Current version: 2.13.0 (December , 2023) . Just updated! What’s new?
What others say:
“I noticed nearly an hour increase in potential battery life when using the app to toggle Turbo Boost off on a new model MacBook Pro” (OSXDaily)
“The MacBook Pro also runs noticeably cooler, and gains about 25% more battery life“, “For now, I’m going to continue to happily run Turbo Boost Switcher Pro to selectively give myself better battery life, and I recommend it for anyone else with the same need.” (marco.org)
From OSX 10.7 compatible including macOS Sonoma !. ¿Installing for the first time on a machine and with macOS High Sierra/Mojave installed/Big Sur/Monterey? Read this first.
Looking about how to update? Read more here. Any additional doubts? Read the FAQs here.
Features:
Turbo Boost Switcher is a little application for Mac computers that allows to enable and/or disable the Turbo Boost feature.
It installs a precompiled kernel extension (32 or 64 bits depending on your system) that updates the Turbo Boost MSR register, so It will ask for your admin password when using it.
It’s installed on your Mac status bar and allows you to:
- macOS Ventura ready.
- Visually know if Turbo Boost is enabled or disabled at any time.
- Enable / Disable Turbo Boost manually, getting up to a 25% more battery life and lowering down the CPU Tem up to 20ºC. (check this).
- Auto modes for running apps, displays, running apps, fan speed, temperature… (only on Pro version)
- Apple Script integration (only on Pro version).
- Fan, Temperature, CPU Load and Frequency charting.
- Configure it to disable Turbo Boost automatically at launch.
- Enable / Disable Turbo Boost automatically for a set of apps (only on Pro version).
- Set default mode for Turbo Boost Enabled or not (On or Off)
- Disable Turbo Boost when battery charger is not connected (only on Pro version).
- Disable Turbo Boost automatically when battery goes below a configurable level (only on Pro version).
- OSX Notifications/Alerts integration (only on Pro version).
- Asks for root password only once (only on Pro version).
- Status Bar configurable.
- Status Bar fully configurable (Temperature, fans, etc, only on Pro version).
- Display CPU Load
- Check your CPU temp and fan speed.
- Display temps in ºC and ºF (only on Pro version).
- Set it to open at login.
- Languages: English, Spanish, Chinese (beta), Russian (beta), German (beta), Polish (beta), French (beta), Swedish (beta)
- Automatically restore Turbo Boost on exit.
Here you have a couple of additional screenshots (PRO version):
How to install:
Get the Pro version here to help keeping alive this project :).
You can also download a free binary application or the source code to compile it with XCode.
Once downloaded/compiled, just unzip (or open the .dmg if using PRO). Drag the .app to your Applications folder (this is a must on any version equal to Sierra or above) and double click on the App. An icon like the next one will appear on your status bar.
If you see a message saying the app “can’t be opened because it is from an identified developer”, then you need to change your settings to allow not-signed apps to be installed. Go to your System Preferences->Security and Privacy and mark the option “Anyhwere”. Try again, it should work.
Also, and just if you’re running for the first time on a machine with macOS High Sierra installed, you’ll need to allow the kernel extension to be used the first time you try to disable Turbo Boost. Just go to System Preferences -> Security and Privacy and click “allow” after trying to disable Turbo Boost for first time. You can read more about this here.
Motivation:
Turbo Boost is enabled by default on all Macs that support it, but why anyone should want to disable it?
Ok, here are some reasons:
- CPU Overheat: When Turbo Boost is activated, prepare to experiment high temperatures on your CPU, since it pushes till it reaches almost the Junction Tº, usually 100 ºC. This is controlled by hardware, but if you want your computer to live long, better keep it as low as possible. With Turbo Boost disabled I’ve been able to get up to 20 ºC degrees less!!!, that’s a value worth considering.
- Battery Life: When disabling Turbo Boost you will get up to a 25% more of your battery life. Just check this post at marco.org :).
- Parallel Processing: Turbo Boost is activated (by Intel® internal algorithms) when one of the CPU cores reaches 100%, increasing the core Mhz, but It won’t do it if all or your cores are 100%, since that will create a lot of overheat. This will reduce your parallel processing performance so, in some situations, you better disable it.
If you are like me, you probably do some high cpu demanding tasks from time to time, like photoshop editing, video transcoding, casual gaming, etc. and your fans go to max speeds while your CPU keeps crazy ranges like 93 – 98 ºC.
