Megahertz myth

The x86 CISC based CPU architecture, which Intel introduced in 1978, was used in the 1981 IBM PC, and its lineage still dominates the Windows market. An IBM RISC based architecture was used for the PowerPC CPU which was released in 1992. In 1994, Apple Computer introduced Macintosh computers using these PowerPC CPUs. Initially, this architecture met hopes for performance, and different ranges of PowerPC CPUs were developed, often delivering different performances at the same clock rate. Similarly, at this time the Intel 80486 was selling alongside the Pentium which delivered almost twice the performance of the 80486 at the same clock rate. The myth arose because the clock rate was commonly taken as a simple measure of processor performance, and was promoted in advertising and by enthusiasts without taking into account other factors. The term came into use in the context of comparing PowerPC-based Apple Macintosh computers with Intel-based PCs. Marketing based on the myth led to the clock rate being given higher priority than actual performance and led to AMD introducing model numbers giving a notional clock rate based on comparative performance to overcome a perceived deficiency in their actual clock rate. Comparisons between PowerPC and Pentium had become a staple of Apple presentations. At the New York City Macworld Expo on July 18, 2001, Steve Jobs in his "Stevenote" described an 867 MHz PowerPC G4 as completing a task in 45 seconds while a 1.7 GHz Pentium 4 took 82 seconds for the same task, saying that "the name that we've given it is the megahertz myth". He then introduced senior hardware VP Jon Rubinstein who gave a tutorial describing how shorter pipelines gave better performance at half the clock rate. The online cartoon The Joy of Tech subsequently presented a series of cartoons inspired by Rubinstein's tutorial. == Processor speed limits ==

From approximately 1995 to 2005, Intel advertised its Pentium mainstream processors primarily on the basis of clock speed alone, in comparison to competitor products from AMD. Press articles had predicted that computer processors may eventually run as fast as 10 to 20 gigahertz in the next several decades. This continued up until about 2005, when the Pentium Extreme Edition was reaching thermal dissipation limits running at speeds of nearly 4 gigahertz. The processor could not go faster without requiring complex changes to the cooling design, such as microfluidic cooling channels embedded within the chip itself to remove heat rapidly. This was followed by the introduction of the Core 2 desktop processor in 2006, which was a major change from previous Intel desktop processors, allowing nearly a 50% decrease in processor clock while retaining the same performance. Core 2 had its beginnings in the Pentium M mobile processor, where energy efficiency was more important than raw power, and initially offered power-saving options not available in the Pentium 4 and Pentium D. == Higher frequencies ==

In the succeeding years after the demise of the NetBurst microarchitecture and its 3+ GHz CPUs, microprocessor clock speeds kept slowly increasing after initially dropping by about 1 GHz. Several years' advances in manufacturing processes and power management (specifically, the ability to set clock speeds on a per-core basis) allowed for clock speeds as high or higher than the old NetBurst Pentium 4s and Pentium Ds but with much higher efficiency and performance. As of 2018, many Intel microprocessors are able to exceed a base clock speed of 4 GHz (Intel Core i7-7700K and i3-7350K have a base clock speed of 4.20 GHz, for example). In 2011, AMD was first able to break the 4 GHz barrier for x86 microprocessors with the debut of the initial Bulldozer based AMD FX CPUs. In June 2013, AMD released the FX-9590 which can reach speeds of up to 5.0 GHz, but similar issues with power usage and heat output returned. Neither Intel nor AMD produced the first microprocessor across the industry to break the 4 GHz and 5 GHz barriers. The IBM z10 achieved 4.4 GHz in 2008, and the IBM z196 achieved 5.2 GHz in 2010, followed by the z12 achieving 5.5 GHz in Autumn 2012. ==See also==