Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
What is Turbo Boost?
- Thread starter Felasco
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It means that the clock rate for the CPU runs at 2.5GHz but if a demanding app is using a lot of CPU, it can run at 3.1GHz for short periods of time
More detailed explanation can easily be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Turbo_Boost
What MacBook Air specs are you looking at? The 2013 model specs say
http://www.apple.com/macbook-air/specs.html
1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz)
or optionally
1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz)
No, that is because it shows 100% if _one_ core is running at 100%. A dual core Mac can go up to 200% if both cores are running at full speed, quad core up to 400%, and any Mac with hyperthreading can display twice as much.
It doesn't actually say anything about the speed at which the processor runs, just that it runs 100% of the time.
----------
That's remarkably close to what happens.
All the Intel CPUs are limited by heat production. The faster the chip runs, and the more work it does, the more heat. And if the heat gets too much and the fans can't take the heat away fast enough, the speed is reduced.
The first number (say 1.7 GHz for some MBA model) means the processor can run all cores at 1.7 GHz 24 hours a day without getting too hot. But if you use only one core for a short time, it can go up to the "Turbo Boost" speed.
What is "Turbo Boost"
"When Airwolf bolted across the sky in "turbo boost" mode, one would hear it "howl like a wolf" as it made a glass-shattering sound effect. When sitting idle, the aircraft made a mechanical trilling sound, and while hovering the rotor blades made a ghostly wind drone."
"When Airwolf bolted across the sky in "turbo boost" mode, one would hear it "howl like a wolf" as it made a glass-shattering sound effect. When sitting idle, the aircraft made a mechanical trilling sound, and while hovering the rotor blades made a ghostly wind drone."
Intel CPUs really can't go any faster (heat), and what many people really care about is battery life. So in a perfect world they would idle very as close to zero as possible, run background tasks or simple things at a low, rated speed, and ramp up into Turbo mode when extra CPU power is needed. Intel CPUs can do this, and run up as long as the total thermal envelope (the heat generated by all cores in the CPU) is no exceeded. Since many apps are single threaded (they use one thread of one core) this can be a big benefit - longer battery life and the power to encode video when needed. More here.
Many Apple systems have either 400% or 800% capacity. The former is dual-core, each with 2 threads. MBA's are like this. The latter is quad-core, such as the 15-inch rMBP. MPs can have many more, but very few apps can take advantage of them simultaneously. But you can run more than one thing at once.
Many Apple systems have either 400% or 800% capacity. The former is dual-core, each with 2 threads. MBA's are like this. The latter is quad-core, such as the 15-inch rMBP. MPs can have many more, but very few apps can take advantage of them simultaneously. But you can run more than one thing at once.
K.I.T.T. and K.A.R.R. were both equipped with a Turbo Boost capability. The system consisted of a series of rear mounted undercarriage rocket motors, which allowed the car to accelerate to speeds in excess of 200 mph. The rockets could fire both forwards and backwards as needed.
The system had two secondary uses:
- It could be used to provide power for pushing or pulling heavy objects when necessary.
- When used in combination with the Trajectory Guidance System and a pair of front-mounted rocket motors, the car could "jump" 40 feet into the air to avoid obstacles.
The Turbo Boost capability was used in most episodes of the Original Series.
[/QUOTE source=http://knight-rider.wikia.com/wiki/Turbo_Boost]