I have an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X CPU sitting in an ASUS X670E Crosshair Hero motherboard.

I've never really dabbled with overclocking or tweaking as the CPUs I've always bought just have enough performance for my needs.

However, with these latest generations, I've read that there's a lot of optimisations you can make to save energy by reducing power usage, in turn generating less heat, and all whilst retaining or even improving performance. This seems to mostly be done by using PBO (Precision Boost Overdrive) from what it seems like.

However, I cannot find anything that really layan an dumbed down as a guide for this as there seems to be a level of assumed overlclocking knowledge in the tutorials I nad guides i can find, making it easy to just lose interest due to inability to understand heat they're on about I then see AMD's Ryzen Master programme that is meant to provide a Windows app to access the BIOS settings needed, but read things advising against using any Auto OC feature and against even using Ryzen Master


Anybody used this feature? Is it worth it? Any recommendations on simpleton guides on how to achieve the result? And bonus points for you if they're specifically about the Ryzen 7000 series and the ASUS BIOS settings

 

Overclocking always leads to a shorter lifespan of the components or the CPU itself. Try to cool your system as well as possible. You already have a high-performance CPU that is very fast. Try to get as much heat out of the case as possible. The case itself also serves as a heat dissipator, so leave some space between the case and the wall.

Again, overclocking is actually pretty stupid. It's kind of like a speed-crazed weakness in people. It always leads to crashes and instability. The internet is full of these overclocking freaks, the idiots just can't help it.

If you want to make music, make sure your CPU is working evenly. Is your hobby music or overclocking?

You already have a Porsche, of course you can add a spoiler to screw on the carburetor, but that will affect the lifespan of the engine, and your Porsche will be louder and use more fuel.

What are the disadvantages of overclocking?

The main disadvantage of overclocking is that if done improperly or excessively, it can cause instability, overheating, and damage to your components. Overclocking increases the power consumption and heat output of your CPU and GPU, which can lead to crashes, freezes, artifacts, or even permanent failures.

Therefore, you must monitor the temperatures and voltages of your components and ensure adequate cooling and airflow in your PC case. Furthermore, overclocking can void the warranty of your components or reduce their reliability over time. Therefore, you must weigh the risks and rewards of overclocking and use your own discretion.

Here's what you could do: Tweaking the computer

Modern systems with a fully updated Windows should not need any of the default settings to be modified. However, if certain drivers are not fully optimized and you experience audio drop-outs, it is worth having a closer look. Note that the following settings are often not accessible, especially on laptop systems.

• Disable Hyper-Threading (Intel)/Simultaneous Multi-Threading (AMD) in the UEFI BIOS if your CPU supports it and if your BIOS allows you to modify this setting.
• Disable advanced power-saving and dynamic performance options for your CPU if applicable. This usually needs to be done in the UEFI BIOS of your computer and includes ‘Enhanced Intel SpeedStep (EIST)’, ‘AMD Cool 'n' Quiet’, ‘Intel Turbo Boost’, and ‘AMD Turbo CORE’.
• Disable C-States in the UEFI BIOS if this is accessible. C-States allow your CPU to sleep when idle, which may interfere with real-time applications such as audio. This option is often called ‘Disable CPU Idle State for Power Saving’.

https://helpcenter.steinberg.de/hc/...t-up-and-optimize-a-Digital-Audio-Workstation

 

Last edited: Nov 9, 2024

This is not true with the 7000 and 9000 series AMD Ryzen CPUs. They've been intentionally released in maxed out mode to have higher and better numbers in terms of performance with power usage and heat generation largely ignored. Therefore, my understanding is that the whole point of PBO is to reign this in, reducing the power usage, heat, and in turn reduce burn out of the component, meaning it should last longer and able to achieve similar performance with lower power draw, heat, and wear and tear, meaning 'overclocking' in this case means they will last longer. Or so I understand it.

 

Last edited: Nov 9, 2024

I have the same CPU as you. 7950X. And an ASUS motherboard too. I have decided not to tweak voltages, RAM speeds or anything crazy like that. They are all left at auto. I have tried to tweak it but it's just not worth the time and effort imho. My system always went bonkers and very unstable at best. The 7950X is a different keddle of fish from the old school way of overclocking. Instead I have gone the PBO2 way. But you HAVE to do it through the Advanced menu settings in the BIOS/UEFI! Or it just won't work as expected. Trust me. Forget about Ryzen Master- it does not play well with my motherboard at all. And to be honest a waste of time and disk space. Right now I have the temperature limit set to 55 degrees. It's very low, I know. Raise it to maybe 85-95 (obviously below the 95 TDP of the CPU) if you need that extra performance - which I don't 99% of the time. And the curve optimizer is set to negative 20 for all cores. You can try lowering it to -30 if you have a good CPU from the lottery. But it really can make your system unstable if you set it to low

My system as of now is rock solid 24/7-365. Testing with Prime for days. Cinebench R23 multicore score above 33.000. Temps are very low and so are the fan speeds and the noise level. I do have a 360mm AIO cooler btw but that is not really important. The trick with the 7950x is not to overclock it but to undervolt it. It's a beast of a CPU but it does not have to run at 95 degrees to be a good performer. Just my two cents

Best of luck

Cheers,
Peter

 

Last edited: Nov 9, 2024

But your question was a completely different one. We're talking past each other.

