When you decide to buy a new PC (or upgrade the one you have) and you look at the specifications of the processor, you will find that both Intel and AMD have stopped advertising their speed with a single number, and now introduce terms such as speed base, Turbo Boost or Turbo Core. How can you now tell which processor is faster? In this article we will get you out of doubt.
In the past, when you looked at the characteristics of a processor, they told you that it had X cores that worked at X speed, neither more nor less, and thus it was much easier to get an idea of how fast or slow it was and to be able to buy it with different Models. Today they no longer tell us the specifications in this way, but we can find up to three different speeds in a processor. Let’s break this information down to see what it means so we can determine how fast a processor is.
How to interpret processor speed
When we talk about the speed of a processor, it is usually expressed in MHz or GHz, which are the number of instruction cycles that are capable of executing in a single second. It is obvious that the higher this number, the faster the processor will be, but the problem comes when the manufacturers tell us that its speed “depends” on the circumstances.
If you look at the specifications of a processor, you may find that, for example, its base speed is 3.2 GHz, its turbo frequency is 5.1 GHz, and its Turbo Boost Max frequency is 5.2 GHz. What is each thing? Let’s see it.
- Minimum speed : This parameter is never specified, but you should know that all processors have a minimum operating speed. Normally, when the computer is idle and not under load, the processor will slow down to save power and produce less heat. It does not affect performance, although it does affect consumption.
- Base speed : it is the maximum speed that the processor reaches under normal circumstances, regardless of other conditions such as consumption, temperature or workload. It is a relatively reliable value to be able to interpret if a processor is fast or slow.
- Turbo frequency : it is the maximum frequency that ALL the processor cores can reach at the same time, when the temperature and consumption conditions allow it. Just because the manufacturer tells you that a processor reaches 5 GHz turbo speed does not mean that your particular processor will reach them, it will only do so when conditions allow it and when the workload requires it. In other words, it is the maximum potential speed that your CPU can reach.
- Turbo Boost Max Frequency: In this case, only Intel advertises this parameter in its processors. It is the maximum operating frequency that a single core (and not all of them, that is the difference with the previous one) can reach for short periods of time when the temperature conditions allow it, and when the workload requires it.
- Turbo Core: This is AMD’s variant of the above, which manages to raise the CPU’s operating frequency dynamically when the workload is high for better performance, although it also depends on temperature and consumption.
So, what parameter to look for when buying a processor?
Once we have explained what each of the speeds that both Intel and AMD say their processors have, it is possible that you already have a clearer idea of which one you should look at when choosing one or another model or to determine which one is faster . (Then keep in mind that its performance depends not only on speed, but on other factors such as architecture, fabrication node, cores, threads, etc.).
To determine this, we would tell you that the parameter you should look at is the base frequency in the first place, since it is the speed at which the processor will normally work. In the second instance, look at the turbo speed (or boost speed in some cases), since it is the maximum speed that all the processor cores can reach, as long as the temperature and consumption allow it.