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
Clock speed matters in the sense that it is the only standardized way to compare speeds of processors. Because processors have their own architecture and instruction sets, the speed to complete any given task can vary from one processor to another. While one processor may complete a given task faster, it might complete a different task slower than another processor.
Clock speed – however – is the same across all processors. It is the maximum rate at which the processor can pulse. While this doesn’t translate directly into “speed” in terms of how fast tasks are completed, it’s useful because it’s a standardized measurement that doesn’t depend on anything else about the processor – so all processors are comparable in terms of how quickly they pulse.
The reason clock speeds haven’t gone up much is for various reasons. Components have limitations on how quickly they can transition between a 0 and 1. The processor cannot pulse faster than this transition time or the results will be unpredictable (you cannot know if the previous instruction was completed before you try to use the results and perform the next instruction).
But even when the components do allow faster transitions, higher transition speeds result in more heat generation. Given the relatively small size of modern CPUs, there is only so much surface area to pull heat out of the CPU. The more heat generated within the CPU, the higher the risk that the heat cannot be removed and begins to build up. If heat builds up in the CPU, it can damage or destroy transistors, rendering the CPU unusable.
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