Intel released the world's first microprocessor in 1971 and CPUs have rapidly increased in speed and efficiency in recent decades. The Intel Core i7 CPU sets a new benchmark for performance due to technologies like multi-coring and smart caching that allow it to be 47% more efficient than quad-core processors. It utilizes hyper-threading across 8 cores to split tasks and improve efficiency. New i7 CPUs range in price from $550-700.