Comment This has always been the case. (Score 1) 256
I remember when 386/486 were still being sent up in space when current PC processors were many times faster. (still are?) They were tested, protected, and proven. Ask yourself this. Do you buy the newest process off Newegg (or whatever) and send it into space hoping it doesn't fail at a price of $500 million or in Curiosity's case $2.5 billion? Umm, hell no.