: Why are computer CPUs the size they are? Wouldn’t making them bigger give way to more processing power without needing better technology?

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Edit : My first post to blow up. Crazy.

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No. In fact, making a CPU smaller makes it faster. CPUs are already bumping against the speed of light limit (seriously), and limited in part by how fast signals can travel from one end to the other.

The other issue is that CPU manufacturing has a probability of having a defect in it. The bigger the CPU, the bigger the chance that a defect will be found inside it, and it’ll need to be thrown out. [See the picture](https://slideplayer.com/slide/5218297/16/images/3/Effect+of+Die+Size+on+Yield.jpg). So making a CPU smaller makes it cheaper, because each defective CPU still costs money to make, and the cost of those has to be accounted for in the price of the CPU.
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