I don't get my OC?
I don't get my OC?
Hello everyone! I constructed my PC about a year ago and only recently started diving into overclocking. At first, I struggled to grasp what was happening, thinking my CPU wasn’t working as expected. I watched a video by Graphically Challenged titled "AMD R5 3600 Overclocking Guide MSI B450-A PRO MAX."
My setup includes a B450 Tomahawk MAX motherboard, a Corsair RMx 850 watt power supply, 32 GB of RAM, and an Intel 1660ti processor. For cooling, I’m using a Cooler Master 212 cooler.
I experimented with different settings: Overclock 1 (somewhat stable), OC 2 (no post), Stock BIOS (PBO off, High Performance power plan in Windows), and various frequency options. The BIOS set the frequency to 4000 MHz, 4200 MHz, and Auto. The idle temperature stayed between 35-40°C, load temps 69-72°C, and CPU temps ranged from 64-66°C. Cinebench R23 scores were significantly higher than others, especially during overclocking.
I noticed the voltage readings were inconsistent—PBO disabled, stock BIOS, Ryzen Master, and HWinfo all gave different values. The measured voltages varied between 1.256 and 1.472, with some readings in the 1.29-1.39 range. I also observed that my 4.2 GHz overclock failed, and I couldn’t access Windows settings. I wasn’t sure what idle frequencies to set at stock levels since Ryzen Master and HWInfo fluctuated.
My Cinebench R23 scores were much higher than others, especially during overclocking. I’m confused about why stock voltages are so high and why a CPU that claims 4.2 GHz couldn’t reach a stable setting. It seems my motherboard or BIOS might be problematic. I also wondered if the high stock voltages could be damaging my CPU. How do others manage to overclock to 4.1 GHz with much lower voltages?
From what I’ve read, aiming for stable voltage is key, and voltages above 1.3 are typical for good performance. My first overclock showed almost consistent voltage and normal idle/load temperatures—though those were only during stress tests. During regular gaming, I saw temps around 55-60°C.
I haven’t been able to achieve a stable overclock below 1.35 volts, even if I set it lower like 3.8 GHz across all cores. I feel more stable when I push the CPU beyond stock settings. I also noticed another issue: after waking up or using my PC for a day, the overclock settings would reset, and frequencies and voltages fluctuated.
Thank you for taking the time to read this detailed post. Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated.
It might just be a matter of bad luck with the silicon selection. Even though my static configuration handled 1.3v well (after removing it because it was too high), adjusting the voltage too much or not enough leads to either immediate BSOD at startup or the BIOS refusing to start. This unpredictable behavior is especially common when the chip's voltage-frequency relationship becomes more aggressive compared to chips with better binning. Personal experience: I can achieve stable 4.18 at 1.35v, but 4.2 only works reliably at 1.4v—just barely.
I’m not sure if lowering the voltage offset too much helps; on my board, setting it below 0.06v causes BSOD, while going above it results in no response. On the static OC settings page, too high a value triggers a BIOS reboot, which is another reason I didn’t focus much on Ryzen optimization unless you had a solid sample.
Ryzen’s idle voltages are normal, but it spikes significantly during boost phases—sometimes reaching 1.5v even without PBO enabled. This behavior stems from AMD’s boost algorithm. PBO mainly adjusts the Precision Boost parameters (PPT, EDC, TDC), which are set when PBO is off or auto. They can be changed via PBO, but if you’re already within limits (as shown in Ryzen Master), you won’t gain much from it.
If you’re manually tuning for performance, I’d advise against it right now. Static OC is risky and usually only helpful by chance. Instead, aim for at least 3600Mhz RAM and keep the chip as cool as possible—even a small temperature rise can push clocks higher.
This is the HWINfo (SVI2 TFN) core voltage information. It's the key metric to keep track of.
At its baseline, the CPU increases single-core performance up to a maximum clock speed of 4.2GHz. To achieve this, it can temporarily raise the voltage to around 1.5V for stability, but it continuously checks hundreds of sensors on each core and reduces both voltage and clock frequency when temperatures or current levels rise, ensuring safety. Exceeding these limits could cause damage, so the system always seeks the lowest safe voltage.
