorspeedscomparedtothegrowththatMoorepredicted?
6 At somepoint it stops being possible tomakeprocessors faster; they vibrate toomuch andbecome toohot.When this happens,manufacturers can still build faster consoles; insteadof installing a singleprocessor, theyinstallmultiple.(Forinstance,thePS3hasone3.2GHzchip,whilethePS4haseight1.6GHzchips.)
Doyouthinkvideogamesandothersimulationswilleverbesopowerfulthatyouwon’tbeabletodistinguishthemfromreality?Ifso,whatmightbesomeoftheconsequences?
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