I'm really great with computers but my expertise is limited. My question is: Processor speed determines the speed of the computer itself correct? The more GHz you have the faster, right? 1Ghz is okay but 3 GHz is better right? or am I incorrect?
2006-12-15 12:23:24 · 10 answers · asked by ? 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Laptops & Notebooks
Processor speed yes but the RAM determines how fast the computer can process....Not enough RAM your computer will be waiting for your Hard drive to access files and exchange info. If you have a computer that has 2 Ghz and have 1GB of RAM it will run faster than the 3 Ghz with the 256 MB of RAM. Because you will be RAM limited. Now you can put 2GB in the 3.O and only 1GB in a 2.0. So it can be faster if you are willing to pay the price...And of course your hard drive speed does play a small roll in it. But the Processor play the biggest. Thier are other things to consider Dual Ram run faster than Singles. Dual Processor Run faster than single. Because they run info at the same time though them it allow them to exchange different info at the same time so you can work on two thing at once and not even slow down.
2006-12-15 12:28:03 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not exactly. Processing power is only part of the equation. You also have to take into account the bandwidth of the FSB and the amount/type/speed of your RAM. Hard drive speed is also a factor.
I have an old back-up system with a PIII 866 that blows away another system with a 2.2 GHZ processor. Don't buy into the more is also better habit. People are wasting so much money on new PC's today when there are no 64-bit applications being written to match the higher processor speeds.
2006-12-15 12:32:41 · answer #2 · answered by lv_consultant 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no not really ... to give an example: if u do an intensive task like convert an entire dvd movie to avi, that uses alot of processor so upgrading from a two year old processor to a new hotrod one may cut a two hour job down to 1/2 hour ... so that is faster yes ... everyday things like opening programs and tooling around the pc is controlled mainly by the harddrive speed, and to a lesser but still important extent by the amount and speed of the memory... so a raid settup with a couple of 10000 rpm raptors will make the pc feel 10X faster than a single 5400 rpm drive.... u really cant judge these days by the ghz .. its more in the efficiency of the overall design and the internal caches and whatnot ... but in a single "line" of processors like coreduo for instance, more ghz is better .. but then again going to an amd may have less ghz but beat the intel in practical application performance ... u just about have to go to a hardware or overclocking forum to see what the different processors and hardware combinations are doing in actual benchmarks to decide on which processor is best .. or fastest .. but like i said, you can have the top-of-the-line processor and a sloass harddrive and cra p memory and someone with a bargain processor and everything else aced out is going to have the faster pc ...
2006-12-15 12:29:17 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Memory is also very important. Must have enough RAM space or stuff will be slow and crash.
And GHz is becoming less and less accurate at showing speed.
Buying cheap stuff is usually not as good. But If you have 3 GHz and it's still too slow then you most likely need a RAM upgrade, or a faster Internet if the Internet's too slow. Must have broadband.
You need a better video card if it's only graphics-intensive stuff like games that need speeding up.
Memory is like layers, the slowest and largest layer is the hard drive (modern hard drives not to worry, they're big enough) It's slowest because the hard drive arm has to physically move to read stuff. It's bad to use hard drive virtual memory too much because it's stupidly slow. This is for keeping files, long-term permanent storage.
Then there is RAM memory, which is 200 times smaller, but 100 times faster than the hard drive, it's vital as it's like the space the your programs have to work in. It's outside of the processor and removable. It completely dissapears the microsecond that electricity is turned off, so it's called volatile, non-permanent.
Cache is right inside the processor box and is the quickest, but not removable (I think). The electricity doesn't have to travel as far to use it so it's for the most needed nanosecond to nanosecond things the processor uses.
And there's lots of busses and things inside that are like data highways between the various parts.
2006-12-15 12:28:35 · answer #4 · answered by anonymous 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes that is one of the that determine the speed of the computer, however other items of importance are the Front Side Bus, Memory speeds, Hard drive RPM's, Video cards, and more.
Each of these items has individual traits that make them faster or slower as well. For example on a processor there is a type of memory called L2 cache. The amount of this cache can determine how quickly data can stream from the processor to the motherboard.
Hope this helps!
2006-12-15 12:47:05 · answer #5 · answered by Enterra 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes you are correct to an extent...
your motherboard has to support the speed of your processor and you also have RAM that gives information to the processor, and if your RAM isnt fast enough you could get a bottle neck your computer then you have the hard drive access speed, if thats slow then programs will take longer to open and close, and the video card will keep your PC from lagging to much on graphical applications or even dragging windows BUT yes you are correct... most PCs you will notice a HUGE difference in speed from installing a 1Ghz to 3Ghz.... (oh did i forget to mention Cache? that also is important for speed)
2006-12-15 12:24:56 · answer #6 · answered by willy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe the break down is about like this: Dual Core: Actual is same as listed speed Core 2 Duo: Processor is aprox. 140% listed speed (40% faster) Core to Quad: Processor speed is 180% listed speed (80% faster)
2016-03-29 08:45:21 · answer #7 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well no, different types of processors like the intel pentium extreme processor 965 with a 3.73 GHZ is not even as fast as a Intel core 2 duo processor clocked much lower, and the laptop version processors are slower than the desktop versions. the fastest intel processor so far is the intel core 2 duo processor.
2006-12-15 12:44:33 · answer #8 · answered by Ben 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
that is kind of correct.
look for the bottle necks,,,, you can have a screaming processor and 64MB of ram,,,, result SLOW!!!!! and it will thrash your hard drive.....
the overall package is very important.
2006-12-15 12:31:47 · answer #9 · answered by mhp_wizo_93_418 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes
but later on it will be slower because u have lots of stuff store on your pc
2006-12-15 12:45:18 · answer #10 · answered by x_get_the_beat_x 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