Random IT: GigaHurtz

Buying a new computer? Heard of gigahertz and do not really know what it actually does? Fret not, today we have with us, resident IT expert from Nanyang Polytechnic's Diploma in Information technology, myself to tell you all about Gigahertz and what it does to prevent a giga-level headache.

Hertz is a unit to measure the number of times an action with a set interval iterates per second. Basically, the number of times something completes in a second, the actions are known as cycles. 2Hz would mean that for every second, a cycle will be completed twice. So 1Gigahertz or 1GHz would be one billion processor cycles per second. In very basic sense, a 1GHz CPU chip can process 1 Billion cycles per second. Naturally, one might think a 3GHz Intel Processor would out perform a 1GHz Intel Processor. Wrong, and I will tell you why.

Intel Pentium D 960 has a clock speed of 3.6GHz, clock speed is the frequency often marketed in advertisements. An Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 with a much lower clock speed of 2.4GHz actually outperforms a Pentium D 960. Clock speed is not everything, its merely the number of cycles per second. Imagine two boxers, Boxer PD can give light punches at a rate of 3600 punches per second but boxer CD is so strong that he can knock anyone out with one strong punch. CD would win since all he needs is one strong punch rather than many small little punches that might not even have an effect. Basically a Core2Duo Processor can do more per cycle than any other processors.

However, clock speed matters when two processors are of the same architecture. A processor micro-architecture is simply the way the electric circuits are arranged in a CPU. A better architecture leads to more efficient processing, hence more operations per clock, the reason why a 3.6GHz Pentium D CPU lost to a 2.4GHz Core2Duo. But a Core2Duo E6700 with a higher clock speed of 2.67GHz would perform better than a Core2Duo E6600, since they are of the same architecture. So clock speed matters only if of the same architecture.

Cores, Dual Cores CPUs are CPUs with the circuitry of two CPUs. Dual Core CPUs or even Quad Core CPUs are able to split the load amongst two processors or more. This allows easier multi-tasking and better performance. However, it only works if programs are programmed to take advantage of multi cores, older programs would only use one core, defeating its purpose. Fortunately, modern programs are usually designed to take advantage of dual cores to improve performance. Dual core computing is often touted as a necessity of modern life.

So please, do not buy processors simply because of its clock speed and review the entire product before buying. The CPU is not the only factor to making a good PC or laptop but various other components like RAM and Hard Drives as well. Stay tune for another edition of Random IT for more IT tips and advice.