Joset, I think you're not understanding something. On a processor, there is a clock setting inside the CPU programmed into it by a AMD or Intel programmer. It does not matter where this physically resides because you aint gonna edit it. On Intel and AMD cpu's the clock is set to 200MHz (excluding Extreme Edition and older CPU's). On Intel CPU's, they use a standard Front Side Bus where that 200MHz is sent 4 times per second (using all 4 sides of the Square Wave, also known as Quad Data Rate). On AMD64 CPU's, they use HyperTransport Links, which replace traditional Front Side Bus's and they also have the Memory Controller on the chip, vs. in the Northbridge on Intel CPU's.
The clock signal that runs at 200MHz is a pre-defined speed that is how fast your computer is running. Before there was no Multiplier (Clock Stepping), that was how fast your CPU ran, at w/e the speed was it was set to by the programmer (in this case, it's 200MHz). But because 200MHz is obviously not enough speed, and setting a crystal clock of 2GHz would melt the CPU, they introduce Clock Stepping where they are able to increase the times the 200MHz crystal pulses per second and also control the pulses of where and how it communicates to the Northbridge w/o destroying the CPU.
1 important thing to note is the multiplier inside the CPU that makes it operate at 3GHz has nothing to do with the multiplier on HyperTransport or the Quad Data Rate on Intel FSB, Clock Stepping is the increase in the speed of the internal clock (being the 3GHz in this case) and the FSB or HyperTransport is independent itself from the Clock Stepping inside the CPU, but only to the extent where the higher the multiplier, doesn't mean increase in speed to HyperTransport or Front Side Bus.
The HyperTransport links operate on either 200MHz with a 4x Multiplier (800MHz sent each way) or 5x Multiplier (1000MHz sent each way). Also, the traditional Front Side Bus is actually made up of 3 parts, a Data Bus, Address Bus, and a Command Bus. 1 thing to note is, only the Data Bus is sent 4x 200MHz for 800MHz FSB, the Address & Command Bus only operate at 1x 200MHz speed. On HyperTransport, all the information in those 3 bus's is stuffed into 64-bit packets sent on 16-bit wide bus's (1 each way, sent at the same time, vs Intel FSB where it's sent either direction at 1 time, not both at same time).
The Memory from the Memory Controller on Intel CPU's is accessed at 200MHz Double Data Rate (400MHz Effective) where it accesses RAM at 400MHz and receives at 400MHz, UniDirectional (not at the same time). On AMD64 CPU's, it accesses information at 1GHz and receives at 400MHz BiDirectional (at the same time). This allows less latency and combined with HyperTransport, the effiency and bandwidth of an AMD64 system vs. Intel P4 system, is greater on the AMD64. To sum it up, Intel CPU's have a Front Side Bus, AMD64 systems do not have a Front Side Bus, it has been replaced with HyperTransport.
On Intel systems, the Front Side Bus accesses the Northbridge which than accesses the Memory Controller inside the Northbridge and tells it to get what it needs from Memory, after it receives the information, it than takes the Front Side Bus back into the CPU to process the information. Whereas on AMD64 systems, the CPU directly accesses the Memory w/o needed to wait for the Northbridge to get the information from the Memory Controller, because the Memory Controller is already on the CPU in AMD64.
And for the record, Joset, Volts and Multiplier have no correlation to each other, other than the obvious of more power is needed for a higher frequency. If you are looking for a more indepth definition of how a computer processor works physically, you're going to have to look elsewhere, as you're hardpressed to find somebody here who knows that, unless they looked it up.
~~Mad Mod Mike, pimpin' the world 1 rig at a time.