Subject: RE: [hackers-il] Turbo button on old PCs

From: Omer Musaev <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 29 May 2003 14:01:31 +0300

-----Original Message-----
From: Chen Shapira [mailto:[email-masked]] 
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2003 1:50 PM
To: [email-masked]'
Subject: [hackers-il] Turbo button on old PCs

> Hi, 
> I suddenly remembered that old PCs had a "turbo" button, clicking on that
was supposed 
> to speed up the PC in some way. 
> This button no longer exist in modern PCs. 
> Any idea what this button did? (if anything at all?) Why didn't they
simply make the PC 
> go faster all the time? And why did they remove that button?
> Thanks, 
> Chen 

Oh, that one...

Actually the button should be called "disable backward compatability mode
and run as fast as you can, you silly bastard" button.

All it did was putting the system into a native clock (while depressed) or
into XT-compatible clock (when released)

And the reason for that was to make the x86 truly compatable with the XT, in
every aspect.

The programming techniques and approaches had changed since then, and the
button had gone. However, there are still some programs that behave strange
when fed with faster CPU. And there are some utilities to "slow down" the
CPU for these programs. 

The bottom line is: The hardware had become so fast than even the task of
slowing the hardware down can be done in software now:)

--
Omer Mussaev
Software Engineer, EMS team, APM R&D
Mercury Interactive

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Mercury Interactive Corporation
Optimizing Business Processes to Maximize Business Results 

http://www.merc-int.com
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---

From: "Ofir Carny" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 29 May 2003 16:12:46 +0300

I heard some newer laptops do the same (not 4.77 Mhz naturally) when not loaded to reduce battery drain and heat production.

-----Original Message-----
From: Arik Baratz 
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2003 4:06 PM
To: [email-masked]
Subject: RE: [hackers-il] Turbo button on old PCs

Hi Chen

The "turbo" button actually changed the CPU's hardware clock from whatever it was the CPU could handle at the time (8, 10, 12MHz) to the original PC one, 4.77MHz.

-- Arik

-----Original Message-----
From: Chen Shapira [mailto:[email-masked]]
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2003 1:50 PM
To: [email-masked]'
Subject: [hackers-il] Turbo button on old PCs

Hi, 
I suddenly remembered that old PCs had a "turbo" button, clicking on that was supposed to speed up the PC in some way. 
This button no longer exist in modern PCs. 
Any idea what this button did? (if anything at all?) Why didn't they simply make the PC go faster all the time? And why did they remove that button?
Thanks, 
Chen 

http://www.merc-int.com

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