How to See My CPU Clock Speed in Real Time

The processor (CPU) clock speed is given in hertz (Hz) and it reflects the number of cycles per second the processor performs. The CPU communicates with the computer motherboard at much slower rate, called Front Side Bus (FSB). Modern motherboards support FSB of 400 MHz or even higher. The ratio between the CPU clock rate and the FSB rate is called a multiplier. Correspondently, CPU speed is a product of FSB and the multiplier. The increase of the FSB rate will lead to the raise of the CPU clock; this process is referred as overclocking. Utilities programs that included with the motherboard or computer software usually monitor the CPU temperature or voltage, but not the clock speed. CPU-Z is featured freeware that is often used by both computer gurus and amateurs to monitor the clock speed.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Getting CPU-Z

1. Log in to an administrator account in Windows Vista/XP.

2. Open the web browser and navigate to the CPU-Z web page using the link in Resources.

3. Click on the link "CPU-Z [latest version number] 32-bit.zip" or "CPU-Z [latest version number] 64-bit.zip" depending upon the type (32 or 64 bit) of your operating system; then click "Save" to save the file on your computer.

4. Click "Start" in Windows XP/Vista and choose "Computer" to open Windows Explorer. Then navigate to a folder that contains the zipped CPU-Z file having the extension ".zip."

5. Right-click on zipped CPU-Z file, and select "Extract All." Choose a folder where you would like the file extracted, using the button "Browse." Finally click "Extract." Note that no any further installation is required to run CPU-Z.

Finding out the CPU speed

6. Log in to an administrator account in Windows Vista/XP.

7. Click "Start" in Windows XP/Vista and choose "Computer" to open Windows Explorer. Then navigate to the folder where CPU-Z has been unzipped (Section 1).

8. Double-click on the file "cpuz.exe " to launch the program. It may take up to 30 to 60 seconds for the CPU-Z program window to appear.

9. Select the tab "CPU" and read the current CPU speed in the field "Core Speed." For example, it may be 2,400 Mhz.

Tips & Warnings

• Section 1 is a one-time procedure. Once it is done, always go directly to the steps in Section 2.

References

• "Diagnose Your PC With CPU-Z," MakeTechEasier.com, Mar. 17, 2009.

Resources

• CPU-Z