How to Find Computer Clock Speed
The speed of your computer is expressed in gigahertz (Ghz). Modern computers will have speeds from 1.6 Ghz to 3 Ghz or more. However, the raw number does not compare between manufacturers and even between brands of CPUs by the same manufacturer. A 2.6 Ghz core 2 duo from Intel will be faster than a 2.6 Ghz Phenom from AMD, but it will be slower than a 2.6 Ghz Intel i7 processor. So how do you measure clock speed?
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Instructions
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Windows
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1
Go to the "Start" menu and click on "Control Panel."
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Scroll down and click on "System."
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The clock speed is on the "Processor" line.
Linux
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4
In a terminal, type the following command: " less /proc/cpuinfo"
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5
If your CPU has more than one core, ignore the duplicate information.
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Locate the "cpu Mhz" line to know the CPU speed.
OS X
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Go to the "system profiler" by opening the "Apple menu," selecting "About this Mac" and finally clicking on the "more info" button.
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A new window opens and displays the "Hardware overview." If it doesn't, click on "hardware" in the left section of the window.
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"CPU Speed" displays the speed of the CPU.
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Tips & Warnings
On the Windows system, the second speed after the first one is the speed at which the CPU is currently running. CPUs can run slower to save energy when the software you are running does not need much power. The i5 and i7 from Intel can also run faster when demand is high--for example, during games, video encoding or other processing-intensive tasks.
