Skip To Main Content
Support Knowledge Base

Frequently Asked Questions About Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 Technology

Content Type: Product Information & Documentation   |   Article ID: 000021587   |   Last Reviewed: 01/21/2025

Refer to the frequently asked questions about the Intel Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 Technology.

What Is Turbo Boost 3.0?

Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 Technology identifies the best performing core(s) on a processor and provides increased performance on those cores through increasing frequency as needed by taking advantage of power and thermal headroom.

Due to production differences, processor cores vary in maximum potential frequency. Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 identifies up to two of the fastest cores on your CPU, known as “favored cores”. Then it applies a frequency boost to those cores (or that core) and directs critical workloads to them.

 

What is the difference between Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 and Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0?

Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 doesn’t replace Turbo Boost 2.0. It’s another technology that provides an extra boost to the favored core(s). This helps benefit performance in lightly-threaded applications. Multi-threaded applications, by comparison, perform more work in parallel, scaling with more cores and features. Games and many common applications rely on high-frequency cores and benefit from Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0. As with other boost technologies, your CPU must be running below power, current, and temperature specifications for Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 to take effect.

Do I need to install any software (or driver) to get Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 to run in my system?

No. No need to install any driver. Make sure you upgrade your Windows* OS to the latest version, and your processor supports Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0.

Is Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 enabled automatically?

Yes. The Windows OS has native support for Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 and the feature is enabled automatically. The processor feature Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 is enabled in the hardware. The OS knows this feature of the processor and loads the native support. There's no need to enable in the BIOS or OS. Running a tool like Intel® Extreme Tuning Utility (Intel® XTU) can monitor the processor's Intel® Turbo Boost Max 3.0 frequency (settings are called Turbo Boost Power Max).

How to find if the Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 is supported by the Intel® Processor?Refer to How to Find if the Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 Supported for Intel® Processor.

 

Related topics
Performance Proxy Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Intel® Processors
My Intel® Core™ Processor Does Not Reach the Maximum Turbo Boost Frequency
Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Frequently Asked Questions
How Intel Technologies Boost Your CPU’s Performance

Related Products

This article applies to 52 products.
Intel® Core™ i7 processors (14th gen) 5th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 9th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 11th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 12th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors Intel® Core™ i5 processors (14th gen) 8th Generation Intel® Core™ m Processors 9th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors 13th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors 13th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 9th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors 11th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors Intel® Core™ X-series Processors Intel® Core™ processors (Series 1) 11th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 12th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 12th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 12th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 Processors 7th Generation Intel® Core™ m Processors 5th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 9th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 Processors 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 Processors 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 Processors 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors Intel® Core™ i3 processors (14th gen) Intel® Core™ processors (Series 2) 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors 6th Generation Intel® Core™ m Processors 5th Generation Intel® Core™ M Processors 13th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 13th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 Processors Intel® Core™ Ultra Processors (Series 2) Intel® Core™ i9 processors (14th gen) 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 11th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 Processors Intel® Core™ i5-6600K Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.90 GHz) Intel® Core™ Ultra Processors (Series 1) 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors Intel® Core™ Processor N-series 5th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors

Discontinued Products