Is Intel Turbo Boost as good as just having higher base speed?

[COWZYOV]

If I’ve got a core i5 with a 3.0 base speed, but which boosts to 3.5 when turbo boosting while using all four cores, will it have the same performance as an i5 which has a 3.5 base speed but no turbo boost?
(This is assuming both CPUs are the same in all other aspects)
(This is also assuming the first i5 I mentioned can maintain its 3.5 boost speed indefinitely, by the way)

Or is that like comparing a four-threaded dual core to an actual quad core, and really Turbo Boost “cheaply imitates” the “real thing”?

[Cathulhu]

Same clock speed does not mean same computing speed.
You can not simply compare two CPUs by just their clock speed.

That's like comparing two cars based on their RPM in the engine.

[COWZYOV]

Originally posted by Cathulhu:

Same clock speed does not mean same computing speed.
You can not simply compare two CPUs by just their clock speed.

That's like comparing two cars based on their RPM in the engine.

Yes, but assuming all other factors are the same, will they have the same performance?

[nullable]

Originally posted by AÀÁÂÄÆÃÅĀ:

Originally posted by Cathulhu:

Same clock speed does not mean same computing speed.
You can not simply compare two CPUs by just their clock speed.

That's like comparing two cars based on their RPM in the engine.

Yes, but assuming all other factors are the same, will they have the same performance?

If your question is does turboboost hurt performance? The answer is no. The technology has been around for well over 15 years. People often have concerns, but it's mostly their imaginations running wild.

But if you just have to have it answered as phrased. If you have two CPU's that are arbitrarily the same. And one is configured to just run at 3.5ghz and the other turboboosts to 3.5ghz then there'd be virtually no difference in performance.

[COWZYOV]

Originally posted by Brockenstein:

Originally posted by AÀÁÂÄÆÃÅĀ:

Yes, but assuming all other factors are the same, will they have the same performance?

If your question is does turboboost hurt performance? The answer is no. The technology has been around for well over 15 years. People often have concerns, but it's mostly their imaginations running wild.

But if you just have to have it answered as phrased. If you have two CPU's that are arbitrarily the same. And one is configured to just run at 3.5ghz and the other turboboosts to 3.5ghz then there'd be virtually no difference in performance.

Awesome! Thanks for the straightforward answer!

[Bad 💀 Motha]

If I use an unlocked Intel or AMD cpu, I hardly ever leave it on stock. I disable Turbo and all power saver BS in BIOS and manually OC it on all cores to what the Turbo would be so that's it's minimum clock at all times. Lock in RAM with XMP/DOCP and try using a manually set lower cpu vote voltage, as auto can often have it reaching too high, and thus more heat for no benefits

[_I_]

with good enough cooling thats the way to do it

on laptops they will turbo to core usage profiles as long as it has the power and cooling to do so

[COWZYOV]

Originally posted by Bad 💀 Motha:

If I use an unlocked Intel or AMD cpu, I hardly ever leave it on stock. I disable Turbo and all power saver BS in BIOS and manually OC it on all cores to what the Turbo would be so that's it's minimum clock at all times. Lock in RAM with XMP/DOCP and try using a manually set lower cpu vote voltage, as auto can often have it reaching too high, and thus more heat for no benefits

I wouldn't mind overclocking my cpu, except that I'm not so confident in my ability to do so. Don't want my pc to blow

[Bad 💀 Motha]

You just lock in the clock at whatever the turbo would have been, it's extremely simple cause the cpu can already do that turbo clock 24/7

[COWZYOV]

So why would that be any better than the "use friendly" default method?

[nullable]

Originally posted by AÀÁÂÄÆÃÅĀ:

So why would that be any better than the "use friendly" default method?

99% personal preference. There's a million things you can do that are pretty inconsequential when you come down to it. Either one works just about as well as the other. Although sometimes you can start to rationalize things aren't just a preference, no, it's the bestest, smartest way to do things, because...

