does the new macbook air have turbo boost

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josephs19 Author

Level 1

0 points

does the new macbook air have turbo boost

I saw before the release they spec'd out potential processors, all of which have turbo boost capability:

Core i7-2677M: 2 cores, 1.8GHz (turbos to 2.9GHz), 4MB cache

Core i7-2637M: 2 cores, 1.7GHz (turbos to 2.8GHz), 4MB cache

Core i5-2557M: 2 cores, 1.7GHz (turbos to 2.7GHz), 3MB cache

The Apple website doesnt mention the processor model numbers or turbo boost for macbook airs. It mentions turbo boost for the macbook pros, mac minis, and imacs, but on the macbook air section it doesnt mention it anywhere. Im wondering if turbo boost was disabled or not, and if they have turbo boost, is it capable of reaching the above speeds, or is it limited by apple (presumably for power, heat, or battery life)

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7)

Posted on Jul 20, 2011 8:51 AM

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Answer 1

mja8105

Level 1

4 points

Jul 20, 2011 9:15 AM in response to josephs19

All Core i5 and i7 processors have Turbo Boost. Core i3 does not. It's unlikely that it would have been disabled, but I'm not sure.

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Answer 2

josephs19 Author

Level 1

0 points

Jul 20, 2011 9:31 AM in response to josephs19

Just found their online "genius" chat (so much easier than driving to the store) and asked them about it. She said the macbook airs dont have turbo boost or hyperthreading (although according to intel all 3 processors suport it). So its pretty much exactly what it says it is on the apple website (2 core 1.6ghz). I was waiting for the new air, hoping it would live up to the hype, cant really understand why it would use a $300 processor and then apparently disable everything good in it (double the threads and double the speed). Im going to just get the new pro and call it a day.

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Answer 3

Jul 20, 2011 12:15 PM in response to josephs19

It seems like they've had more trouble with heat than I expected (the i7 with a 17w TDP should be cooler than the C2D it replaced). Perhaps it has to do with adding the thunderbolt chip, but the lack of turbo on these chips definitely gives me pause and has me thinking about waiting for Ivy Bridge MBPs next year (assuming they redesign the body along with lines of the MBA). Those chips would run much cooler and have a better iGPU to handle things like Open CL. The only problem is that the launch date has been slipping later and later into 2012...

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Answer 4

rprice54

Level 1

12 points

Jul 20, 2011 12:32 PM in response to mexicobrant

Add me to the 'pause' list. I originally held off on the last MBA because of the processors (and no backlit keyboard). I need to buy a laptop in the next week, and right now my front runner is a 15" MBP (what I'm sporting now) but I was waiting for the new MBA to be sure. I really don't need all the MBP power but I like the 15" screen over the lower res 13" screen. Since the MBA resolution is the same I was hoping this would fit the bill, I'm willing to give up HD space for a speedier SSD. I can live with a smaller screen if the pixel count is the same. I'm not sure I really need the dedicated graphics. I'm glad they brought back the backlit keyboard. But I don't understand why they would cut the legs out from under the processor. I thought turbo boost and hyperthreading were the main advantages of these new chips? Does this mean we basically have a 1.7 Core Duo again? I don't need tons of power, but I don't want to spend $1600 on an underpowered machine either.

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Answer 5

Jul 20, 2011 12:37 PM in response to rprice54

It looks like we'll need to see real-world benchmarks to understand what this means. My old MacBook (2007) gets super-hot and I don't want to have another laptop that runs its fans all the time. I've heard the 13" MBP does the same. The 15" MBP is just too much of a beast to lug around all the time - especially after I've held a MBA 🙂

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Answer 6

Jul 20, 2011 10:14 PM in response to mexicobrant

Just checked the MacBook Air performance page and saw this line in the footnote, "MacBook Air continuously monitors system thermal and power conditions, and may adjust processor speed as needed to maintain optimal system operation." Does this mean that it will actually be underclocked if the CPU gets too hot or that there actually is Turbo capability?

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Answer 7

MrSimmo

Level 1

6 points

Jul 21, 2011 2:44 AM in response to josephs19

Yup it does 🙂 You can install a turbo boost monitor to show you it working - http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=19105 - unfortunately the muppets at Intel have only written it for Windows (to the best of my knowledge) so it doesnt do us OSX users any favours

Basically for the 1.8ghz i7 macbook air, the base frequency is 1.8ghz and then it sort of overclocks it upto around 2.7ghz (i think its 2.7 anyhow) when more performance is needed and then back down when its not.

I think it also has the capability to underclock the CPU as well down to around 1% of 1.8ghz to save power and to reduce heat

Cheers, Simmo

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Answer 8

mathov

Level 1

0 points

Jul 21, 2011 3:04 AM in response to josephs19

the new macbook air don't have the turbo boost because its only for the I7 quad core and this MBA its only Dual

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Answer 9

MrSimmo

Level 1

6 points

Jul 21, 2011 3:32 AM in response to mathov

Actually according to Intels website it does:

http://ark.intel.com/products/54620/Intel-Core-i5-2557M-Processor-(3M-Cache-1_70 -GHz)

http://ark.intel.com/products/56858

http://ark.intel.com/products/54617

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Answer 10

josephs19 Author

Level 1

0 points

Jul 21, 2011 9:31 AM in response to MrSimmo

The intel processor clearly supports both, i dont think thats in question here. The question is if Apple supports it in their hardware or if its disabled. Yesteday i was told by apple that it is not supported. As several sites now claim it is supported, i asked again today and again was told it is not supported. However, on pressing harder, the rep told me that they dont know. They have a list of features and its not on there, its very possible the person i spoke with yesterday was just assuming too. They suggested I submit a feedback ticket to ask them to clarify it on their website, so I did. The only issue is that the one department that would know has a policy not to respond to users. So i have to hope it gets read and then the website is miraculously updated. It ***** because this is actually a very strong selling point for me and Im still not sure if its supported. 😕

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Answer 11

dvasa

Level 1

60 points

Jul 21, 2011 9:40 AM in response to josephs19

well, it appears according to benchmarks that it rivals the speed of my 2010 2.66i7 MBP so it must support turbo boost to get even close to that machine!

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Answer 12

Jul 23, 2011 9:34 AM in response to josephs19

Sigh, I had hoped this would be resolved by now. I assume there's a test that someone can do who has a new MBA? It appears the performance is fantastic, so perhaps the pressence of turbo boost is a moot point. I suppose I primarily want to find out so I know if buying the i7 version is worth it.

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Answer 13

Jul 23, 2011 11:07 AM in response to josephs19

to be honest, i dont think the genuises really know what theyre talkingnabout most of the time.

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Answer 14

rprice54

Level 1

12 points

Jul 24, 2011 8:02 PM in response to pouting dango

Someone with the i7 over at Macrumors said he can see 4 CPU threads listed in activity monitor, so at least hyper-threading is supported...

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Answer 15

Zidanne

Level 1

0 points

Aug 9, 2011 8:46 AM in response to josephs19

Yes, the new Macbook Air supports turboboost.

After reading the following: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4528/the-2011-macbook-air-11-13inch-review/3

I went out and bought one, I was on the fence as you were Joseph19.

It works perfectly, I have run the same tests anandtech ran (under Windows) and can confirm the same relative score they achieved on their benchmarks.

Hope this helps.

Zidanne

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