# What's the highest clock speed CPU retailed w/o OC



## Jamin43 (Apr 24, 2009)

I'm curious what the highest clock speed for a CPU and 
* 5 yrs ago - I got a 1.8 ghz CPU
* 2 years later got a 2.8 ghz CPU
* I missed dual core and am looking at quad cores to purchase within 6-10 mo
* Currently the quad cores are at around 3.2 retail 

What is the fastest single core CPU produced before intel / AMD went to dual core - and now quad core?

How fast of a clock speed is anticipated before the mfg's focus more on cores vs increased clock speed?  With the past 3 years - went from 2.8 ghz single core as cheap - to quad core 2.8 ghz as upper mid range of processors. 


What's the expected trajectory of technology - 

All of the above with the consideration of not OC'ing the processor.


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## Ethan3.14159 (Apr 24, 2009)

I think a Pentium 4 was released at 3.8 GHz. Prescott 2M something


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## porterjw (Apr 24, 2009)

> What is the fastest single core CPU produced before intel / AMD went to dual core - and now quad core?



+1 Ethan. P4 3.8's were a screamer.



> How fast of a clock speed is anticipated before the mfg's focus more on cores vs increased clock speed?



Umm...that already happened like 5 years ago, then again about 2 years ago.



> What's the expected trajectory of technology -



This sounds like a term paper or something. Why don't you do a bit of research?


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## realmike15 (Apr 24, 2009)

Jamin43 said:


> I'm curious what the highest clock speed for a CPU and
> * 5 yrs ago - I got a 1.8 ghz CPU
> * 2 years later got a 2.8 ghz CPU
> * I missed dual core and am looking at quad cores to purchase within 6-10 mo
> ...



the focus as of late, has been on processor architecture/size, and instruction methods.  prescott processors we're notoriously hot, and intel sort of hit a brick wall with clock speeds.  i'm guessing sometime in the future, we'll be able to move clock speeds up again with new technology... or something will completely replace the CPU as we know it.

either way it's too early to tell right now


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## Calibretto (Apr 24, 2009)

The highest clocked CPU on the market is the Pentium D 965 Extreme Edition clocked at 3.73GHz.


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## Aastii (Apr 24, 2009)

Calibretto said:


> The highest clocked CPU on the market is the Pentium D 965 Extreme Edition clocked at 3.73GHz.



that is dual core though


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## Calibretto (Apr 24, 2009)

Aastii said:


> that is dual core though


Yeah so? I'm pretty sure it's the highest clocked CPU available.


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## Jamin43 (Apr 24, 2009)

imsati said:


> This sounds like a term paper or something. Why don't you do a bit of research?



Just trying to grasp the macro tech environment so I can stay in the highest performance / price spectrum to choose when I want to actually do my first build.  I'm anticipating an AMD quad core w/ AM3 socket DDR 3 - Windows 7 system but won't be building for a little bit and may change that when the time comes to build.

Knowing where tech has been and where things are going will help me make better decisions for my budget.


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## Zatharus (Apr 24, 2009)

Also a dual core chip, the IBM Power6 CPU launched a few years ago and debuted around 4.7GHz I believe.


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## Aastii (Apr 24, 2009)

Calibretto said:


> Yeah so? I'm pretty sure it's the highest clocked CPU available.





> *What is the fastest single core CPU produced before intel / AMD went to dual core*



Single core was asked for


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## Jamin43 (Apr 25, 2009)

Aastii said:


> Single core was asked for



Yes it was - but upon further thought - any core clock speed is fine in terms of what I was trying to learn.


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## Calibretto (Apr 25, 2009)

Aastii said:


> Single core was asked for


The title of the post didn't mention single core so I assumed it was any CPU.


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## WeatherMan (Apr 25, 2009)

But the P4 570 is faster than 3.73 Anyway


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## lovely? (Apr 25, 2009)

Jamin43 said:


> Yes it was - but upon further thought - any core clock speed is fine in terms of what I was trying to learn.



i believe that intel uses a simple plan. on one generation of processors, they shrink the die size, meaning it uses less power among other things. in the next generation, they change the architecture of the chip to make it more efficient, and/or add transistors.

in the last few years, clock speed has actually dropped a little in favor of multiple cores and high efficiency. instead of 3.8ghz processors, we are dealing with 3.2ghz.


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