4 ms·

Well, slower was the repercussion, but my coworker thought turbo meant faster, and was thinking along the lines of "my CPU didn't catch fire from all the extra

Well, slower was the repercussion, but my coworker thought turbo meant faster, and was thinking along the lines of "my CPU didn't catch fire from all the extra speed I was getting"

coolspot 5y ago
You misuderstood. When the turbo button is pressed, computer runs on nominal speed. When turbo button is un-pressed, computer would run on half of nominal speed. So, unpressed button makes computer slower, not pressed one. Source: actually used the button on my 386 SX 20/40 MHz
- p_l 5y ago
  Yep. I always had the turbo button pressed, except for occasionally deciding to play Test Drive 3 at speeds lower than "light speed". It was the one game I had that didn't calibrate the delay loop properly and my 486 was waaay too fast for normal playing - something that I didn't know so I learnt to play a very twitchy version...
- googlryas 5y ago
  Sorry, but I think you're confused in the same manner my coworker was. Activating the turbo button decreases the speed of your computer. Maybe yours operated differently, but everything I can find about turbo buttons on the internet indicates that they operated as I remember them - your computer gets slower when you turn the button on. I specifically remember playing certain DOS games where, if I didn't activate the turbo button, the entire game would speed through at what felt like double or triple speed. From wikipedia on Turbo button: > On IBM PC compatible computers, the turbo button selects one of two run states: *the default normal speed or a reduced "turbo" speed*. It was relatively common on computers using the Intel 80286,[1] Intel 80386 and Intel 80486 processors,[2] from the mid 1980s to mid 1990s. The name is inspired by turbocharger, a device which increases an engine's power and efficiency. *Contrary to what it suggests, the "turbo" button was generally intended to let a computer run slower than the speed for which it had been designed when pressed.*[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo_button https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo_button
  - coolspot 5y ago
    sigh Look, you read about it in wikipedia, but I actually lived with this computer for my whole childhood. I know for sure how the turbo button worked, because I actually used it to cheat in F1 and Lotus racing games. Best I can find in 10m I dedicated to this is this video showing switch between 22 and 40 MHz modes with a turbo button (around 8:50): https://youtu.be/TdenDH7S8LM https://youtu.be/TdenDH7S8LM
    - googlryas 5y ago
      I've literally told you multiple times that I did too, and my computer behaved in the exact manner that all of the results googling the concept turns up.
      - rileymat2 5y ago
        You both may be right and wrong… further down in wikipedia page: “ On most systems, turbo mode was with the button pushed in, but since the button could often be wired either way, on some systems it was the opposite.”
  - jazzyjackson 5y ago
    i dont know why the summary paragraph is so authoritative about what pressing the button means when a couple paragraphs down basically says “sometimes it’s wired backwards, so really it could be either faster or slower”

Well, slower was the repercussion, but my coworker thought turbo meant faster, and was thinking along the lines of "my CPU didn't catch fire from all the extra speed I was getting"

coolspot 5y ago

You misuderstood. When the turbo button is pressed, computer runs on nominal speed. When turbo button is un-pressed, computer would run on half of nominal speed. So, unpressed button makes computer slower, not pressed one. Source: actually used the button on my 386 SX 20/40 MHz

p_l 5y ago
Yep. I always had the turbo button pressed, except for occasionally deciding to play Test Drive 3 at speeds lower than "light speed". It was the one game I had that didn't calibrate the delay loop properly and my 486 was waaay too fast for normal playing - something that I didn't know so I learnt to play a very twitchy version...
googlryas 5y ago
Sorry, but I think you're confused in the same manner my coworker was. Activating the turbo button decreases the speed of your computer. Maybe yours operated differently, but everything I can find about turbo buttons on the internet indicates that they operated as I remember them - your computer gets slower when you turn the button on. I specifically remember playing certain DOS games where, if I didn't activate the turbo button, the entire game would speed through at what felt like double or triple speed. From wikipedia on Turbo button: > On IBM PC compatible computers, the turbo button selects one of two run states: *the default normal speed or a reduced "turbo" speed*. It was relatively common on computers using the Intel 80286,[1] Intel 80386 and Intel 80486 processors,[2] from the mid 1980s to mid 1990s. The name is inspired by turbocharger, a device which increases an engine's power and efficiency. *Contrary to what it suggests, the "turbo" button was generally intended to let a computer run slower than the speed for which it had been designed when pressed.*[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo_button https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo_button
- coolspot 5y ago
  sigh Look, you read about it in wikipedia, but I actually lived with this computer for my whole childhood. I know for sure how the turbo button worked, because I actually used it to cheat in F1 and Lotus racing games. Best I can find in 10m I dedicated to this is this video showing switch between 22 and 40 MHz modes with a turbo button (around 8:50): https://youtu.be/TdenDH7S8LM https://youtu.be/TdenDH7S8LM
  - googlryas 5y ago
    I've literally told you multiple times that I did too, and my computer behaved in the exact manner that all of the results googling the concept turns up.
    - rileymat2 5y ago
      You both may be right and wrong… further down in wikipedia page: “ On most systems, turbo mode was with the button pushed in, but since the button could often be wired either way, on some systems it was the opposite.”
- jazzyjackson 5y ago
  i dont know why the summary paragraph is so authoritative about what pressing the button means when a couple paragraphs down basically says “sometimes it’s wired backwards, so really it could be either faster or slower”