

To be fair, it’s going to mean more in the mobile space, where base clocks start off a lot lower to save power, and Turbo Boost ceilings scale significantly higher. On the desktop, I frankly wasn’t able to tell a difference, and as a result, Turbo Boost 2.0 comes across somewhat gimmicky. The best I could get out of Intel was that it helped improve responsiveness. Unfortunately, it’s not really possible to quantify the benefits of this capability. It’ll simply stay there longer-until the CPU heats up to its thermal limit-before backing down. If you have a Core i7-2600K with a 3.4 GHz base clock and 3.8 GHz maximum Turbo clock, 3.8 is as fast as it’ll go in its stock trim. Turbo Boost 2.0 does not mean the CPU will exceed its maximum Turbo Boost frequency. Turbo Boost 2.0 (or next-gen Turbo Boost, whatever you want to call it) allows the processor to exceed its power ceiling until it reaches its thermal limit, at which point it drops power to conform to those same programmed limits. From idle, it takes time to reach its thermal ceiling. In the real-world, a processor doesn’t heat up right away, though.


: HD Graphics On The Desktop: Intel Trips Up.: Blu-ray Playback And Video Performance Adaptive Boost Technology is now the fifth frequency metric Intel uses on its high-end enthusiast grade processors, and another element in Intel’s ever complex ‘Turbo’ family of features.: Sandy Bridge’s Secret Weapon: Quick Sync.: The System Agent And Turbo Boost 2.0.: Inside Of Sandy Bridge: Cores And Cache.
