[adrian_b]

The 8-bit monolithic CPUs of the seventies all had a few thousands transistors.

The first generation of true 16-bit CPUs, i.e. Intel 8086, Motorola MC68000 and Zilog Z8000, had almost an order of magnitude more transistors, i.e. in the range of 15000 transistors to 50000 transistors.

The first true 32-bit CPUs, like the National 32000 series, Motorola MC68020 and Intel 80386, had a few hundred thousand transistors.

By the end of the eighties, the second generation of 32-bit CPUs reached 1 million transistors.

[childintime]

Gemini assures me one can make a 32b CPU in around 9000 transistors or 300 LUTs, it'll run at 30 cycle accurate MIPS from quad SPI memory.

Same size as a 6809, low-end 486 performance. Who cares ;)