Intel® Turbo Boost Technology

Performance on demand

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology is one of the many exciting features that Intel has built into latest-generation Intel® microarchitecture codename Nehalem. It automatically allows processor cores to run faster than the base operating frequency if it's operating below power, current, and temperature specification limits.

Intel Turbo Boost Technology is activated when the Operating System (OS) requests the highest processor performance state.

The maximum frequency of Intel Turbo Boost Technology is dependent on the number of active cores. The amount of time the processor spends in the Intel Turbo Boost Technology state depends on the workload and operating environment.

Any of the following can set the upper limit of Intel Turbo Boost Technology on a given workload:

* Number of active cores
* Estimated current consumption
* Estimated power consumption
* Processor temperature

When the processor is operating below these limits and the user's workload demands additional performance, the processor frequency will dynamically increase by 133 MHz on short and regular intervals until the upper limit is met or the maximum possible upside for the number of active cores is reached.