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What is Intel® Turbo Boost Technology and how does it work?
Intel Turbo Boost Technology is a way to automatically run the processor core faster than the marked frequency if the part is operating under power, temperature, and current specifications limits of the Thermal Design Power (TDP). This results in increased performance of both single and multi-threaded applications.
For more information see the Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 page. back to top 
What is the difference between the original implementation of Intel® Turbo Boost Technology and Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0?
Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 takes advantage of the power efficiencies introduced with having an integrated die for processor and graphics. It is also optimized for the new micro-architecture that was introduced with the Intel® Core™ i7-2xxx processor series and the Intel® Core™ i5-2xxx processor series. back to top
Which processor families support Intel® Turbo Boost Technology?
- Intel® Core™ i7 mobile and desktop processors
- Intel® Core™ i7 processor extreme edition
- Intel® Core™ i7 mobile processor extreme edition
- Intel® Core™ i5 mobile and desktop processors
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Where can I find out more about how Intel® Turbo Boost Technology works across cores?
The links below show charts that illustrate how Intel® Turbo Boost Technology works across the processor cores if adequate power, temperature, and current headroom exists. Note that a bin refers to a +100 MHz or +133 MHz increase in speed.
Intel® Core™ i5 desktop processor turbo boost frequencies chart
Intel® Core™ i7 desktop processor turbo boost frequencies chart
Intel® Core™ i7 Extreme Edition desktop processor turbo boost frequencies chart back to top
What factors influence Intel® Turbo Boost Technology operation?
While Intel® Turbo Boost Technology availability is independent of the number of active cores, the operation is dependent on having headroom (cores operating under TDP) available in one or more cores. The amount of time the system spends in turbo boost will ultimately depend on workload, operating environment, and platform design. back to top
How is Intel® Turbo Boost Technology enabled or disabled?
Intel Turbo Boost Technology is usually enabled by default by a switch in the bios where you can either enable or disable operation. Other than this, there are no user controllable settings to change Intel Turbo Boost Technology operation either in the hardware settings or operating system. Once enabled, Intel Turbo Boost Technology works automatically under operating system control.
What is Dynamic Frequency and how does it work?
Dynamic Frequency works very similar to Intel® Turbo Boost Technology in that it will dynamically provide a boost to graphics performance when graphics intensive tasks are being done. Like Intel Turbo Boost Technology, there must be power and thermal headroom available in order to work. Dynamic Frequency was introduced on desktop processors with the Intel® Core™ i7-2xxx processor series and the Intel® Core™ i5-2xxx processor series. back to top
How do I enable Dynamic Frequency?
Dynamic Frequency is automatically enabled on most systems, so no user intervention is required. back to top
How does Dynamic Frequency impact Intel® Turbo Boost Technology operation?
The Dynamic Frequency power sharing algorithm works in concert with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology to deliver a performance boost to graphics intensive applications when power and thermal headroom exist.
Is turbo frequency the same for all active cores in the processor?
Yes. back to top
Can Intel® Turbo Boost Technology be enabled or disabled by core?
No. You can sometimes disable cores in the bios but this is not recommended unless there is a specific reason you need to do this.
Is there a way to specify the maximum Intel® Turbo Boost Technology frequency?
There is no way to specify the maximum frequency. Once the system is in turbo boost, the processor automatically determines the maximum frequency it can operate at based on operating conditions. back to top
How can I tell if Intel® Turbo Boost Technology is working?
Intel® Turbo Boost Technology Monitor is a tool that will show you Intel Turbo Boost Technology in action. Visit the Intel Turbo Boost Technology Monitor page for more information regarding supported processor families, supported operating systems, and to download the tool. If your processor does not support Intel Turbo Boost Technology, the tool will not work.
If you disable the other cores in the bios, the Intel® Processor Identification Utility will be able to show you that it is working at the highest turbo boost frequency. If you set the amount of cores to one in the bios and run the Intel Processor Identification Utility, it will show the highest Turbo Boost frequency. Make sure that you reset the switch in the bios to reactivate all cores in the bios if you made that change. back to top
How important is system integration and system design in regard to Intel® Turbo Boost Technology?
Since Intel® Turbo Boost Technology runs when the processor is operating under the power, temperature, and current specifications limits of Thermal Design Power (TDP), good system integration and thermal design becomes more important than ever to extract the benefits of Intel Turbo Boost Technology. back to top
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