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Intel i7 Turbo Boost overclocking?

Hi,

I was just wondering about the Intel i7 Turbo Boost overclocking.

Firstly, can someone please clarify what exactly overclocking is and if it can damage my laptop.

Basically, just that when it overclocks itself, is it bad for the computer?

Also, using the Intel Turbo Boost Monitor, the processor seems to always overclock randomly to 2.3 mainly but sometimes above.

When gaming the processor regularly overclocks to 2.6 Ghz and stays there.

Any ideas, thanks

Laptop Specs:

Dell XPS 17 L702X

Processor: Intel i7 Quad Core i7-2630qm 2.0 GHz

Max Turbo Frequency: 2.9 GHz

Graphics: Nvidia gt 555m 3GB

3 Answers

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  • 10 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Overclocking is when the CPU's core clock is raised about the speed the manufacturer guarantees it can run at continuously. Factory overclocking (overclocking that was designed into the product by the manufacturer) is not bad for the computer or for the processor. The amount the processor will overclock to depends on a lot of factors including the load on the processor and the temperature of the processor.

    Intel does not guarantee that the processor will be able to overclock when you want it to or that it will overclock to the maximum turbo frequency. However, they do guarantee that overclocking will not result in unreliable operation or reduce the life of the product.

  • Anonymous
    10 years ago

    Overclocking is (basically) when the processor runs faster then what the manufacturer sets it to. In general, it can be dangerous, because it requires more power then usual, it creates more heat(which can be compensated for, by upgrading cooling system) and simply because some silicon handles better than other batches.

    Now, in the case of i7/i5/i3 processors, I would not apply the above paragraph. They are actually made to overclock. The speeds/voltage usage is monitored, so it won't ever take it too far. Also, they tend to only do it when cores aren't in usage. Your processor has 4 cores, so if two are not actually in use, they can be "turned off" and the "extra power" that is saved can safely be applied to the other two cores, allowing them to speed up to an extent without using more power, or creating more heat than usual.

  • 7 years ago

    Yes

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