Is turboboost truly a leveler of processor speeds?

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Is turboboost truly a leveler of processor speeds?

Finally looking to replace my old macbook pro, and on the fence about whether to get a "suped up" macbook air with 8G ram, and the 1.7 GHz Processor with 3.3 GHz with turboboost vs. the standard macbook pro with a 2.6GHz processor, which apparently gets to 3.1Ghz with Turboboost (it also comes standard with 8G RAM).

What does the whole turboboost thing mean in terms of practical difference between processing speeds between these 2 models? Because the baseline difference is significant, but turboboost appears to be a leveler? Is it?

Posted on Feb 24, 2015 12:42 PM

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Answer 1

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Kappy

Level 10

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Feb 24, 2015 12:45 PM in response to lucid_lady

Turboboost only comes into effect if a program implements it or if the computer is being driven hard enough to be at the point where the Turboboost will engage. It does not mean that a 1.7 GHz CPU with 3.3 GHz Turboboost is in any way equivalent to a 2.6 GHz CPU with a 3.1 GHz Turboboost. Other than at the extreme the latter is faster than the former all the time.

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Answer 2

lucid_lady Author

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Feb 24, 2015 12:48 PM in response to Kappy

Thank you!

I suspected as much - turboboost thing seemed a bit too good to be true.

Looks like I'll be sticking with the pro!

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