How Does Intel Turbo Boost Work?
In November 2008, Intel published a white paper describing a new feature, incorporated in its latest release of Nehalem-based processors, called Intel Turbo Boost Technology. This high performance technology essentially allows processors to run faster than the base frequency by dynamically controlling its clock rate under certain constraints. This article attempts to demystify this popular design concept of 'dynamic overclocking'.
When a processor is tweaked without add-on hardware to run faster than its base configuration, the result is that instead of processing x number of instructions per second (for which the original design was built), it is now capable of handling x+n instructions per second. In simple terms, it's going to process much more and therefore, faster than what it was built for. Intel's trademarked Turbo Boost Technology enables higher performance by making available an increased processor core frequency, provided some dependency conditions are met. Unlike manual overclocking by manipulating clock speeds on the BIOS, dynamic overclocking is automatic and is based upon constantly evaluating if the dependencies are met, commonly referred to as dynamically assessing headroom. Let us explore these dependencies in detail and find out how the Intel Turbo Boost Technology works.
Working of Intel Turbo Boost Technology and Processor Dependencies
Unlike overclocking which causes overheating of hardware making it prone to damage, Intel Turbo Boost is a technology built into the design of the processor versions that support it. The biggest benefit of this design is faster performance without exceeding the electrical and thermal specifications of the core, thus conserving energy when it is not needed. However, the increased core frequency is constrained by the following factors.
- Estimated processor power and current consumption
- Estimated processor temperature
- Number of active processor cores (they dictate the maximum frequency)
Advantages of Dynamic Overclocking
Intel Turbo Boost Technology being a dynamic feature that kicks in when certain conditions are met, the user cannot predict when the system will switch to the "turbo mode". However, it still provides a solution such that there's no compromise involved while choosing a dual core or quad core processor. Dual core processors have greater clock speeds because, the more number of cores in quad core meant increased power consumption and caused overheating. One had to make a choice also between applications that favored dual core or quad core. However, with Intel Turbo Boost, any idle core would go into a lower power state and the active cores would be dynamically overclocked thus eliminating compromise! A new version of Core i7 processor has a feature that enables operation at base clock speed when the system is battery-powered but switches to Turbo Boost, doubling its clock speed, when plugged in.
How to Use Turbo Boost Technology
The important thing to know is that Intel Turbo Boost technology will work only on the following supported processor families.
- i7 mobile and desktop processors
- i7 processor extreme edition
- i7 mobile processor extreme edition
- i5 mobile and desktop processors
If you're only using your PC for Internet browsing, working on a few word processing and spreadsheet applications and mostly just checking your email, you might not find much use for the Intel Turbo Boost Technology although you may prefer it to manual overclocking. However, if you're mostly working with HD media or video-intensive applications, 3D gaming or multitasking compute-intensive applications, then this on-demand performance technology that intelligently allocates extra processing power to match workload, is as futuristic as it gets.
Traditionally the playing field of gaming enthusiasts and power users, overclocking has found its way into modern-day processors for good. Preset processor clock speeds seem to have become a thing of the past. Adaptive performance of processors to suit the demands of the user in a dynamic and flexible way seems to be the future.
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