'Turbo Boost' graces new Nehalem-based Mac Pros
- TAGS:Apple, Nehalem, Turbo Boost
- IT TOPICS:Hardware, Macintosh, Macs & PCs
Not since Apple branded its Airports as 'Extreme' have they used such a silly trademark name. "Turbo Boost" is the new name for the Mac Pro's Nehalem processor's GHz-increasing capability. Update: Intel is to blame for the Knight Rider name.Â
This chip feature is actually pretty cool. This particular Nehalem chip is something that Intel hasn't even officially announced yet. Apple has been known to get Intel chips ahead of its competitors and this one appears to be a special order job by Apple.
How does it work? When apps that aren't optimized to use multiple cores are taxing one core more than the others, the chip cranks from, say, 2.93 GHZ to 3.3GHz (on the fly) for the used core while simultaneously shutting down the other cores. Very nice.
The new Mac Pro introduces Turbo Boost: a dynamic performance technology that automatically boosts the processor clock speed based on workload. If you’re using an application that doesn’t need every core, Turbo Boost shuts off the idle cores while simultaneously increasing the speed of the active ones, up to 3.33GHz on a 2.93GHz Mac Pro.
Sounds great, but Turbo Boost? Where's David Hasselhoff?
(Not safe for Metallica-free work environments, adjust sound accordingly.)
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