Stopwatch.Frequency Field

Definition

Gets the frequency of the timer as the number of ticks per second. This field is read-only.

public static readonly long Frequency;

Field Value

Examples

The following example displays the frequency and resolution of a Stopwatch timer. This code example is part of a larger example provided for the Stopwatch class.

public static void DisplayTimerProperties()
{
    // Display the timer frequency and resolution.
    if (Stopwatch.IsHighResolution)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Operations timed using the system's high-resolution performance counter.");
    }
    else
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Operations timed using the DateTime class.");
    }

    long frequency = Stopwatch.Frequency;
    Console.WriteLine("  Timer frequency in ticks per second = {0}",
        frequency);
    long nanosecPerTick = (1000L*1000L*1000L) / frequency;
    Console.WriteLine("  Timer is accurate within {0} nanoseconds",
        nanosecPerTick);
}

Remarks

The timer frequency indicates the timer precision and resolution. For example, a timer frequency of 2 million ticks per second equals a timer resolution of 500 nanoseconds per tick. In other words, because one second equals 1 billion nanoseconds, a timer frequency of 2 million ticks per second is equivalent to 2 million ticks per 1 billion nanoseconds, which can be further simplified to 1 tick per 500 nanoseconds.

The Frequency value depends on the resolution of the underlying timing mechanism. If the installed hardware and operating system support a high-resolution performance counter, then the Frequency value reflects the frequency of that counter. Otherwise, the Frequency value is based on the system timer frequency.

Because the Stopwatch frequency depends on the installed hardware and operating system, the Frequency value remains constant while the system is running.

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1
UWP 10.0

See also