Intel 3002 Customer Sample 2-bit Bipolar Bit-Slice Central Processing Element - Extremely Rare

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This Item is an Extremely Rare and Early Customer Sample of the Intel 3002 2-Bit Slice in White Ceramic with Gold Plated Pins and Lid as per the Photos. The 3002 has been tested an d show it is in Good Operating Condition as per the Test Photo. The Test Board is not included as part of this offering. The Date Code on the bottom of the Chip indicates that it was manufactured during in week 46 of 1975 in Malaysia. The “CS” Markings on the top of the Gold Cap were Intel’s way of signifying that they were intended to be supplied to their Sales People to give to Prospective Customers as a Sample and as such only a few were marked in this way which makes them Extremely Rare. Note this Customer Sample has no "C" designation in front of the 3002 which is another feature that makes it so Extremely Rare and means that it is a very early production of this CPU. The Intel 3002 was Intel's first entry into the Bit-slice marketplace and the first bipolar Bit-slice device. Introduced in the 3rd quarter of 1974, it is an unusual device in that it was a 2-bit device while most others devices were 4-bit devices. The 3002 was a peer of the Intel 8080, but the 8080 could only handle 8-bits of data at time. The 3002 was a 2-bit ALU, but 8 3002's could be linked together to create a computer that could handle 16-bits at a time. Whereas the 8080 would have to use multiple cycles to process 16 or 32 bits, the appropriate 3002 configuration could handle it in a single cycle giving such a computer significantly more power than the 8080. The 3002 is a member of a family of devices known as the 3000 Series. I can assure any buyers that the prices for these vintage Chips will rise significantly over the coming years as they have done so over the past 30 years so it will be a good investment for them as the majority of the older chips have been scrapped for their gold content. Show more