It doesn't run all cores at full 4.2GHz at once, even if it seems so in slow monitoring tools.
Regarding PBO, I'm not convinced it's doing much, but strong cooling is essential to notice its advantages since it significantly increases temperature. The boost algorithm remains active to protect the processor, prompting it to lower clocks when things get hot. You might need to adjust settings slightly—set TDC and EDC to 230, PPT to 330, increase the boost clock by an additional 200MHz, and enable PBO in manual mode at 5x—to see better results under heavy load, similar to what's seen in CB23 multi-thread scenarios.
To optimize performance for CB23 and achieve consistent scores for comparison: start after a fresh reboot, with no other processes running except monitoring software. Open Task Manager, go to the Details tab, and set it to real-time priority. Close the task manager and initiate the multithread test in a one-time run. It may appear to freeze the system due to exclusive real-time access, so be patient until completion.
Whenever you achieve a manual overclock, compare its performance in CB23's single-thread benchmark to what you'd get with the stock configuration and PBO enabled. Single-thread results are crucial for gaming, as most games are light threaded, and a manual overclock can negatively impact ST performance.
PBO offers some improvements, though not quite as strong as AMD's claims. The mix-up between PB2 and PBO doesn't really help our customers either. On my current configuration, PBO gives me around 4.1Ghz (the advertised boost clock) across all cores except for the OCCT small data set. It pushed me to an extra 50-125Mhz based on core quality. Not much, but it comes with higher temperatures. The CB20 results stay within a small range of variation, less than 5%.
Perhaps I should rephrase this in the way Steve Burke described: PBO doesn't make much difference if you're not dealing with thermal constraints. Some improvements are possible, but they don't significantly exceed typical stock performance. In my setup, the chip's limitations—bad silicon and early power hits—are more important than thermal issues.
From my perspective, the best way forward is adopting the updated PBO2 with dynamic undervolt control on a user-adjustable curve. This lets me reduce temperatures slightly for a longer boost window (which pushes performance further from thermal and power boundaries).
I stick to the 300/230/230 PBO limits from Buildzoid, and I keep it that way. Scalar I left at auto since anything above double only gives about 25Mhz across all cores. The outcome might vary, but some users claim better results with 5x or 10x boosts.
I agree that Ryzen OC is tricky and not worth the effort. Gaming gains are minimal, and sometimes they lead to lower 99th percentile or even the lowest FPS, which I believe is a better indicator of processor quality than average frame rates.
I know he's not that much a fan of it, but I got that impression back in the days he was testing Zen 2 with stock coolers because AMD required it. Are you sure he didn't say "...PBO doesn't do much if you
are
thermally limited" ?
At any rate...I'm running a 3700X with a 240mm AIO... a CM ML-240 so kind of bottom end for 240mm but still pretty good. So running stock, in a super heavy all-thread workload (like P95, small FFT) it will drop to ~3.7Ghz, +/25Mhz as it jumps around. Temps are pretty good..in mid 60's. But just enabling PBO with the settings I mentioned (ppt 330, edc/tdc 230, scalar 5x) it will drop to 4.0-4.05Ghz once it stabilizes in same workload, temps in low 70's now. That's about a 300Mhz improvement by PBO and I'm happy...but there's more!
I mix things up using the EDC=10 bug...set EDC to 10 and disable Global C-States. It gets me an additional 100-150Mhz when stable but temps are now running in the mid 80's. That's obviously a bug (since with a 10A limit on core current it should be throttled) but it's effect is real as it even shows, consistently, with Cinebench 23 and 20 benchmark runs.
So...with or without the bug I
am
seeing a benefit from PBO. I just think it's how you measure it, and you really do need good cooling to go along with it. And I also think it can depend on motherboard and possibly when the chiplets were diffused. Mine are really early silicon, first on the market, as I got my CPU in August of '19. so the process has matured, newer dies are doubtless much better.
What is your RAM name and model? Did you enable the AXMP for it in BIOS prior to overclocking the CPU? Please share a screenshot of the RAM speed page in CPU-Z.
I cut a few lines to improve readability while keeping the original meaning.