• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Technipages

Smart phone, gadget and computer tutorials

  • Topics
    • Android
    • Gaming
    • Hardware
    • Internet
    • iOS
    • MacOS
    • Office
    • Software
    • Windows
    • Definitions
  • Product Reviews
  • Downloads
  • About
Base Clock and Boost Clock Explained

Base Clock and Boost Clock Explained

Posted on July 10, 2020 by Mel Hawthorne Leave a Comment

When comparing CPUs there are two main stats to look at, core count and clock speed. A CPU with a high core count is useful if you perform workloads that are highly parallelisable, such as rendering. A High CPU clock speed is always useful, offering faster completion of any task. The statistics for CPU clock speed, however, are generally split into two measurements, base clock, and boost clock.

Base Clock

The clock speed is a measure of how many cycles a CPU can perform per second. For modern CPUs, all clock speeds are measured in GHz, pronounced “gigahertz”, or billions of cycles per second. The base clock is a measure that the CPU manufacturer guarantees all cores on the processor can run at with reasonable cooling.

Boost Clock

In most scenarios, the CPU operates well within its maximum power and thermal limits and so can choose to boost the clock speed of one or more CPU cores to increase performance when under load. Assuming that there is sufficient cooling available CPUs can run at their boost clock speed for long periods of time with no negative effects.

Intel has a number of proprietary extra boost functions that focus on pushing the clock speed of the CPU even higher. Intel’s Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 is the standard boost clock, it’s generally meant to focus on boosting the core speed of a single CPU core, however, in practice, all cores can be boosted.

Intel’s Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 analyses the thermal performance of each individual CPU core and identifies which cores run cooler than others. It then specifically boosts those cores a little higher than the other cores to eke out a little bit more performance. The difference between Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 and Max 3.0 is minimal for highly multithreaded workloads, however, the extra one or two hundred megahertz can increase performance for single-threaded tasks using that CPU core.

Intel’s Thermal Velocity Boost allows the CPU to further increase the clock speeds if the CPU is operating below a maximum temperature and there is extra available turbo power. In this scenario, the CPU can further increase its clock speed to get the most performance possible.

You Might Also Like

  • Pioneer DEH-1700: How to Set the Clock
    Pioneer DEH-1700: How to Set the Clock
  • Fix: Missing Windows 10 Clock
    Fix: Missing Windows 10 Clock
  • Windows 10: How to Change to a 12-hour Clock
    Windows 10: How to Change to a 12-hour Clock
  • Which is More Important, CPU Clock Speed or Core Count?
    Which is More Important, CPU Clock Speed or Core Count?
  • Linux Mint: How to Configure the Clock and Calendar Applet
    Linux Mint: How to Configure the Clock and Calendar Applet
  • Slack: How To See Message Timestamps in a 24-Hour Clock Format
    Slack: How To See Message Timestamps in a 24-Hour…
  • Linux Mint: How to Show the Clock and an Away Message on the Lock Screen
    Linux Mint: How to Show the Clock and an Away…
  • PCIe Lanes Explained
    PCIe Lanes Explained
  • How to Boost Your Android's Performance
    How to Boost Your Android's Performance

Filed Under: Hardware

Reader Interactions

Did this help? Let us know! Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • How to Increase the Size of Text on Any Website on iPad
  • Chrome: How to Fix Can’t Scroll Using Scrollbars
  • Samsung Galaxy S 21 Plus: How to Check How Much Memory Is Left
  • Google Photos: How to Export Your Albums
  • Bitwarden: How to Deauthorize All Sessions
  • Bitwarden: How to Clone an Entry
  • Bitwarden: How to View Your API Key
  • How to Fix Microsoft Teams Error 0xcaa80000

Who’s Behind Technipages?

Baby and Daddy My name is Mitch Bartlett. I've been working in technology for over 20 years in a wide range of tech jobs from Tech Support to Software Testing. I started this site as a technical guide for myself and it has grown into what I hope is a useful reference for all.

Follow me on Twitter, or visit my personal blog.

You May Also Like

  • Clock Speed

© Copyright 2021 Technipages · All Rights Reserved · Privacy