[-=SOF=-WID99]

it really depends on the CPU and mother board you bought ..as some CPU's will boost only some ..but not all cores .. the only way to run all cores at the same clock is to have a decent main board and \ or set your =bios settings accordingly including voltages in the bios

example i run an asus strix gaming Z 270 H main board .. the bios itself will auto detect the clocks and set my CPU ratio to 44 ..(not 38 for the multiplier ) on all 4 cores once i run the asus auto tune setting in my bios ..

can i OC my 7600 K more ? .. yes but i choose not too ..as the temps are fine as well as voltages never needed any adjustment ..and the CPU and the VRM's seems fine with the temps i see .. even on HOT summer days everything stays under 68 C under load with my choice of CPU cooler ( hyper evo 212 )

so yes depends on your bios and the motherboard you chose and cooling and CPU no a dual core I 3 will not run a \hyper threaded core at the same speed as core 0

turbo boost i have off ..since my core speeds on all 4 cores indeed ,are already above the turbo speed for an i 5 7600 K of 4.2 ghz

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/97144/intel-core-i5-7600k-processor-6m-cache-up-to-4-20-ghz.html

if you do not have a K series CPU... no do not over clock it ..as most likely the multiplier is already LOCKED ..and if you have a cheap main board your overclocking options , are indeed limited

[nullable]

Originally posted by -=SOF=-WID99:

it really depends on the CPU and mother board you bought ..as some CPU's will boost only some ..but not all cores

I'm not aware of a board that only boosts some of the cores. However I do know that current CPU's (like mine) will have a maximum "up to" turbo boost speed and that's achievable by only one or two cores. With incrementally lower speeds for a larger number of cores until you get to a speed that's achievable by all cores.

So for the 8700k for example, at stock configuration.
Turbo Frequency
4,700 MHz (1 core),
4,600 MHz (2 cores),
4,500 MHz (3 cores),
4,400 MHz (4 cores),
4,400 MHz (5 cores),
4,300 MHz (6 cores)

So I'm not aware of any CPU's or motherboards that would say just boost 4 of the 6 cores, and two of the cores just run at the maximum stock speed.

[-=SOF=-WID99]

Originally posted by Brockenstein:

Originally posted by -=SOF=-WID99:

it really depends on the CPU and mother board you bought ..as some CPU's will boost only some ..but not all cores

I'm not aware of a board that only boosts some of the cores. However I do know that current CPU's (like mine) will have a maximum "up to" turbo boost speed and that's achievable by only one or two cores. With incrementally lower speeds for a larger number of cores until you get to a speed that's achievable by all cores.

So for the 8700k for example, at stock configuration.
Turbo Frequency
4,700 MHz (1 core),
4,600 MHz (2 cores),
4,500 MHz (3 cores),
4,400 MHz (4 cores),
4,400 MHz (5 cores),
4,300 MHz (6 cores)

So I'm not aware of any CPU's or motherboards that would say just boost 4 of the 6 cores, and two of the cores just run at the maximum stock speed.

https://www.quora.com/How-does-Intels-Turbo-Boost-work-on-a-CPU-with-4-cores-Do-the-4-cores-receive-the-extra-juice-2-of-them-or-just-1-How-does-it-work-on-the-Kaby-Lake-specifically

the op said he has an I 5 not an i 7 8700 K

and yes some intel CPU'S do not support turbo boost tech and many basic mainboards from prebuilt PC's do indeed have very limited options in the bios .. see a HP or DELL bios for example versus , a store bought ASUS , MSI , AS rock gaming main board for a system build


also see

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylake_(microarchitecture)


and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaby_Lake

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_Lake

not all cores run at the same clock under turbo boost ..same with other older Intel CPU generation cpu's

[COWZYOV]

Originally posted by -=SOF=-WID99:

Originally posted by Brockenstein:

I'm not aware of a board that only boosts some of the cores. However I do know that current CPU's (like mine) will have a maximum "up to" turbo boost speed and that's achievable by only one or two cores. With incrementally lower speeds for a larger number of cores until you get to a speed that's achievable by all cores.

