i7 Turbo boost? How do I know?

H

HSchultz83

Active Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2014
Messages
51
Reaction score
0
Location
Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Hey all

I need some help please, because i'm only slightly tech savy, and not at all up to date with technologies.

What happened is the following :
I got the Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E540 with i7 processor from FNB.
Needing to run Win 7 for my apps, i did a full delete of all partitions, and installed my own copy of 7 Pro.
I got all the drivers from Lenovo site, and installed them. - There are no more yellow /!\ in Device Manager.

However, I want to know if my CPU is running at the "Up to 3.2" that the laptop is advertised at, or just the listed 2.2.

I ran Intel technology tester but it qualifies my cpu as listed - 2.2, tested - 2.2. So i'm not sure if that is actually accurate.

A lot of readups all have different explanations, ranging from it's automatic to bios settings i don't even have...

How can know for sure if i'm on the best speed?

Thanks in advance.
 
CPUz, many other system information utilities report current CPU speed.
 
Try this.

Also can we get a picture of the bios screen were it says anything about turboboost please.
 
Turbo Boost increases your CPU speed automatically, and so when you engage in more demanding tasks the CPU will speed itself up. Your CPU is a quad-core, which means that it has four 'cores', each of which is like a little CPU itself. Different programs use different numbers of these cores. When you are only using some of those cores, that means there is power and heat to spare. Turbo Boost works by, roughly, taking the power that would be used by the unused cores and using some of it for the cores you are using. This means that your exact increase in CPU speed depends on how many cores you are using, and you will only get the 3.2 Ghz speed when using a single core. This isn't the full technical explanation, but it is pretty much what you need to know to check if it is working.

The easiest way to check whether and when the Turbo Boost is being used is to download and use CPU-Z. Just keep it open. When your computer is idle, then it will probably even be lower than 2.2 Ghz, to reduce power consumption. When you run programs it will probably show something from ~2900 Mhz to ~3200 Mhz.

There is, however, also thermal throttling, and so if not enough heat can be dispersed when running at the turbo speeds, then the clock speed will be reduced.
 
Thank you guys for the responses
@Rickster : I have tried that app, but it doesn't want to install. There are also no settings in my bios for overclocking. - Some readups state that 4th gen doesn't have it in the same way it did before??
@Rudimental : I am busy installing my appz now, then i will test that, thank you.
 
Hey there. I have pushed Ableton to the max. So bad the sound actually stutters,but CPU-Z still sais my speed is 2197.92 MHZ.... Does this mean it's not boosting?
 
Uh, this really isn't an easy thing to troubleshoot, because there are lots of factors that are involved.

Try going into the power options section in control panel and set your plan to High Performance.

I also assume you are using it plugged into the wall, on battery it may disable Turbo Boost.

edit: There may also be a specific Lenovo power management app, but I don't know if you've installed that since you said you wiped the machine.
 
Hey there.
I will check the CONTROL PANEL options tonight..
I did have it plugged in, because i suspected that might be
I downloaded & installed the Lenovo app from the website, and pushed it to highest performance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X