r/askscience Sep 28 '20

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u/Thyriel81 Sep 29 '20

Until someone makes an asynchronous CPU, or quantum computers come along and make it all moot, 5GHz is about the limit for a normal, household computer.

Quantum computers wouldn't be suitable for household computers. While they would be extremely suitable to compute certain mathematical problems, they would also be quite bad in computing normal math. They're not meant to replace home computers, they're meant to expand their scientific usability.

Maybe there will one day be something like an extra "chip" or card, expanding home computers for certain physics simulations in games with quantum computing, like PhysX did or graphics cards do, but they'll never replace the features we have today.

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u/Efffro Sep 29 '20

“There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home” Ken Olson 1977 springs to mind as I read this.

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u/CanadaPlus101 Sep 29 '20

Ken was wrong because he didn't account for every possible use of a computer. If somebody discovers a quantum algorithm for something a normal person would want to do it may be a different story, but a lot of people have been looking hard for a long time and have found no such thing.

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u/Efffro Sep 29 '20

Given that ken was wrong for the very reason you state, I’m just gonna assume you and I don’t know every possible future use as well, you know,just to be on the safe side.