What factors affect the speed of a computer?

Answer 1

Many things determine a computer's speed. Just about everything inside of your computer (hardware & software) can make a difference. The first and probably most common measurement of speed is the clock-speed of your main CPU. This is measured in Megahertz or Mhz. Quite simply the more the better, and 1000s of Megahertz are measure in Gigahertz or GHz. So 2000 Mhz = 2GHz. Another new development in computer technology has also allowed for multiple cores in a single CPU. This can allow multiple independent processing cores to exist on a single board. With this technology your CPU can processes simultaneous tasks without over-taxing a single CPU. Many other things must be taken into consideration as well though, how much RAM your computer has, how fast your hard drive spins, the size of your hard-drive's main platter, what operating system you have, how many other devices are connected to the computer, how much software you have loaded on to it, etc. The list can literally include everything inside of a computer. A better way to examine the question would be to figure out what task you want to speed up. This could include how fast your computer turns on, how fast it can process multi-media types of data (audio/video), or server level computing for applications, services, and user management. Different hardware and software components affect speed in different ways and sometimes optimizing a computer to perform one specific task can yield better performance results.

Answer 2

The central processing unit is the core of your computer. It is the part that performs the equations, and its speed is ultimately the limit at which your computer can perform. There are many different CPUs on the market, however, and several different factors to consider. Each of these factors strengthens the CPU in a different way, making it ideal for certain functions, such as scientific software, video editing or computer games.

Answer 3

All of the various components that make up the computer have an affect on the computer's performance. For example, a program that can run within the L1 cache will be dramatically faster than an application that commonly causes the L1 cache to miss (because the code is too big to fit in the cache, for example). Programs that depend on large files stored on permanent storage will benefit from faster drives with more bandwidth (e.g. SATA vs PATA, SSD vs HDD). Applications that are graphically intensive will run faster with a powerful video card. Each small decision about the parts that go into the computer will determine its overall performance.

There is a cost-effectiveness to buying combinations of hardware that will allow the system to run with all of the parts running at about the same relative performance. Faster RAM won't help a slower hard drive, while a faster video card won't help a web server. Buying parts that are about equal in performance will result in lower power usage, lower cost of hardware, and maximum performance per unit of cost.