Turbo Boost will be reconfigurable

Turbo Boost will be reconfigurable

IDF Taipei: On Core i7 Extreme Edition

Some interesting new cropped up about Intel's Turbo Boost technology, the automatic overclocking feature of the Core i7 processors. It turns out that on the Extreme Edition 965 processor, the Turbo Boost will actually be reconfigurable.

As this CPU has an unlocked multiplier, you can manually change the CPU multiplier in the BIOS and the Turbo Boost technology will still work at this new multiplier, be it higher or lower. Although no-one we talked to was willing to reveal exactly how much faster each step of the Turbo Boost technology would overclock the CPU, its good news that it will still work when the multiplier is changed.

The only thing the Intel representatives at IDF would say was the fact that Turbo Boost increases the CPU performance by two speed "bins", but as only three Core i7 models are expected to launch, we're not sure what this refers to.

For those lucky enough to be able to afford to get a Core i7 Extreme Edition, this CPU looks like it will be a very flexible option for overclockers, although we're not sure how many of its target audience would be interested in using Turbo boost.