what does turbo speed mean?

[Georgebee]

I was looking at a processor and it said 3.5ghz (4.1) What does turbo speed mean? Overcock speed? Max over clock speed? Can you just set it from turbo to non? If its in turbo can you over clock it? As much detail as possible please

 

[laviniuc]

if the cpu uses just one core for example, the other 3 will be idle, thus not generating any heat for the total max wattage of the cpu. the cpu notices this and overclocks that particular core to 4.1 instead of the standard 3.5. the same can happen if 2 of the 4 cores are used only and even for 3.

this is all done behind the scenes so you will not notice this is happening. essentially it's great for games that are most often not optimized for 2+ cores.

edit: it's similar to the speed step. with speed step, when none of the cores are working the cpu decreases clock speed and voltage to reduce power draw. with turbo speed, when there is work to do it will automatically increase the speed as much as it can for as many cores as it can IF the tdp AND temperatures are not over the limits.

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Microprocessors have a maximum TDP they are designed to work within. This essentially should encompass both power and heat. When not utilizing every core available in a modern processor, there is "room to spare" in the TDP maximum. CPUs that have a boost function, will increase the frequency of some of their cores to various boost states, while maintaining compliance in their power and heat envelopes, allowing some tasks to complete sooner than they otherwise would have.

While you could disable the boost states, and also power management on your CPU, the benefits are not always there. When turbo is functioning normally, it is essentially clocking up your processor in a stable manner, similar to what you would achieve through overclocking, but it will also dial back processor speeds as the computer sits idle, saving on electricity costs and generating less heat. Overclocking manually can become very inefficient as often times power management functions are turned off to achieve stable overclock results.

 

[ubercake]

Turbo speed is the speed the processor will speed up to when a heavy load is placed on it.

Overclock speed is a speed manually set - usually in the BIOS/UEFI - which exceeds the maximum manufacturer's specified speed of the processor (above the factory-rated turbo speed).

Max overclock speed is normally considered the speed at which a given processor can be overclocked under stable operation.

Note- Overclocking will reduce the longevity of a given processor.

 

[Georgebee]

So can I over clock it more extensively after with my Asus m5a97 board , and will the stock cooler be enough to support the additional over clocking or at least the turbo?

 

[Immaculate]

3.5GHz is probably the lowest speed it drops to and 4.1Ghz is the fastest it will run given it has adequate cooling and won't throttle from heat.
We need more specifics on which CPU your asking about. Usually a "K" or "Black Edition" denotes whether or not you can overclock the CPU.
If it is not overclockable then just leave it how it is, with the turbos on.
If it is some kind of prebuilt just wait until warranty is up if nothing goes wrong, open it up and clean the dust out, you could even reapply some thermal paste.

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

The turbo feature in the processor will function within the limitations of your cooling device, whether stock or aftermarket. If you turn off automatic throttling controls and overclock manually, it will be up to you to determine what clock speeds and voltages need be applied to achieve a stable system. Once you start considering the extra expense of aftermarket cooling to achieve a faster processor speed, you might as well look at just getting a better processor, provided you haven't ordered either part yet. The extra cost of cooling can often times bump you up to the next tier in processor speed.

 

[Georgebee]

Any grafics card you guys recommend with the AMD 6300, 600w PSU, and the ausu m5a97 ? Under $150

 

[laviniuc]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-3.html
radeon 7790