What makes ghz

Modern and non-embedded CPUs may have a single clock cycle of less than 1 nanosecond. CPU megahertz usually refers to clock rate, frequency or speed. Clock rate is gauged by a crystal oscillator which generates highly accurate and unwavering electrical and clock signals, stabilizes receivers and frequencies, and tracks time. The oscillator circuit brings its crystal a small amount of electricity every nanosecond, which is measured in hertz.

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This would turn a processor that can, for instance, add at 4 GHz into one that multiplies at an effective speed of 1 GHz.

The three factors identified here work together to determine how fast a given processor will operate. Sixty-four-bit chips work on twice as much data at once as bit chips, giving them a significant performance boost. Processors with faster external clocks can also exchange data with the computer faster than those with slower external clocks. Finally, processors with more efficient instruction sets that can do more work in fewer clock cycles run more quickly than those that need more cycles to finish an instruction.

Once you've made all of those factors equal, compare processors to see which is faster by looking at the internal clock speed's gigahertz rating. Steve Lander has been a writer since , with experience in the fields of financial services, real estate and technology.

By Steve Lander. System Clocks Processors work according to a clock that beats a set number of times per second, usually measured in gigahertz. Internal vs. External 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.

Clocks and Instructions The difference between a processor's internal and external clock speeds is one limitation on its performance. Putting It All Together The three factors identified here work together to determine how fast a given processor will operate.

References PCMag. Related Articles.