CPU: What is the CPU clock speed?

In electronic technology, the pulse signal is a pulse signal continuously sent at a certain voltage range and at a certain interval. The interval between pulses is called a cycle, and the number of pulses generated per unit time (for example, 1 second) is called a frequency. Frequency is the metering name that describes the number of pulses that appear in a periodic cycle signal (including a pulse signal) per unit time. The standard unit of measurement for a frequency is Hz ). The system clock in the computer is a typical Pulse Signal Generator with a very accurate and stable frequency. The frequency is represented by "F" in a mathematical expression. The corresponding units are Hz, kHz, MHz, and GHz ). 1 GHz = 1000 MHz, 1 MHz = 1000 kHz, 1 kHz = 1000Hz. The time units for calculating the pulse signal cycle and their corresponding conversion relationships are: S (seconds), Ms (milliseconds), μs (microseconds), NS (nanoseconds), where: 1 S = 1000 ms, 1 MS = 1000 μs, 1 μs = 1000ns.

The clock speed of the CPU, that is, the clock frequency (CPU clock speed) of the CPU kernel ). In general, the CPU is as high as, And the is the "CPU clock speed ". Many people think that the CPU clock speed is its running speed. The clock speed of the CPU indicates the speed at which the digital pulse signals oscillate within the CPU, which is not directly related to the actual computing capability of the CPU. There is a certain relationship between the clock speed and the actual computing speed, but there is no definite formula to quantify the numerical relationship between the two, because the computing speed of the CPU depends on the performance indicators of the CPU pipeline (cache, instruction set, number of CPU digits, etc ). Because the frequency does not directly represent the computing speed, under certain circumstances, it is likely that the actual computing speed of the CPU with a higher frequency is low. For example, most of AMD's athlonxp series CPUs can have a low clock speed, achieving the CPU performance of Intel's Pentium 4 series CPU with a high clock speed, therefore, the athlonxp series CPUs are named as prvalues. Therefore, the clock speed is only one aspect of CPU performance, and does not represent the overall performance of the CPU.

The CPU clock speed does not represent the CPU speed, but increasing the clock speed is crucial to improving the CPU computing speed. For example, if a CPU executes an operation command within a clock cycle, the speed of a CPU running at a clock speed of MHz is twice faster than that running at a clock speed of 50 MHz. Because the MHz clock cycle takes half of the time of the 50 MHz clock cycle, that is, the time required for a CPU running at a MHz clock speed to execute an operation command is only half that of the 20ns running at a 50 MHz clock speed, and the natural operation speed is doubled. However, the overall running speed of the computer depends not only on the CPU computing speed, but also on the running status of other subsystems. Only when the clock speed is increased, the overall computer operation speed can be improved only when the operation speed of each sub-system and the data transmission speed between the sub-systems are improved.

Increasing the CPU clock speed is mainly restricted by the production process. Because the CPU is made on a Semiconductor Silicon Wafer, the components on the silicon wafer need to be connected by wires. The shorter the wires, the better, in this way, stray interference such as wire distribution capacitance can be reduced to ensure correct CPU operation. Therefore, the limitation of manufacturing process is one of the biggest obstacles to the development of CPU clock speed.