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What is a CPU clock physically?

Submitted by: @import:stackexchange-cs··
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physicallycpuwhatclock

Problem

I can't seem to get a straight answer as to what a CPU clock is.

I know there are quartz crystal clocks that work by the bending of quartz that happens as an electrical current is passed through it. Do modern CPUs also use a crystal with the same property?

Solution

Modern clocks are originally generated by quartz crystal oscillators of about 20MHz or so, and then the frequency is multiplied by one or more phase-locked loops to generate the clock signals for different parts of the system. (such as 4GHz for a CPU core).

This is mostly a question of electronics design, though.

Context

StackExchange Computer Science Q#153752, answer score: 38

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