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CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide

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Figure 3-12 One of many types of system crystals

NOTE CPU makers sell the exact make and model of CPU at a number of

different speeds. All of these CPUs come off of the same assembly lines, so

why do they have different speeds? Every CPU comes with subtle differences

—flaws, really—in the silicon that makes one CPU run faster than another.

The speed difference comes from testing each CPU to see what speed it can

handle.

The quartz oscillator sends out an electric pulse at a certain speed, many

millions of times per second. This signal goes first to a clock chip that adjusts

the pulse, usually increasing the pulse sent by the crystal by some large

multiple. (The folks who make motherboards could connect the crystal

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