Again, the biggest problem with the CPU is heat generation. Theoretically, you can use even more clock frequency but then you can't cool it down. It's as hot as a hard drive and before it overheats, the first thing it does is throttle down speed and the second thing it does when it exceeds the set BIOS CPU max. temperature is that your PC simply shuts down before the CPU melts.

The industry is making small progress in better, more efficient cooling as you described. Otherwise there would be no faster CPUs to sell. But the big breakthrough for even faster clock speeds is still missing. Buy nitrogen and cool your PC with it. But what you want is overclocking and even more speed, read my post and your first post again.

Gaming with the 14900K under LIQUID NITROGEN - over 1000 FPS in CS2

Gaming with the 14900K under LIQUID NITROGEN - over 1000 FPS in CS2

 

You should think of PBO as AMD's auto "turbo boost" equivalent. It should be set to "enabled" from the BIOS and not Auto because it sort of toggles between on and off.
What @Radio said, i'm sorry my friend but PBO is not officially overclock because it will only allow a boost within the cpu's limits.
It is as its description says, an "overdrive". Normally, Precision Boost decides which cores to boost, how high, when to do it and for how long. Simply put, when you enable the overdrive on Precision Boost (PBO2 for 7950x) the system raises the base clock higher to give you more juice.
I tested 7950X with DAWs and PBO2 enabled, works just fine. Early versions up to the 5xxx series had a few bugs to be ironed out. Not this one. PBO2 is solid and when used it is actually a "set it and forget it" feature, as it is meant to be "always on".
There are many things to do with your cpu though. Here's some interesting videos.

@Radio
I am surprised at you using this strong language. Tsk tsk tsk. Anyway. Overclockers are not idiots or freaks. Too many of them are highly skilled self taught engineers or even with a university degree. They have been my constant source of knowledge for 25 consecutive years, as they are the only ones to explore the limits of components and the potential benefits of OC. And speaking about benefits, you might find useless what an all-core OC can provide in a single desktop system. (Competitive gamers will disagree of course as two or three more fps might be critical to winning or losing but we 're not these guys). So think of, let's say hypothetically, a small "render farm" scenario based on 20 Threadripper workstation systems. Even a 200mhz per core boost beyond of what these systems can do normally, can be really beneficial, depending always on a ratio between power drawn and profit made. But generally speaking, time is money mate. Be sure in any situation where there are many pcs, all admins will aim for stability first. But if there's a chance of yielding more "juice" out of these comps without compromising stability, smart admins will find a way.
Cheers
PS: The Threadripper should be considered a desktop cpu. Although its architecture resembles a server cpu (ie. TR 7980X has 64 cores), it doesn't include the factory limits of server grade cpus like its brother the Threadripper Pro and it can be overclocked -sort of- easily.

 

Last edited: Nov 9, 2024

You are missing the point. "Overclocking" the 7000 and 9000 AMD Ryzen CPUs is, in effect, undervolting it that brings down the power draw and wattage used, which in turn brings down the heat it generates, which then means you can 'push' the clocks a bit more for an overclocked all core performance or normally up to about a 200MHz overclock on the boost clocks. Therefore, the whole method to 'overclock' them is different to previous CPUs and all about reducing power and heat to be able to push the clocks, or just have a less power hungry and less heat generating CPU by undervolting and selecting lower temp throttle limits that is able to perform at the same base clocks.

 

@taskforce, I understand your point of view, you come from the industry and you can read your enthusiasm for new CPUs in what you write here, you are all fired up about the new technology. Please understand my point of view too, for me it is always about the truth and practical use. I have known the Internet since 1998 and have seen many companies and forums rise and fall.

Most of the professionals from back then closed their forums because the new young generation of users destroyed the culture of discussion. Many only have half the knowledge and are addicted to social media where everyone can say their own nonsense until you can't see the forest for the trees, confused by the information overload and too much false information, many are overwhelmed and stressed, but they are desperately looking for simple, correct information so that they can ultimately form an opinion. If a layperson follows your explanation, they will not be able to understand what you are reading.

You understand that I am a normal user and cannot keep up with your technical jargon, why should I? I have had many CPUs, including with open multipliers, but I have never overclocked a CPU, why should I? The speed of CPUs has been increasing steadily, the new DR standard is 3, 5 and 5. What is next and what should I buy so that I have a little more speed that I don't actually need?
What our world needs are people who understand connections and are educated and of course people like you, dear @taskforce, who can hopefully explain complex things in a simple way.

Oh, and finally, my opinion on CPUs in general: They should be fast, inexpensive and stable and last a long time for the masses worldwide.

 

Yes, I understand, I've probably slept through the last few years and been busy with music.
So I've read and learned a few pages about undervoltage, and now I'm up to date.

