From the August 2002 Scientific American Magazine | 0 comments

Computers without Clocks ( Preview )

Asynchronous chips improve computer performance by letting each circuit run as fast as it can

By Ivan E. Sutherland and Jo Ebergen

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August
2002 Issue
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How fast is your personal computer?

When people ask this question, they are typically referring to the frequency of a minuscule clock inside the computer, a crystal oscillator that sets the basic rhythm used throughout the machine. In a computer with a speed of one gigahertz, for example, the crystal "ticks" a billion times a second. Every action of the computer takes place in tiny steps, each a billionth of a second long. A simple transfer of data may take only one step; complex calculations may take many steps. All operations, however, must begin and end according to the clock's timing signals.

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