[citation][nom]rebel1280[/nom]at the risk of sounding totally noob on this website, an inquiring mind wants to know: What happened to the GHz race? i thought we would be at 5GHz already . please no flaming, i sincerely want to know.[/citation]
I know some guys have already responded, but this is how I explain it, maybe someone might find this useful.
It GHz race was like having a brick layer who could lay, say, 10 bricks per minute. We tried to get more done by having him work faster, but he started getting really hot and it was hard work.
Then, they (manufacturers) brought in another guy that could do 50%-75% of the one guy and now both of them lay 7 bricks per minute at a reasonable pace. They use less energy b/c they don't have to work as fast (diminishing returns as you go faster), and you still get an extra 4 bricks per minute.
Same thing with going to quad core.