So for the 8700k for example, at stock configuration.
Turbo Frequency
4,700 MHz (1 core),
4,600 MHz (2 cores),
4,500 MHz (3 cores),
4,400 MHz (4 cores),
4,400 MHz (5 cores),
4,300 MHz (6 cores)

So I'm not aware of any CPU's or motherboards that would say just boost 4 of the 6 cores, and two of the cores just run at the maximum stock speed.

https://www.quora.com/How-does-Intels-Turbo-Boost-work-on-a-CPU-with-4-cores-Do-the-4-cores-receive-the-extra-juice-2-of-them-or-just-1-How-does-it-work-on-the-Kaby-Lake-specifically

the op said he has an I 5 not an i 7 8700 K

and yes some intel CPU'S do not support turbo boost tech and many basic mainboards from prebuilt PC's do indeed have very limited options in the bios .. see a HP or DELL bios for example versus , a store bought ASUS , MSI , AS rock gaming main board for a system build


also see

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylake_(microarchitecture)


and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaby_Lake

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_Lake

not all cores run at the same clock under turbo boost ..same with other older Intel CPU generation cpu's

Alright, so practically speaking, how do I personally check what speed each individual core is running at?

[nullable]

Originally posted by -=SOF=-WID99:

Originally posted by Brockenstein:

I'm not aware of a board that only boosts some of the cores. However I do know that current CPU's (like mine) will have a maximum "up to" turbo boost speed and that's achievable by only one or two cores. With incrementally lower speeds for a larger number of cores until you get to a speed that's achievable by all cores.

So for the 8700k for example, at stock configuration.
Turbo Frequency
4,700 MHz (1 core),
4,600 MHz (2 cores),
4,500 MHz (3 cores),
4,400 MHz (4 cores),
4,400 MHz (5 cores),
4,300 MHz (6 cores)

So I'm not aware of any CPU's or motherboards that would say just boost 4 of the 6 cores, and two of the cores just run at the maximum stock speed.

https://www.quora.com/How-does-Intels-Turbo-Boost-work-on-a-CPU-with-4-cores-Do-the-4-cores-receive-the-extra-juice-2-of-them-or-just-1-How-does-it-work-on-the-Kaby-Lake-specifically

the op said he has an I 5 not an i 7 8700 K

and yes some intel CPU'S do not support turbo boost tech and many basic mainboards from prebuilt PC's do indeed have very limited options in the bios .. see a HP or DELL bios for example versus , a store bought ASUS , MSI , AS rock gaming main board for a system build


also see

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylake_(microarchitecture)


and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaby_Lake

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_Lake

not all cores run at the same clock under turbo boost ..same with other older Intel CPU generation cpu's

Well I was commenting on your post and not about i5's specifically, and I only used my CPU as an example of how turbo boost can behave across multiple cores out of convenience. But if you want to be pedantic i5 8600's behave similarly, albeit with slightly different speeds.

And it seems like you're moving the goal post. Because what you said is, and I already quoted this,

"it really depends on the CPU and mother board you bought ..as some CPU's will boost only some ..but not all cores"

Which is a different claim than OEM motherboards not supporting turbo boost. Or some CPU's not supporting it. And it's also a different claim than cores boosting, but not to the same speed as the optimal single core boost. My post already covered that anyway so you explaining it to me after I already explained it is a bit redundant. And doesn't conceal the fact you're addressing everything but your original claim that some cores will boost, and some cores will not. IE remain at stock speeds. And I'm not aware of any CPU's Intel or AMD that exhibit that specific behavior.

I don't need to get into a pedantic argument over it. You can either provide some specific example of CPU's that only ever boost some cores, but never all of them. Or you can't. It seems like misinformation to me at the moment though.

Edit: https://en.wikichip.org/wiki/intel/core_i5/i5-7300hq there we go, the i5 7300hq and perhaps other mobile CPU's might operate that way. Only boosting some cores.