Checking if PBO is beneficial with Kraken X62 and X570 AORUS ELITE at 3700X, along with Cinebench R20 results.
Checking if PBO is beneficial with Kraken X62 and X570 AORUS ELITE at 3700X, along with Cinebench R20 results.
Hi there! I recently set up a new system with the following components: an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE MSI Gaming X Trio, a 2080 Super 16 GB RAM module from G.Skill, a Z 3600 MHz processor, and a NXTZ Kraken X62 motherboard. I've been testing Cinebench R20 using PBO with Auto enabled first, then switched it on. According to HWMonitor, the results were as follows:
- With PBO Auto, all cores averaged between 3917–3942 MHz during Cinebench R20.
- Peak clock reached 4390 MHz, with a maximum temperature of 59°C.
- Score was 4667.
- When PBO was enabled, all cores ran at about 4142 MHz (roughly 200 MHz higher), and the max clock stayed at 4391 MHz. The temperature rose to 69°C, and the score improved to 4923 (~5% better).
Overall, the maximum clock speed remained similar, but with PBO enabled, each core was running ~200 MHz faster, which added about a 5% boost. The extra heat increased by around 17%.
I’m wondering if enabling PBO is still worthwhile for gaming. Some users say it gives a slight gain, while others think the extra heat and cost aren’t worth it. Let me know your thoughts!
Have a great weekend!
Consider testing it independently. Run your games at your preferred resolution and settings, then check performance on both PBO Auto and PBO Enabled modes. Temperatures tend to drop during gameplay compared to when benchmarking, so you might notice the 60°C range instead of the higher 70°C.
Just checked the results again—without NZXT CAM, HWMonitor or Ryzen Master running. I’m keeping the default Ryzen Balanced power settings. The score came in at 4759 with PBO Auto. I’ll test games tomorrow with both PBO Auto and Enabled to see if it’s worth it.