A 2 gHz CPU performs two billion cycles a second. A faster CPU uses more energy and creates more heat. A computer will normally have a maximum clock speed set by default, but it is possible to change this speed in the computer BIOS. Some people increase a CPU clock speed to try to make their computer run faster - this is called overclocking.
There are limits to how fast a CPU can run and its circuitry cannot always keep up with an overclocked speed. If the clock tells the CPU to execute instructions too quickly, the processing will not be completed before the next instruction is carried out.
If the CPU cannot keep up with the pace of the clock, the data is corrupted. CPUs can also overheat if they are forced to work faster than they were designed to work.
Given that some specialized applications can be very computationally demanding, choosing the fastest computer is more important than buying a machine with the highest clock speed. Processors work according to a clock that beats a set number of times per second, usually measured in gigahertz.
For instance, a 3. Each clock beat represents an opportunity for the processor to manipulate a number of bits equivalent to its capacity -- bit processors can work on 64 bits at a time, while bit processors work on 32 bits at a time.
The clock that usually gets included in marketing materials is the internal clock, but a processor also has an external clock that determines how quickly the processor can communicate with the outside world. The internal clock represents how quickly the processor can manipulate the data it already has, while the external clock specifies how quickly it can read the information it needs to manipulate or how quickly it can output the manipulated data.
As of the date of publication, external clocks are frequently significantly slower than internal clocks. CPUs with multiple cores have more power to run multiple programs at the same time. However, doubling the number of cores will not simply double a computer's speed. CPU cores have to communicate with each other through channels and this uses up some of the extra speed. The clock speed - also known as clock rate - indicates how fast the CPU can run. But not anymore. For example, does the computer come with an SSD or a slower magnetic hard disk?
For example, a CPU with a clock rate of 1. This seems simple on its face. The more clock cycles a CPU can perform, the more things it can get done, right?
Well, yes and no. On the one hand, clock speeds are useful when comparing similar CPUs in the same family. One runs at 3. In this case, the 3. This is true because the processors are otherwise the same. Modern CPUs are becoming much more efficient. That is, they can get more work done per clock cycle. For example, Intel released Pentium 4 chips clocked at 3. Does that mean CPU performance has only improved a tiny bit in seven years?
Not at all! Instead, the Core i7 CPU can simply do much more during each clock cycle. All other things being equal, fewer clock cycles with more work are better than more clock cycles with less — fewer clock cycles means the CPU requires less power and produces less heat. In addition, modern processors also have other improvements that allow them to perform faster. The CPU dynamically increases and decreases its speed when needed. When doing something demanding, the CPU will increase its clock rate, get the work done as quickly as possible, and get back to the slower clock rate that allows it to save more power.
The CPU may not be able to maintain top speed all the time due to overheating concerns. On the other hand, a computer with the exact same CPU but better cooling may have better, more consistent performance at top speeds if it can keep the CPU cool enough to run at those top speeds for longer.
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