What happens if the voltage is too high?

If the voltage is reduced too much, it can lead to the computer making a "miscalculation", i.e. software giving incorrect results or no longer running correctly. Physically, this does not cause any damage, as long as you work in increments of 10. Once the voltage has been increased again, everything should work normally.

Practical procedure

If you want to further reduce the preset value of -50, first go to -60, save the setting and, after a restart, test thoroughly whether the system is running stably. If so, you can set the value to -70 if necessary and repeat the test. If, for example, your system does not run stably at -70, you know that -60 is the maximum possible value for undervolting on your notebook.

There is no recipe here, because every processor reacts differently to the undervolting settings. This is because transistors in microprocessors do not always switch at exactly the same voltage, but within a limited voltage tolerance range. It can therefore happen that with two identical notebooks, one can only run at -60, while the other runs stably at -80.

 

To obtain a firm grasp on how new tech works in both AMD & Intel CPUs. Especially AMD 9000 series & Intel Core Ultra. Take some time to go through the various videos here:

• SkatterBencher

Lots of accurate info for tuning your BIOS & OS for performance & stability.

 

I have a Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420 AIO in a Havn 420 case with a total of 8 140mm fans for cooling, so even untouched I am often only in the mid 20 degrees at idle unless it's a very warm day and then it may creep to 30-35.So I'm just looking at how I can leverage best use of my cooling solutions to have same/better performance with less power and heat.

I may come back to you soon for some BIOS pointers once I get a proper chance to look through what you've said against my BIOS

 

Because it's free extra performance you have paid for, and sometimes with energy cost savings too (as in the case of Ryzen 7000 and 9000), notwithstanding the extra time you save by completing tasks quicker. All at no extra cost to you other than what you already paid for your CPU.

 

factory defaults are designed to provide maximum stability at acceptable power draw and thermals,

basic overclocking would mean throw in more power (voltage) and increase clock speeds (multipliers), if system remains stable and cooling can handle it, you're done,

what you describe is something little different, could be even underclocking, it's about lowering the power (voltages) at chosen relatively high clock speeds (multipliers), while not sacrificing stability,

you gotta search online on what people achieved with your CPU and mobo, and start from there,

apart from aforementioned cooling/thermals, it will depend a lot on your luck having good piece of silicon, good stable power delivery from the motherboard and power supply,

also do note higher clock speeds at cost of much higher power draw don't result in much better performance, it's always a matter of diminishing improvements further you go,

for audio tasks specifically, if it's recording you want maximum stability, and for any meaningful work you don't want frequency fluctuations, so this whole new overclocking thingy (based on dynamic limits) isn't ideal for audio

 

I have actually already found his YouTube and watched some videos about it, but his delivery is so fast and to an audience with a presumed level of knowledge in the world of OC and BIOS tweaking so can be difficult to follow at times for a layman in this area. I am continuing to try and persist with it though

 

You should. The guy is very good and his delivery is actually much better and clearer than most. Using half speed when he picks up the pace might be helpful. Try Buildzoid (Actually Hardcore Overclocking) and he sounds like his nose is closed with a peg lol. But he's great too, although quite more hardcore than the Scatter guy.

AMD calls it adaptive undervolting. There's quite some jargon in this but simply put, because you use less power by undervolting, you can change the frequency where PBO boosts to higher clocks. You can always go manual for a full on OC, but this is an easy peasy 200-300mhz all-core OC with just a few settings, there's only the stability issue that has to be tested thoroughly. No risks involved as long as you keep the cpu within the rated max voltage.
Y'all be well

 

Make use of the rewind, half-speed & chapters when needed. The BIOS settings need to tackled before launching Windows. Also keep in mind that although detailed, his videos are just a guide. Your CPU & related hardware along with how you setup Windows are unique. Even if you use the exact hardware (silicon lottery & tolerances).

 

AMD RYZEN 7950X UNDERVOLT IN 2 Min || EASY & SAFEST METHOD

AMD Ryzen™ Master Utility for Overclocking Control Your tool to unlock AMD Ryzen™ Processors
www.amd.com/en/products/software/ryzen-master.html

CPU-Z System information software
www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

HWiNFO Start to analyze your hardware right now!
www.hwinfo.com/download/

 

Last edited: Nov 9, 2024

Too bad the "adaptive undervolting" doesn't work with 7950X 3D.

 

Yep, well, technically it is achievable but it won't have much of an impact to the specific cpu. You can get a 100mhz all core OC with the very same method by undervolting and oc'ing using the curve optimizer but as you will probably find out, the cpu will not go beyond 100-150mhz above its rated max clock.
The curve optimizer is also a handy tool as it features individual per core settings, so if you are experiencing core parking with your cpu in all the wrong scenarios (like when working on your DAW) you can use it to manually set persistent clock speeds per core.
This is what users have to understand:

And irrelevant but lemme lighten up the talk with some music, because of the avatar hehe.
Cheers

 

Found a good vid for optimize 7950X 3D

(hope it´s ok, not too ot)