I’ve started to look for applications, and the only thing I found was this cool kernel extension https://github.com/nanoant/DisableTurboBoost.kext created by “nanoant”. This is a very simple extension that manipulates the MSR record writing the Turbo Boost flag.
If you don’t want to always be opening your terminal, compile the code, make sure you don’t forget to re-enable it, etc. then Turbo Boost Switcher is for you.
How to know if Turbo Boost is enabled (or not):
To see the differences between having Turbo Boost enabled or not, you can do the following tasks:
- Install smcFanControl, a cool app that will help you to set your fan speeds to desired values.
- The simplest one, do some high demanding gaming with Turbo Boost enabled and disabled, checking the CPU temperature values and see the differences.
- You can also launch some long time high demanding tasks, like the Geekbench benchmarks app. You’ll get a lower value since Turbo Boost will not be triggered. On my Macbook Air I go from 7500 to 4000 points aprox. with Turbo Boost disabled.
- Open a terminal and execute “kextstat”. If you see a line including “com.rugarciap.DisableTurboBoost” that means Turbo Boost is disabled.
- Check the MSR register for yourself (0x1a0), but that could be tricky and we’re not going to go deeper here.
Thanks to:
- lavoiesl (https://github.com/lavoiesl/osx-cpu-temp)
- nanoant (https://github.com/nanoant/DisableTurboBoost.kext)
- Icons by fatcow: http://www.fatcow.com/free-icons
Turbo Boost Switcher Pro
Turbo Boost Switcher
This issue is the dirty little secret of Intel-based MacBook Pros, going back to at least ’12. I have owned two 15″ models, one 2018 16″, and currently a 2019 16″. All three previous MacBooks have had the battery replaced, the ’18 model twice. The shitty part is that I paid extra for a topped out Intel processor. And utilizing the CPU’s capacity burns up the laptop – a $5000 laptop!
This software nails it resolving the heat problem. After reading the responses on this post I was confident enough to go straight ahead and purchase this app sight unseen.
I was not disappointed. I no longer stress that I am killing the laptop by merely using it.
A tip of the hat to Marco Arment!
This application is awesome! I really like my macbook air 2015 now! before I was unhappy with fan noise and heat because I am idiot. Games and youtube play nicely now! Thanks Rugar
I am a Live Electronic Music Performer using Ableton and a Macbook (and bunch of other midi controllers for sure 😉 )
This app (in collaboration with gSwitch utility) has saved my life – even though ableton seemed to use 20% of the cpu resources – i had “cracks and pops” during my live show – you cannot imagine how it feels on the stage 🙁
with turbo boost disabled – now I can enjoy the show (even I have traktor pro open in backroung which uses the amd radeon graphics card onboard)
Thank for your efforts and for this wonderful piece of software – now I will buy the PRO version for sure 🙂
Thanks for your feedback and happy to help!
Thanks so much for this app. I upgraded to Pro and it is well worth the cost.
I’m still using a 2012 Retina Macbook Pro 15 running Monterey. Everything ran great except even small tasks like browsing would cause the temps to skyrocket and the fans to ramp up. This app has completely solved that issue! Thanks again!
Thank you so much for this app. I’ve just upgraded to pro to show my support. I struggled with fan noise when running any audio programs. I record audiobooks and the fan would destroy my sound. I’d resorted to icepacks under the machine while recording, but it was a baffling issue as the computer was outside the booth, in a cool space and running a very light program, recording a single track.
Apple was no help and replaced my entire motherboard at a ‘discounted’ cost of $400!
This product solved my issue immediately and it’s alleviated two years of headaches! Thank you so much much for this brilliant workaround.
Hi! Thanks to you for supporting! 🙂
Great!
I have a 2015 Macbook pro 15″, with turbo boost from 2.5GHz to 3.7GHz.
It was cooking at CPU temperatures up to almost 100C and noisy fan speeds above 5000rpm only for using simple applications such as Teams for video meetings.
I had cleaned the fans and cooling fins inside from dust and even applied new thermal grease. This improved the situation somewhat, but the update to 64bit OS seemed to be a heavy load on this Mac from 2015, making me consider to replace it with a new one as almost impossible to use it for normal tasks with the fan noise etc.
