What are the units used to rate the speed of a CPU?

The units used to rate the speed of a CPU commonly include cycles per second, megahertz (MHz), and gigahertz (GHz). These measurements indicate how many cycles a CPU can perform in one second.

Cycles per second (often simply referred to as Hertz or Hz) refers to the base unit of frequency, indicating the number of cycles that occur in one second. This gives a fundamental measure of how quickly a CPU can execute instructions.

When the speed scales up, megahertz (MHz) means millions of cycles per second, while gigahertz (GHz) means billions of cycles per second. These higher units are more relevant for modern CPUs, which operate at speeds often in the gigahertz range, showcasing how advanced technology has allowed processors to become significantly faster over time.

Understanding this measurement is crucial, as it directly relates to a CPU's performance and ability to process data efficiently. Higher clock speeds generally mean that the CPU can handle more instructions per second, leading to better overall performance for computational tasks.