[Calvy667]

hi...im trying to learn about computers more in depth, and one thing that confuses me is what exactly hertz measures (for example, talking about a motherboard with x amount of hertz) in a computer system? I'm aware that hertz measures frequency in sound, but im not sure what that has to do with computer performance 

 

thanks

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"In computers, most central processing units (CPU) are labeled in terms of their clock rate expressed in megahertz or gigahertz (106 or 109 hertz, respectively). This number refers to the frequency of the CPU's master clock signal ("clock rate"). This signal is a square wave, which is an electrical voltage that switches between low and high values at regular intervals. Hertz has become the primary unit of measurement accepted by the general populace to determine the performance of a CPU, but many experts have criticized this approach, which they claim is an easily manipulable benchmark as some processors use multiple clock periods to perform a single operation, while others can perform multiple operations in a single cycle. For home-based personal computers, CPU clock speeds have ranged from approximately 1 MHz in the late 1970s (Atari, Commodore, Apple computers) to up to 6 GHz in IBM POWER processors.

Various computer buses, such as the front-side bus connecting the CPU and northbridge, also operate at various frequencies in the megahertz range."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hertz

[zep516]

"In computers, most central processing units (CPU) are labeled in terms of their clock rate expressed in megahertz or gigahertz (106 or 109 hertz, respectively). This number refers to the frequency of the CPU's master clock signal ("clock rate"). This signal is a square wave, which is an electrical voltage that switches between low and high values at regular intervals. Hertz has become the primary unit of measurement accepted by the general populace to determine the performance of a CPU, but many experts have criticized this approach, which they claim is an easily manipulable benchmark as some processors use multiple clock periods to perform a single operation, while others can perform multiple operations in a single cycle. For home-based personal computers, CPU clock speeds have ranged from approximately 1 MHz in the late 1970s (Atari, Commodore, Apple computers) to up to 6 GHz in IBM POWER processors.

Various computer buses, such as the front-side bus connecting the CPU and northbridge, also operate at various frequencies in the megahertz range."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hertz