this post was submitted on 28 Mar 2024
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Turbo being activated makes your computer slower. Many games relied on clock speed for timing and were unplayable on newer computers because they ran way too fast. The turbo button slowed them down so you could actually play them.
https://www.howtogeek.com/678617/why-did-the-turbo-button-slow-down-your-pc-in-the-90s/
So, you're right, that's how it was supposed to work.
But it wasn't hardwired. You could switch so "turbo" actually made "turbo" instead of slowing it down.
Even the clock display wasn't accurate, you used jumpers to set what speed you wanted displayed regardless of what was going on.
So I guess there was no way to tell what the turbo button did without some kind of testing or being the one who built the computer.
My uncle built my old desktop with a turbo back in the day, and he was 100% the type of guy to do it the "right" way instead of a standard that meant the opposite.
But I definitely can't remember, maybe I was just shit at SF2 and Star Craft lol