What primarily determines the power of a processor?

The power of a processor is primarily determined by its speed and word size, which are critical factors influencing its overall performance. Processor speed, often measured in gigahertz (GHz), indicates how many cycles per second the processor can execute. A higher speed generally means that the processor can perform tasks more quickly.

Word size refers to the amount of data the processor can handle at one time, typically measured in bits (such as 32-bit or 64-bit). A larger word size allows the processor to handle more data in a single operation, which can enhance performance, particularly for applications that handle large amounts of data.

Together, speed and word size affect how efficiently a processor can execute instructions, manage operations, and process data, thereby determining its overall power and capability in running applications and performing tasks. While the number of cores and operating system efficiency contribute to processor performance, they do not primarily define the intrinsic power of the processor itself as much as speed and word size do.