Understanding Turbo Boost

[coder_t2]

So I am looking at getting a new laptop soon, and I feel it is worth while to spend the extra money and get a Core i5 system so I can have Turbo Boost, as well as Hyper Threading.

I was checking to make sure that all mobile Core i5 CPUs have Turbo Boost, and I came along the article below on wikipedia. What is the difference between 2/2 and 2/4 Turbo Boost?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_i5_microprocessors

I understand that the Quad-Core models will ramp up faster depending on whether 2 or 3 cores are idle, but these chips are all Dual-Core... Thanks.

 

[Suprfire]

How many times the FSB is multiplied. The "Boost" is X(FSB) where X is that "2/4" you see


For the column where it says Turbo -> 2/2

2 is 2(FSB) which is 2x133 = +266mhz
THE OTHER 2 applies when only one core is used
same procedure -> 2(FSB) -> 2x133 = +266mhz

so that processor has a stock max turbo boost of 266

2/4 on the other hand

First "2", = +266mhz when two cores are used increasing both core's clocks by 266
Second "4" = +532mhz when one core is used, therefore increasing the clock of the single core.

for quad cores its 4/3/2/1 cores used
dualies 2/1 used

I never knew how to read the 2/4 2/2 etc before, but i definatley just learned it like it was nothing from the accompanying wiki article @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Turbo_Boost

not to be condescending, but it was really too simple if you happened to get to the actual Turbo Boost article. did you get stuck somewhere?

 

[coder_t2]

NVM.. I was confused because I was like, why would there be a 2x boost if all cores were used? But I supposed if all cores were being used for a small period of time it would be okay and it wouldn't exceed it's thermal or electrical limit. Or if cooling was adequate. I guess I just assumed it would be more like 0/4 or 0/2. Since it should run at full speed, and clock down when not in use (SpeedStep). It all makes sense to me now.