– Why does clock speed matter on a CPU, and why do some top-tier CPU’s have lower clock speeds than some from nearly 10 generations ago?

Question

I have a good understanding of what clock speed is, but why does it matter?

For the second question, I was wondering since for example, the new i9-14900K has a base clock speed of 3.2 GHz, whereas my previous desktop CPU, the i7-4790K, had a base clock speed of 4.0 GHz. Why hasn’t this number steadily gone up thought the years?

In: Technology

Answer 1

Your CPU is like the wheels on a vehicle. The clock speed is the RPM of the wheel. The higher the clock speed, the farther it will travel in the same time period.

However it’s not the only factor. If your vehicle is a tricycle, a high clock speed doesn’t move you very far. If you have a monster truck, a lower clock speed will move you further than the tricycle.