What Does GHz Mean in a Computer Processor?

A gigahertz (GHz) is a unit of measurement that defines the clock rate of a computer processor. The clock rate determines how fast the CPU can finish an electronic circuit cycle and, in turn, helps determine the speed of the computer processor. "GHz" simply refers to the number of calculations a computer can complete in one second.

Processor Speed

If everything else about two computers is alike, the machine with a higher GHz processor will be faster because the processor can read information more quickly. Most at-home computer users will not notice a slight difference in processor speed; people who play games with fast action and high-quality graphics will recognize it the most.

GHz and Price

Most computers sold in the United States come with a processor advertised as having a certain number of GHz; the more GHz a processor has, the more a manufacturer may charge for it. Computers sold for the purpose of gaming, for example, have the highest GHz processors and can be the priciest models.

History and Future

Manufacturer AMD Athlon introduced omputers with a 1-GHz processor in 2000. In 2010, you can commonly see computer processors with 2 or more GHz, and some models advertise close to 3 GHz. Some high-end models offer processor speeds at a little more than 3 GHz.

References

• “PC World”; First Tests: 3.2-GHz Pentium 4; Tom Mainelli; June 2003
• Computer Hope: GHz
• Computer Hope: How Do I Determine the Speed of My Processor?