Computex 2016: Linux cannot yet use Intel's Turbo Boost Max 3.0 mode

Beyond the sheer number of cores on offer in the new Intel Extreme Edition chips announced earlier this week at Computex, one of the other selling points for the processors is an improved Turbo Boost mode.

However, the new mode is currently only available to those running Windows.

Intel confirmed to ZDNet that there are presently no Linux kernel drivers available to take advantage of Turbo Boost 3.0, but it is something they are keeping an eye on.

The company had previously spruiked the third-generation Turbo Boost Max feature as being 15 percent faster than previous generations.

"This is frequency improvements even over Turbo Boost 2.0, and we do that without having to break the warranty," Frank Soqui, Intel general manager for Enthusiast Desktop Products, said previously.

"This is not overclocking; this is a sustained higher frequency than what you get with Turbo Boost 2.0, because we can characterise individual CPUs and get the highest frequency possible out of those 10 cores."

The new Extreme Edition processors are based on Broadwell, and do not have as high a peak frequency as the mainstream Skylake processors. The 10-core chip also suffers in frequency terms from needing to control its temperature.

"As we start increasing cores, we start decreasing frequency in each of the SKUs. And the reason we do that is because when you increase cores, you're increasing the power consumption and the thermal density in the package, and something has to give to fit within that package and the thermal envelope," Soqui said.

The Extreme Edition arrives in four varieties: The 10-core 6950X is available for $1,723, the 8-core 6900K costs $1,089, the 6-core 6850K is priced at $617, and the slower 6800K can be purchased for $434.

Computex concludes this weekend.

Disclosure: Chris Duckett attended Computex as a guest of Intel.