ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

CPU multiplier

Think of a CPU multiplier like a teacher who gives out snacks to the class. The teacher has a big box of snacks, but they can only give one snack to each person at a time. The teacher decides how many snacks each person gets by using a multiplier.

For example, let's say the teacher has 20 snacks and a multiplier of 2. This means that each person gets 2 snacks, so the teacher can give snacks to 10 people. But if the multiplier was 3, each person would get 3 snacks and the teacher could only give snacks to 6 people.

In the same way, a CPU multiplier helps control how fast a computer processor works. The multiplier determines the speed at which the processor runs by multiplying the clock speed of the processor's base frequency. If the base frequency is 2.4 GHz and the multiplier is set to 12, then the processor will run at 28.8 GHz.

A higher multiplier means the processor runs faster, but this can also generate more heat and require more power. This is why processor manufacturers set limits on the maximum multiplier for each processor model to ensure it runs safely and efficiently.

So, just like how a teacher uses a multiplier to control how many snacks each person gets, a CPU multiplier helps control how fast a computer's processor runs.