Topic: Difference gigahash and gigahertz (Read 4540 times)
Note that you may remove "giga". There's the same difference between hash and hertz.
Gigahash and gigahertz are unrelated.
Gigahash is 1 billion hashes, just like gigajoule is 1 billion joules, gigagram is 1 billion grams, and gigameter is 1 billion meters.
Hertz is a measure of frequency. 1 hertz is 1 cycle per second, so gigahertz is 1 billion cycles per second.
When measuring mining capacity, people use hashes per second. 1 gigahash per second is 1 billion hashes per second. Sometimes for convenience, people will write "gigahash" when they mean "gigahash per second".
Gigahash is 1 billion hashes, just like gigajoule is 1 billion joules, gigagram is 1 billion grams, and gigameter is 1 billion meters.
Hertz is a measure of frequency. 1 hertz is 1 cycle per second, so gigahertz is 1 billion cycles per second.
When measuring mining capacity, people use hashes per second. 1 gigahash per second is 1 billion hashes per second. Sometimes for convenience, people will write "gigahash" when they mean "gigahash per second".
Hi all, I would like to know if 1 gigahash is the same as 1 gigahertz? Thanks in advance for an answer 
They are unrelated units of measurement. Hertz is a way to measure frequency or cycles per second. Hash per second is exactly that, how many hashes are created in a second.
So, to review, Gigahertz= 1 billion clock cycles per second(when relating to computing power)
Gigahash per second= 1 billion hashes of the given algorithm per second.
Thanks very much for the fast reply.
If I understand it correct, there is only a difference regarding the operation but the speed is the same (1 per second).
If I understand it correct, there is only a difference regarding the operation but the speed is the same (1 per second).
That is correct, but keep in mind that your regular computer CPU will need several cycles (probably a few thousand) to calculate a single SHA256 hash. Thus when we are talking about bitcoin mining a Gigahash/s is faster than a GHz CPU. On the other hand your CPU can do many different things (run your browser, play games, etc.) while modern mining equipment (ASICs) can only hash SHA256.
Thanks very much for the fast reply.
If I understand it correct, there is only a difference regarding the operation but the speed is the same (1 per second).
If I understand it correct, there is only a difference regarding the operation but the speed is the same (1 per second).
Hi all, I would like to know if 1 gigahash is the same as 1 gigahertz? Thanks in advance for an answer
1 kilohash is the caluclation of 1000 hashes. Typcially this is given as hash per second. Giga is just a prefix of higher order, thus 1 gigahash per second is 10003 hashes per second.
Hertz is a SI unit for frequency and 1 Hertz = 1 per second. It is typically used to refer to the "speed" of a CPU[1]. Speed as in number of cycles per second. A 1 Ghz is capable of 10003 operations per second. What an operation is depends on the CPU. Modern CPUs can do most basic math calculations in a single cycle.
Should you find a CPU that can calculate a SHA256 hash in a single cycle 1Ghz = 1Ghash/s. Most CPUs dont implement SHA256 directly on the chip.
[1] Note: when refering to CPU I talk about a general purpose CPU. Something you would get in a computer you buy at a store.
Hi all, I would like to know if 1 gigahash is the same as 1 gigahertz? Thanks in advance for an answer
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