CIS3355: Business Data Structures
Fall, 2008
 

How quickly can a computer change the information stored be changed??

Depends. Once again, in accordance with the analogy of a light switch, how quickly can you change a light sitch from 'on' to 'off'?

When you think about it, by changing the position of a light switch, you change the message conveyed by the light switch.

The computer does the same thing.

So, how quickly can it do it?

Again, that depends on your computer. In a computer, the CPU's clock speed refers to the number of pulses per second generated by an oscillator that sets the tempo for the processor (Whatis.com). It is the speed at which a microprocessor executes instructions (Webopedia). The clock itself is actually a quartz crystal that vibrates at a certain frequency when electricity is passed through it. Each vibration sends out a pulse or beat, like a metronome, to each component that's synchronized with it (Clock Speed - PC ComputerNotes)
 

What that basically means is "how quickly we change the electronic switches from one state to another"

As of this writing, PC's are approaching speed of 4 GHz (gigahertz). That means (this is a little simplified) that computers can change switch positions 4 billion times per second. In other words, approximately 4 billion messages per second can be communicated.

Really?

No, there is a lot more to it than that. But for the purposes of getting a broad overview, Yes.

Some good additional references include:

1.   How do Computer Clocks work?
2.   Pentium 4 Reaches the Speed Limit
3.   Clock Speed - PC ComputerNotes

At this point in time, you should be able to Answer the following questions:

1. What is a computer's clock speed?
   
   clock speed refers to the number of pulses per second generated by an oscillator that sets the tempo for the processor (Whatis.com). It is the speed at which a microprocessor executes instructions (Webopedia). The clock itself is actually a quartz crystal that vibrates at a certain frequency when electricity is passed through it. Each vibration sends out a pulse or beat, like a metronome, to each component that's synchronized with it (Clock Speed - PC ComputerNotes). For our purposes, it means is "how quickly we change the electronic switches from one state to another"
    
2. I have built a new computer that operates at 32.76 MHz. Theoretically, how many times could I change the signal it contains in 1 hour, 15 minutes, and 13 seconds?

               1 hour = 60 minutes
                   + 15 minutes
                       75 minutes  * 60 = 4,500 seconds
                                                      +      15 seconds
                                                          4,515 seconds * 32,760,000 = 147,911,400,000 times
    

3. Clock speeds are measured in terms of:

            a.  MIPS
b.  Hertz
c.  Amps
d.  Volts
e.  All of the above

Answer: b

This page was last updated on 01/07/05