What do gigahertz do in a computer

One GHz is equivalent to 1, megahertz MHz. Most commonly, gigahertz is used when discussing computer performance or radio frequencies. In computers, it most often refers to the clock speed of the central processing unit CPU ; the faster the CPU clock can tick, the faster, in general, the computer can process data and instructions. In , Intel and Advanced Micro Devices achieved a marketing and technical milestone by releasing the first CPUs to run at 1 GHz, and speeds have increased considerably since then.

Best of Techopedia weekly. News and Special Offers occasional. Gigahertz GHz. Techopedia Explains Gigahertz GHz. Share this Term. Tech moves fast! Stay ahead of the curve with Techopedia! Join nearly , subscribers who receive actionable tech insights from Techopedia. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter! While gigahertz is most commonly used to measure processor speed, it can also measure the speed of other parts of the computer, such as the RAM and backside cache.

The speed of these components, along with other parts of the computer, also impact the computer's overall performance. Therefore, when comparing computers, remember the number of gigahertz is not the only thing that matters. The definition of Gigahertz on this page is an original TechTerms. If you would like to reference this page or cite this definition, you can use the green citation links above. The goal of TechTerms. Since the external clock determines how quickly the processor can communicate with the system's memory, it has a significant effect on your processor's real-world speed.

The difference between a processor's internal and external clock speeds is one limitation on its performance. Another is the number of clock ticks it takes to execute an instruction.

While some instructions can be completed in one clock tick, it could, for instance, take four ticks to complete a multiplication operation. 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.