To tell your CPU speed on Windows, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager, click Performance, then CPU. You will see two numbers in GHz: the live “Speed” and the “Base speed.” On an Intel Mac, open the Apple menu and choose About This Mac. On Linux, type lscpu in a terminal.
Apple silicon Macs (M1 and newer) are the exception. They don’t show a GHz figure anywhere in the normal menus, so they need a different method, which you’ll find below.
Finding a number takes seconds. Knowing which number matters takes a little more, because every modern processor has at least three speeds. This guide shows you where to find each one and how to read it.
What is CPU speed?
CPU speed, also called clock speed, is how many cycles your processor completes each second. It is measured in gigahertz (GHz), and 1 GHz means one billion cycles per second. So a 3.5 GHz chip runs 3.5 billion cycles every second, doing a small piece of work in each one.
The chip reaches that speed by multiplying a small base clock, usually 100 MHz, by a number called the multiplier. A 100 MHz base clock with a 36x multiplier gives 3.6 GHz. Intel has a short, clear explainer on how clock speed works if you want the fuller picture.
What trips most people up is that one processor has several speeds:
| Speed type | What it means |
| Base speed | The speed the chip is rated to hold under a normal, steady workload. This is the number printed after the “@” in many Intel model names. |
| Boost (turbo) speed | The highest speed one or two cores can reach for short bursts, when the chip is cool and has enough power. Intel calls this Turbo Boost; AMD calls it Precision Boost. |
| Current speed | What the chip is running at this exact moment. It rises and falls many times per second. |
When a spec sheet says “up to 5.8 GHz,” that’s the boost speed. Most of the time your chip runs well below it.
How to check CPU speed on Windows 11 and 10
Windows gives you four built-in ways to check. Task Manager is the most useful because it shows both the live speed and the base speed side by side.
Task Manager (live and base speed)
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. You can also right-click the Start button and pick it from the menu.
- Click Performance. On Windows 11 it sits in the left sidebar; on Windows 10 it is a tab along the top. If you only see a small window, click “More details” first.
- Click CPU in the list on the left.
- Look under the graph. “Speed” is the live clock right now, and “Base speed” is the rated speed.
Quick read: if “Speed” is higher than “Base speed,” your chip is boosting, which is good. If it sits far below base speed while the PC is idle, that is normal power saving, not a fault.
Settings (the rated speed)
Open Settings > System > About and look at “Processor” under Device specifications. You will see the full model name, such as “Intel Core i5-10400 CPU @ 2.90GHz,” plus a GHz figure. That figure is the rated speed, not the boost speed and not the live speed.
System Information
Press the Windows key, type System Information, and open it. The “Processor” line shows the model name, the rated speed in MHz, and the number of cores. This window is handy when you need several specs at once.
PowerShell (exact numbers)
Open PowerShell and paste this command:
Get-CimInstance Win32_Processor | Select-Object Name, MaxClockSpeed, CurrentClockSpeed
The results come in MHz, so 2901 means 2.9 GHz. One thing to know: “MaxClockSpeed” usually matches the base speed, not the boost. An Intel Core i5-10400, for example, reports 2901 even though it can boost to 4.3 GHz.
How to check CPU speed on a Mac
The method depends on which kind of chip your Mac has. Click the Apple menu and choose About This Mac to find out. If it lists a “Processor” with a GHz number, you have an Intel Mac. If it lists a “Chip” such as Apple M2 or Apple M4, you have Apple silicon.
Intel Macs
About This Mac shows the speed right there, for example “2.3 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9.” For the full model name, open Terminal and run:
sysctl -n machdep.cpu.brand_string
Then look up that model on Intel’s site (covered below) to find its boost speed.
Apple silicon Macs (M1 to M5)
Apple doesn’t publish clock speeds for its own chips, and macOS doesn’t show one in About This Mac. The chips still have clock speeds, though, and they have been measured. The M1’s performance cores top out at about 3.2 GHz. On the M4, the performance cores reach about 4.5 GHz and the efficiency cores about 2.9 GHz. The base M5 pushes its fastest cores to about 4.6 GHz.
To watch your Mac’s real speed, open Terminal and run this (it will ask for your admin password):
sudo powermetrics –samplers cpu_power -i 1000 -n 1
Look for the lines that report the frequency of the performance and efficiency clusters, shown in MHz. Like any modern chip, an M-series processor picks its speed based on the workload, the power mode, and how warm it is, so the number you see will change from one run to the next.
How to check CPU speed on Linux
Open a terminal and run:
lscpu | grep MHz
On most systems this prints “CPU max MHz” and “CPU min MHz,” which show the full range your chip can run at. The max value is usually the boost speed.
