Question

Consider an unpipelined or single-stage processor design like the one discussed in slide 6 of lecture 17. At the start of a cycle, a new instruction enters the processor and is processed completely within a single cycle. It takes 2,000 ps to navigate all the circuits in a cycle (including latch overheads). Therefore, for this design to work, the cycle time has to be at least 2,000 pico seconds.

What is the clock speed of this processor?

Answer 1

The clock speed = 0.5Ghz

Step-by-step explanation:

Given Data:

Cycle time = 200pico seconds

Since 1 Pico = 10⁻¹²,

Cycle time = 2000 * 10⁻¹² seconds

To calculate clock speed, we use the formula;

Clock speed = 1/cycle time

Substituting into the formula, we have

Clock speed = 1/ 2000 * 10⁻¹²

= 1/2*10⁻⁹

=500,000,000Hz

Putting it in its simplest form, we have

Since 1 gaga = 1,000,000,000

Therefore, 500,000,000Hz/1,000,000,000 = 0.5Ghz

Clock speed = 0.5Ghz

Answer 2

The clock speed of this processor is 2GHz

Step-by-step explanation:

The clock speed of this processor is calculated as follows

clock speed = 1/2000ps

Note; pico seconds = ps = 1*10^(-12)

Therefore,

clock speed = 1/{2000*10^(-12)} = 1/{20^(-9)} = 20^9 Hz = 2GHz