Turbo speed not reached?

[Bryanmsi]

The published specs for the 2018 MacBook Air say the Intel i5 CPU supports turbo boost up to 3.6GHz. I have checked on 2 separate MacBook Air 2018 models and both max out at 3.0 GHz according to the Intel Power Gadget. The extra 600MHz isn't a huge difference, but I'm quite surprised that Apple is throttling to 3.0GHz max and not the promised 3.6GHz.

I assume the Intel Power Gadget is correct, so what gives?

Do only special system processes 'unlock' the extra 600MHz? Fan speed or CPU temps don't appear to have any impact - 3.0GHz is always the max.

 

[ruslan120]

Apple has previously done firmware upgrades to improve functionality (SATA speeds, even recently improving Macbook Air brightness) so I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s unlocked in the future (if that is that case).

It might also be a firmware issue, which Apple will only fix if there’s enough outcry (posting fervently on Apple forums and raising awareness).

I assume you’re out of the return window since it’s a 2018 model, so best courses of action that I would take would be to try and get it replaced under warranty and see if a third model has the same issue and if that doesn’t work, post on Apple forums until it’s fixed.

 

[Bryanmsi]

Apple has previously done firmware upgrades to improve functionality (SATA speeds, even recently improving Macbook Air brightness) so I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s unlocked in the future (if that is that case).

It might also be a firmware issue, which Apple will only fix if there’s enough outcry (posting fervently on Apple forums and raising awareness).

I assume you’re out of the return window since it’s a 2018 model, so best courses of action that I would take would be to try and get it replaced under warranty and see if a third model has the same issue and if that doesn’t work, post on Apple forums until it’s fixed.

I doubt it is an equipment issue since two different MBA bought months apart behave identically. And I doubt Apple would even authorize a return based on a readout from the Intel Power Gadget. Since both MBAs benchmark identically and are consistent with published MBA benchmarks, I'd be shocked if this isn't the standard configuration from Apple.

I'd love to see another 2018 or 2019 MBA owner install Intel Power Gadget and report their results.

BTW - an easy way to max out the CPU is to open the terminal and type 'yes'