thinQmaster Virtual testing partner Adaptive practice exams that find your weak spots and drill them. Every answer explained. From $69
Enroll

thinQmaster

Find your exam

Five questions free, before you decide.

Step 1 · choose a vendor

In one of our camps? Your practice exams come with the tuition — they are on your study page already.

IT Support & Hardware · Foundational

Clock Speed

The rate at which a CPU core executes cycles, measured in gigahertz (GHz).

Definition

Clock speed indicates how many cycles per second a core runs; 3.5 GHz means 3.5 billion cycles per second. Actual performance also depends on instructions per clock (IPC), so a newer CPU at a lower clock can beat an older one at a higher clock. CPUs list a base clock and a maximum boost clock.

Example

A CPU rated 3.6 GHz base and 5.0 GHz boost raises frequency under load when thermals allow.

Exam tip

Do not compare CPUs from different generations purely on GHz.

Related terms