Turbo button

Updated: 05/16/2020 by Computer Hope
486 computer turbo button

The Turbo button was a button found on earlier (386 and 486) PCs that would increase or decrease the computer's performance. This button was needed for backward compatibility in older programs and games that were written for a specific speed of computer. When faster computers were released, because the programs were written for a slower speed of computer, it would cause the program to run extremely fast, often making them unusable. Using the turbo button, the user could slow the computer down allowing them to use these programs. The picture shows an example of the Turbo button.

Today, this button is no longer available and considered obsolete. If you must run older programs that are running too fast, we suggest using a software solution, such as Mo'Slo, to trick a program into thinking it's slow.

Button, Hardware terms, Obsolete, Underclock