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Skip Navigation LinksPC Authority > News > IDF: “Turbo mode” is back for PCs
IDF: “Turbo mode” is back for PCs
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IDF: “Turbo mode” is back for PCs

by William Maher  on Aug 20, 2008
Tags: IDF | Nehalem | Core | i7
3 comments in this discussion
"Oh I think alot of people are interested we are at that point again where if we invest in a Motherboard it'll be obsolete by the beginning of next year which is a fairly big call. My thanks for ..."
By bbjai
 
Only it’s not the Turbo Mode of the early 90s. Intel sheds new light on its Core (Nehalem) CPU, including excessive use of the word “turbo”.
As we reported earlier this week, Nehalem, or Core i7 as the first processor will be known, is Intel’s new desktop CPU, and will include something called “Turbo Mode”.

While it sounds like the old turbo button (remember those?), Intel is not bringing back PCs with turbo enhanced front switches on the case. Turbo Mode is in fact a more fundamental chip-level method of gaining extra performance.

Intel has devised a way to “turn off” the i7’s multiple Cores when not in use. If only two of four cores are active, power to the other two non-active cores goes off.

Turbo Mode is interesting because it shows why power saving chip design, being pushed so heavily in laptops, can actually benefit raw performance too.

Intel unveiled more detail on Nehalem today, including:

Lots of codenames – Havendale, Lynfield, Auburndale, Clarksfield All you need to know is these are desktop and mobile versions of Nehalem, and they’ll appear in the second half of 2009.

Core i7 first to arrive – one of the first i7 CPUs to appear will reportedly be a 3.2GHz chip, under Intel’s new Extreme Edition Core logo.

Turbo Mode – as above, a new way to make better use of multiple cores.

Power Control Unit – Core machines will have a power control unit, that shifts control from hardware to embedded firmware.

William Maher is reporting from San Francisco this week at the Intel Developer Forum.

Follow our Intel IDF 2008 coverage:
- IDF: Spot the Eee PC
- IDF: “Turbo mode” is back for PCs- Intel claims 5-year life for SSD
- IDF: The "Intel iPhone" not such a crazy idea
- Intel IDF: Spotted, a Centrino 2 desktop
- Intel promises “screaming performance” for Core i7- Live from Intel IDF - Atom, Centrino 2, Larrabee
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Comments: 3
Thoughts on this article? Add a comment below.
bbjai
Aug 20, 2008 11:50 PM
 Nehaelem is heating up it seems. I think Will I would like to see your opinion of this at the end of the Forum:

Do you think its worth holding off like many people are asking until Nehaelum arrives?

Much like Core 2 was a massive jump in thinking my question is do you think Nehaleum is the same type of jump for end users and is worth us holding off from buying the current Core 2 and Core Quads?

Im looking to upgrade in the next 12 months (as are many other people) and I think this is a key question being asked in particular. Its important because I suppose the Nehlaeum series requires a whole new socket and noone will be able to future proof for it before it actually arrivees.

So really is it worth the wait in your opinion?


Comment made about the PC Authority article:
IDF: “Turbo mode” is back for PCs?
Only it’s not the Turbo Mode of the early 90s. Intel sheds new light on its Core (Nehalem) CPU, including excessive use of the word “turbo”.

What do you think? Join the discussion.
William Maher
Aug 21, 2008 7:03 AM
bbjai wrote:
Nehaelem is heating up it seems. I think Will I would like to see your opinion of this at the end of the Forum:

Do you think its worth holding off like many people are asking until Nehaelum arrives?

Much like Core 2 was a massive jump in thinking my question is do you think Nehaleum is the same type of jump for end users and is worth us holding off from buying the current Core 2 and Core Quads?

Im looking to upgrade in the next 12 months (as are many other people) and I think this is a key question being asked in particular. Its important because I suppose the Nehlaeum series requires a whole new socket and noone will be able to future proof for it before it actually arrivees.

So really is it worth the wait in your opinion?


Comment made about the PC Authority article:
IDF: “Turbo mode” is back for PCs?
Only it’s not the Turbo Mode of the early 90s. Intel sheds new light on its Core (Nehalem) CPU, including excessive use of the word “turbo”.

What do you think? Join the discussion.


bbjai, that's a good question. I'll be posting more on this topic once I've had time to digest the rest of the IDF, and papers.

Something that may interest you - I just watched a demo here at IDF by John Carmack who demoed "Rage" runing on a multi-core, multi-thread system. I'll be posting more on this today.
bbjai
Aug 21, 2008 1:24 PM
 Oh I think alot of people are interested we are at that point again where if we invest in a Motherboard it'll be obsolete by the beginning of next year which is a fairly big call. My thanks for your discussion
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