How/What exactly is "turbo boost" ?

[VincentVolaju]

So I normally see CPUs listed with a stock speed, then a turbo boost speed.  For example the i7 4770k, it says its 3.5ghz and turbo boost is 3.9ghz.  What does that mean exactly?  That out of the box its 3.9ghz, or is there some kind of "turbo boost on" button that you toggle on your PC that just pushes it 3.9ghz?  Is turbo boost the same thing as just OCing a 3.5ghz cpu to 3.9ghz?

 

I plan on getting an i7 4770k in the coming months, as well as a H220, so I plan on trying my luck with over clocking for the first time.  But suppose I am going to try to OC it to 4ghz for starters ... would I be OCing it 500ghz, or only 100ghz cause of this turbo boost thing?

[Coombzy]

Turbo boost generally kicks in when the CPU needs more horsepower for example when its rendering a video or doing something heavy it works the same as GPU boost from Nvidia when its slugging it will kick the clock speed up to 3.9.

[Bleedman0xx]

Turbo Boost is just dynamic over-clocking.

 

It will temporarily and automatically OC your CPU based on the current load of your system

[911^NEmeSis]

Mini overclocking or the boosting of power with things like CPUs on the go or when certain things are loaded. You might be playing a game and your CPU might boost itself, or higher it's clockspeed to work faster for that period of gaming.

[RDilux]

turbo boost oc the cpu a bit but not all cores will be on the same amount of speed (unless the mainboard does it)

most likely if the pc need it it gonna be like this

3.7, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9ghz

basicly like gpu boost does

it overclock when the temps are acceptable and when it is really needed

[VincentVolaju]

Ahh ok that makes sense.  So if I were to check cpu-z when just at the desktop it would be 3.5ghz, but if I am in a demanding game and still watching cpu-z, it might jump up to 3.9ghz if it required more then 3.5ghz?

 

So what does that mean if I were to overclock passed 3.9ghz, would the turbo boost just automatically be ignored then?  Maybe I dont understand over clocking very well, I was under the assumption that when you OC, your cpu speed is set at that speed 24/7.  So if I tried to oc my cpu to say 4.3ghz, then whenever I check the speed of my cpu, regardless of if its sitting at desktop, or running full load, it would read 4.3ghz.  Is that correct, or no?

[DavePC]

Ahh ok that makes sense.  So if I were to check cpu-z when just at the desktop it would be 3.5ghz, but if I am in a demanding game and still watching cpu-z, it might jump up to 3.9ghz if it required more then 3.5ghz?

 

So what does that mean if I were to overclock passed 3.9ghz, would the turbo boost just automatically be ignored then?  Maybe I dont understand over clocking very well, I was under the assumption that when you OC, your cpu speed is set at that speed 24/7.  So if I tried to oc my cpu to say 4.3ghz, then whenever I check the speed of my cpu, regardless of if its sitting at desktop, or running full load, it would read 4.3ghz.  Is that correct, or no?

 

I believe under the motherboard BIOS, when you tune in the overclock, it is on MANUAL.

 

Then, when you overclock your CPU, it will stay constantly on the OC'd speed.

 

So yes, above is correct.

[Maverik5124]

It will boost to 3.9ghz if only one core is under load. If two cores are under load it will boost to 3.8ghz and so on