To run your apps, your CPU must continually complete calculations, if you have a higher clock speed, you can compute these calculations quicker and applications will run faster and smoother as a result of this. Clock speed is measured in GHz (gigahertz), a higher number means a faster clock speed. The higher the clock speed, the faster the car (system) will go. If computing is a car then the CPU is the engine.

To make things easier to understand think of the CPU not as the brains but as the brawn. Many people describe the CPU as the brains of your system. That means achieving a realistic but harmonious balance between cores, clock speed, and architecture.Ĭlock Speed? Why Clock Speed Is Important

On a daily basis, manufacturers have to carefully design their next CPU models to make sure that they stack up well to the competition and deliver a solid product that will make their consumers happy. There’s a reason why cores started appearing on CPUs, and there’s an equally valid reason why chip manufacturers are trying to one-up each other on clock speed. You won’t find anyone who is well-versed in technology saying that we should completely abandon multi-core CPUs and just go for as much clock speed as possible. In particular, there’s one battle that will probably never end: the fight between the amount of cores a CPU has and its clock speed.įirst off, this isn’t necessarily a “battle” as much as it is a debate about what should be prioritized. But new CPUs have raised new questions among the public. They’re smarter, faster, and more dynamic. Today’s modern CPU is an architectural marvel, with several different channels for distributing and temporarily storing tasks. During the mid 90s, when the desktop PC market was picking up the pace significantly, CPUs would have only one core. Without a fast CPU, the rest of your hardware will overwhelm it with more tasks than it can muster. The central processing unit (CPU, or processor) on your computer is by far one of the strongest determining factors of its performance.

6 core vs 8 core mac pro