Fourth-Generation Computers ( 1971 onwards)

Fourth-Generation computers used Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) technology. After the induction of integrated circuits, computers could only get smaller in size, since hundreds of components could fit onto one chip. By the 1980s, the use of VLSI technology had squeezed hundreds of thousands of components onto a single chip. Ultra-large Scale Integration (ULSI) increased that number to millions. This also helped decrease the price of computers. It also increased their power, efficiency and reliability. Examples of such computers are IBM-PC, Apple Machintosh, SUN SPARCstation, etc.
The advantages of fourth-generation computers over third-generation computers are:
1. They were cheaper
2. They had a larger memory and high functional speed.
3. They consumed less power.
4. They generated a negligible amount of heat.

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