After I installed this software and set some automatic limits the Turbo Boost is switched off early.. to my surprise and amusement now e.g. Teams video conferencing runs at CPU temp of 60C and 2500rpm fans speed that you cannot hear. Best of all: I notice no practical performance drawback of the turbo boost being switched off for these normal apps that I need.
Conclusion: Apple has a clear priority on maximum performance that was not necessary for my use and they do not care about the fan noise level or high CPU temp.
Thank you !
Bought the Pro version for my 2018 Macbook Pro (which has a meh battery life). Love to support independent devs making AWESOME tools.
Thanks!!! 🙂
Been using the free version for quite a while, and bought the pro version and very happy with my purchase.
Just bought the Pro version.
Fantastic product.
Thanks! 🙂
Magic! I bought pro immediately, this tool massively improves my macbook.
I use a 2017 Macbook Pro 13 nTB, with the i7. This thing overheats like crazy during regular work days, and the single fan goes crazy. Apple already replaced parts, but otherwise said “Macbooks just get hot”.
Since using this tool, the system keeps cool and rarely needs to use the fan anymore. Fantastic! I can visibly see the difference on the real-time charts.
Thanks!!
Thanks! Glad to hear it helped 🙂
Turbo Boost Switcher along with the computer grounded to a power strip from Supra (with filtration & is shielded) is my best solution to reduce electromagnetic field around my workspace. With turbo boost off, the spikes on the mains are reduced to a minimum which has as much effect as the grounding. Hope this software also will support boost for GPU in the future.
WOW! been on the free version, bought the pro version today. ❤️ it.
Thank you so much for the app. I was looking into undervolting my CPU but it was a PITA as I didn’t want to disable SIP so just disabling TB was the second best option and yours has been working as expected.
I’m trying the trial version to ensure everything is OK and will purchase the pro version if I notice no issues. Thanks again for your awesome work.
Thanks to you for using the app! 🙂
Thanks for the app.
I use the pro version. I use it cool down my MacBook Pro when using Chromecast. Using Chromecast will trigger hyper boost and set the speed fans to high speed. It seems like your app did the trick and lowered the temperatures about 10-20 degrees celsius.
Thanks to you! Glad it helped 🙂
A GREAT Idea and another example of a small ISV seeing an Issue and Providing the Solution! No “Big” company would never build something like this so Thank You and Long Live the ISV.
My Question:
Reading your description it sounds like if the Mac is in TurboBoost mode ONLY 1 Core is Active?
Did I read that correctly?
If only 1 Core is Active in TurboBoost mode multicore applications will only use the 1 Core correct?
Thank You,
Christopher
Can you make a version that turns off speedstep (CPU throttling below base frequency)? macOS doesn’t allow this and I suspect some of the glitching in my real-time audio setup comes from this. (In Windows, it is common to advise turning this off with pro audio applications.) NB: I have a very high-spec system and push it very hard.
Actually the more control over the CPU freq/voltage settings the better. For example, I would love to test my setup with a completely fixed CPU freq to see how much glitching comes from CPU state transitions.
Thanks for your feedback! That’s a great idea :), but since TBS is built around Turbo boost feature, it would be some kind of redundant to include same features for speedstep…, I’m working around some ideas for a new app and this definitely would fit better on that one. Stay tuned and thanks again! 😉
Great tool, thank you!
I´ve noticed the “beta” on german localization but still would like to add my 2ct: “Exit Turbo Boost Switcher” is wrongly translated into “Ausfahrt … ” and should read “Turbo Boost Switcher verlassen”.
Hi! Thanks for your comments! will fix that for next version 🙂
This is an awesome addition to Mac OS Sierra. I’m currently using the free version, I want to try it out. So far it is beyond expectation. It has integrated perfectly with Sierra 10.12. Thanks for creating Turbo Boost switcher. I definitely plan on purchasing pro version soon.
Thanks for your comments!
Hello, thanks for this app, it works great on Sierra.
I tried it a while ago and was glad I found it again on an old backup, I prefer a cooler CPU and better battery life since I have no need for heavy and hungry apps.
Just bought the Pro for support 😉
I’ve got a suggestion for the next version, do you think you could offer an option to hide the menubar icon? We could access the settings again by “relaunching” the app, it’s what the BetterTouchTool dev are doing and it works great for people who don’t want to tinker with the settings often !
Thanks for your comments and supporting the app :).
Can’t promise anything, but I’ll think about your suggestion
Best!