To see the live speed of every core, run grep MHz /proc/cpuinfo. For a view that refreshes every second, use watch -n1 “grep MHz /proc/cpuinfo” and press Ctrl + C to stop it. You’ll see each core jump up and down as the load changes.
How to find a CPU’s official speed from its model name
Once you know the model name, the maker’s spec page gives you the exact base and boost speeds. This is the most reliable way to learn the boost figure, since Windows and macOS mostly show the base speed.
- For Intel chips, search your model number (for example, i7-12700F) on Intel’s product specifications site. Look for “Processor Base Frequency” and “Max Turbo Frequency.” Newer chips list separate speeds for Performance-cores and Efficient-cores.
- For AMD chips, search the model on AMD’s website. Each product page lists “Base Clock” and “Max Boost Clock.” A Ryzen 7 5800X, for example, has a 3.8 GHz base clock and boosts up to 4.7 GHz.
You can also see the CPU speed without starting Windows at all. Restart the PC and open the BIOS or UEFI setup screen (usually by pressing Delete, F2, or F10 during startup). The main page almost always shows the processor model and its speed.
How to see your real CPU speed under load
The speed Task Manager shows while you read email tells you very little. An idle chip can drop below 1 GHz to save power. To see what your processor actually reaches, you need to give it work.
Keep Task Manager open on the CPU page, then start something demanding, like a game, a video export, or a large file compression. Watch the “Speed” number. On a healthy desktop it should climb near the boost speed. On a laptop it may land a bit lower, since laptops have less room to get rid of heat.
Free tools such as CPU-Z and HWiNFO show the speed of each core separately, along with temperatures. That helps, because boost speeds often apply to only one or two cores at a time.
If your chip stays well below its base speed while it is busy, check these common causes:
- Power mode. On Windows 11, go to Settings > System > Power & battery and set the power mode to “Best performance.” A laptop on battery also runs slower on purpose.
- Heat. When a chip gets too hot, it cuts its own speed to protect itself. This is called thermal throttling. Dust in the fans or a failing cooler is often to blame.
- Background load or old drivers. Updating your chipset drivers and BIOS can fix power settings that hold the chip back.
What is a good CPU speed?
There is no single good number, because GHz only compares fairly between chips from the same family and generation. Newer processors do more work in each cycle. That measure is called IPC, or instructions per cycle. A new 4 GHz chip can easily beat an older 4.5 GHz chip.
As a loose guide for current hardware, desktop processors from Intel and AMD commonly boost to between about 4.5 and 6 GHz. The Intel Core i9-14900K, for example, reaches up to 6.0 GHz. Laptop chips usually boost a little lower to save battery and stay cool. Apple’s M-series chips run at lower clock speeds than many Windows desktop chips but still perform strongly, which shows how little GHz tells you on its own.
If you are comparing two computers, look at three things together: the boost speed, the number of cores, and a benchmark score from a tool such as Geekbench or Cinebench. The benchmark is the closest thing to a real answer, because it measures the work done rather than the ticks of the clock.
Rule of thumb: use GHz to compare chips of the same generation. Use benchmark scores to compare anything else.
Conclusion
To tell your CPU speed, open Task Manager on Windows, About This Mac on an Intel Mac, powermetrics on Apple silicon, or lscpu on Linux. Then look up your model on the maker’s site to learn its boost speed. A healthy chip idles low, climbs close to its boost speed under heavy work, and never sits far below base speed while busy. If it does, check your power mode and temperatures first.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my CPU speed lower than the advertised speed?
Usually because the PC is idle. Modern chips drop their speed when there is little to do, then boost when you open something heavy. If the speed stays low while the chip is busy, check your power mode and CPU temperature.
Does Task Manager show the turbo boost speed?
Not as a fixed number. The “Speed” reading shows the live clock, which rises toward the boost speed under load. “Base speed” is the rated figure. For the official maximum boost, look up your model on the Intel or AMD website.
Is 2.5 GHz a good CPU speed?
It depends on the chip. A recent laptop processor with a 2.5 GHz base speed may boost past 4.5 GHz and feel very fast. An older chip at 2.5 GHz will feel slow. Compare the model’s generation and benchmark scores, not GHz alone.
How do I check the CPU speed on my Android phone?
Android doesn’t show clock speed in Settings on most phones. Install a free app like CPU-Z to see each core’s live speed, or search your phone’s chip name (listed in the app) to find its maximum speed. iPhones don’t show clock speed at all.
Can I make my CPU run faster?
Yes, within limits. Set your power mode to best performance, keep the PC plugged in, and clean dust from the fans. Unlocked chips, such as Intel “K” models and most AMD Ryzen chips, can also be overclocked, though that adds heat and power use.
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