| Opposite to what most people know, the speed of the | | | | function at a specific speed and are considered as the |
| Central Processing Unit or CPU does not indicate good | | | | core of a CPU. Some of them function at high-speed |
| CPU performance. There are several internal and | | | | while others do not. |
| external factors that have impact on the performance | | | | Another factor that contributes to the speed is the |
| and also on the performance of the entire system. | | | | Front Side Bus of the FSB. This is the main connection |
| Its speed is measured in MHz.A single Megahertz is | | | | that links the Central Processing Unit and the entire |
| equivalent to a million cycles per second. However, it | | | | system memory. Its operation is a fraction of the clock |
| does not necessarily mean that a CPU with 2MHz is | | | | speed of the CPU. A better CPU performance can |
| faster than 1MHz CPU. The difference can be seen on | | | | also be based on the speed of data transfer that is |
| the amount of work a single CPU can achieve in one | | | | allowed by the Front Side Bus. |
| clock cycle. | | | | Speed is also affected by RAM. Having a fast RAM |
| In practice a 1MHz CPU could be faster whereas | | | | means that the CPU itself does not need to wait a lot |
| 2Mhz CPU could possibly be more efficient or could | | | | for data transfer, thereby making the CPU work |
| process a bigger amount of task. | | | | faster. Whatever is included in the system can |
| Caches can improve CPU speed as it provides a | | | | significantly affect the speed of the CPU. They are all |
| quick access to the most recent information used. | | | | factors tor general performance of the system |
| They also differ in terms of performance. In general, a | | | | including the speed of rotation, access time provided |
| larger cache can lead to better performance. They | | | | for the hard disk and even the RAM video speed. |