Just installed v2.6.0, it works perfectly. (I’m still on Sierra).
Thanks a lot for the new option to hide the “On/Off” info, a bit more real estate in my menubar!
Thanks! 🙂
Woooow! This app alleviates the aches on my top fingers! Also my battery length time has significantly increased! ! 10/10 !! This works great on my 10.12.2 beta 1 mac OS Sierra on my macbook pro 13 (mid 2012). Cheers!
I have a pro licence how do I download the new update 2.2
Hi! Just enter Gumroad and download the latest version using your email. You can check your email too, you should have received an email when the update was released on August.
Best regards!
I have a question. When I want to uninstall this application, stay the turbo boost status automaticaly enabled ? Thank you for support !
Hi!
If you mean when you “Quit the app” then yes, the Turbo Boost feature is enabled again when you click on “Quit”. If you mean “what happens when I delete the app”.., just make sure you quit the app before deleting it.
In any case, after removing the app, and if you want to make sure, just reboot and Turbo Boost feature will be enabled again. Check the FAQs for more info.
Best regards.
Just bought the PRO version and now I get almost 2 hours more from my macbook. Awesome! :).
Pro version working really well on a Hackintosh (Sony Vaio) under El Capitan 😉
Thank you !
I just buy the pro version and work fine on last Sierra Beta 5.
Great! thanks for letting me know :), not tried yet on beta 5.
I have a pro licence how do I download the new update 2.2
I have found out how to do it everything is great now!
Great!
Check your spam folder…, an email was sent to your account with the link to download it. Best regards!
Would love to get the Pro version! I love the free one! Works awesome!
Amazing app! Thanks for all of your hard work! My MBP 15 is now running cool!
https://twitter.com/nkpearson/status/754210331694620672
Thanks man!Just sent you the last promo code to your email ;). Best regards.
I own the 1st rMBP (with the highest CPU config – 2.7G CPU) and I’ve been always having issues with high temp. I need CPU on full force only occasionally and when the tboost is off the temp is lower by 10stC .. I’ll continue using it!
Glad to help! 🙂
https://twitter.com/JauRahh/status/753375405692841984
Just sent to your twitter account! Thanks!
There’s still a trouble with the “On/Off” status in the bar. Sometimes it doesn’t show the good status, the more when “disable at launch” is set.
This app is a must have ! thanks !
Is it possible to have an option for Turbo Boost “re-enabled” when the battery charger is connected (i.e. the dual of the current “Disabled when charger disconnected”)?
Other than that, the app is awesome! I love the pro version you just released adding the option for the OTP (one-time password)! I was using the free version beforehand, but the pro version is 100% worth the $10. I appreciate your work 🙂
Thanks! Maybe in the future, but it could be a bit “confusing” if you combine that with auto configuration based on apps running… will see 😉
Fair enough!
However, I am having trouble with the auto mode. When I add a process to the list and try to change the “Enable/Disable” parameter by double clicking and typing “Enable” (and seeing the text change from “Disable” to “Enable”) it doesn’t seem to stick. I cannot get it to change from “Disable” to “Enable”. Am I doing something wrong?
Thanks!
A new verison with new feathure ! !!!
Can’t wait !
You’re the best !
Just become root or choose an user with Admin permissions
it does not work it always ask for password
It works…, asking for root password is normal since that’s needed to install the kernel extension that disables Turbo Boost.
Just use sudo. Open a terminal and write (replacing the path with the corresponding one where you installed the app)
$sudo ./Turbo\ Boost\ Switcher\ Pro.app/Contents/Mac/Turbo\ Boost\ Switcher\ Pro
That will run the app with root permissions
I am already Admin, and it doesn’t work : password window everytime…
Boring
Just use sudo. Open a terminal and write (replacing the path with the corresponding one where you installed the app)
$sudo ./Turbo\ Boost\ Switcher\ Pro.app/Contents/Mac/Turbo\ Boost\ Switcher\ Pro
That will run the app with root permissions
Hi,
do you plan to have a signed version of the app ? 🙂
it’s seem to be mandatory for the kext with OS X 10.11 El Capitan.
Regards,
Yes, just requested Apple that!
Finally a replacement for CoolBook!! Thank you for programming this awesome app, supported you by buying the Pro version.
What do you think about implementing a feature to turn Turbo off when CPU reaches a certain heat?
Hi, thanks for the extension! It keeps asking me for admin password after wakeup from sleep. how can i fix this? thanks!
Just execute the app as root and/or an user with Admin permissions
Is there a way to give this app explicit root-rights? It’s painful to always grand root-privileges.
Hi, very useful app, but I have a comment on Automode: Wouldn’t it make sense to rather ENABLE turbo boost when certain apps are running, rather than DISABLING? Or have the option for both? At least for me, I would want to have turbo mode disabled by default, but enable it when using certain apps (which is why I bought the pro version..)
I also second the suggestion in an earlier comment to use power source to enable/disable turbo boost.
Hi, thank you for this awesome app.
I bought the Pro version thought there will be an auto mode to enable Turbo Boost when power adapter is plugged. But there is not.
Would you add this in next version?
Great idea, thanks! I’ll consider it for sure 😉
Thanks for the free version. The paid version doesn’t make much sense to me. I’d gladly pay for a version that disables turbo when the machine is running on battery.
Hi Rugarciap 🙂
For me your app is “essential” and never know that a pro version exist…
i want to buy it… but now i have another Macbook “Macbook Pro Retina 15 mid 2015 WITHOUT DEDICATED GPU” only the intel gpu and Iris Graphics.
On this machine your app don’t work :(…. when i click on “disable” nothing happens and on “console” have only this output
20/04/16 00:20:48,071 Turbo Boost Switcher[1369]: kextstat output: (null)
20/04/16 00:20:48,086 authexec[1404]: executing /usr/sbin/chown
20/04/16 00:20:48,094 authexec[1405]: executing /usr/bin/kextutil
20/04/16 00:20:48,173 Turbo Boost Switcher[1369]: kextstat output: (null)
20/04/16 00:20:48,693 Turbo Boost Switcher[1369]: kextstat output: (null)
🙁 🙁 🙁 :(…
I privately pay you to fix this on my machine …
please let me how i can contact you .. and if possible i want to buy the complete Pro version with this fix.
thanks .
Sorry Rugarciap…
it’s a my mistake…
in short a “permission” problem occurs in my case…
i have set the correct permission “copied from another machine via BatChMod utility” set the exactly same permission and WORKS!!!
OK , now.. i want the Pro Version… where i can buy it ?… Guarantee me that you implement some new feature like the suggested from other users as soon as possible ?.
thanks you.. 😀
Just posted a blog…, new version is incoming REALLY soon
That’s strange… , it seems kextstat is not working, and that’s an utility provided by OSX.
Try opening a terminal and running “kextstat -v” and, if that command doesn’t show results, try with “sudo kextstat -v”.
This command displays kernel extensions installed, and by the log you posted it seems it isn’t working
Hey, is it possible to get the Pro Edition via Paypal?
Thanks!, and yes, you can use paypal as payment method on gumroad 🙂
Best!
Just wanted to say thanks a lot for making this feature available to the masses.
I’ve been tearing my hair out trying to come up with a cooling solution when rendering on my i7 3770 imac. Even with custom fan profiles I was regularly hitting 90C + which is not great for overnight renders.
I just did a quick test on a small render and the difference was about 14C cooler (using TG Pro to measure) with turbo boost off and only lost about 7% overall render time. That’s a win in my books. Kudos to you and whoever wrote the original script.
Thanks again!
Helo Xinli
Please, be aware that using Ray’s version can cause the app to display wrong temperature measures depending on the Mac model you’re using.
I’ll release a new version very soon with this fixed.
Best.
Hi, I just modified some code from the origin code, and I known the reason why the console print this error.But I can not explain this in English, sorry.
You can checkout my fork at GitHub.Here is the url:https://github.com/wr1241/Turbo-Boost-Switcher/commit/207ff7d61a2f1031d810092d1774954097ca4011
I love this software!
Thank you Ray!
I’m also aware of the problem, it’s just these days it’s impossible for me to release a new version, but I will do it as soon as I can.
Thanks again!
Best!
By the way, just reviewed your code and have some comments 🙂
You changed it to use always the same sensor. That will work on a reduced set of laptos, but not on all Macs.
The real problem is to always try to read from the sensors array, instead of storing the correct one for future reads. This was fixed on previous version, but storing the right sensor on NSUserDefaults. The right solution is to use the same sensor per session, without storing it on NSUserDefaults, that will force to use the same sensor forever.
As I told on previous post, I will release a new version as soon as I can with this little fix.
Best!