Is CPU functionality limited to a fixed clock frequency?
Is CPU functionality limited to a fixed clock frequency?
Hi!
Here’s what I was thinking and recalling:
My setup includes an ASRock Steel Legend B450M motherboard with BIOS 4.3, a AMD Ryzen 5 5600 CPU, 2x 8GB 3600Mhz RAM from G.Skill, an NVIDIA RTX 3070 ti GPU, and a RM650x Corsair PSU that’s two years old. I’m running Windows 10 64-bit.
I remember reading somewhere that Ryzen CPUs have auto OC, which usually brings the clock speed up to around 4.4 GHz during gaming. After buying it, I checked Task Manager and saw something close to 4.3 GHz—seems fine. But two years later, I realized my assumption was wrong.
In my BIOS, there’s an option for CPPC enabled. I learned it’s not very effective for most games. I tried turning it off and noticed the CPU still ran at stock speeds even in games. So it must be the option itself that caused the increase, which shouldn’t happen.
I have PBO enabled in my BIOS, which is supposed to handle CPU OC if I’m not mistaken. But it doesn’t seem to work here either. My CPU is still running at normal speeds despite using PBO. What should I do to enable OC? Should I manually set everything, or is there a better way?
I thought PBO would automatically fix this, but it didn’t. Is there a bug? I don’t have the latest BIOS version, so I’m holding off on updates because I want to keep my performance stable and avoid risks. Still, I’m considering using Ryzen Master and PBO together.
I have the newest drivers installed.
Using CPPC seems to give better performance in games like Escape from Tarkov—probably because without it, the CPU runs at its base speed. If needed, I can share my BIOS settings for reference. I really appreciate any help!
Here are the details of your system:
CPU: ASRock Steel Legend B450M with bios 4.3
Ryzen 5 5600
RAM: 2x 8GB 3600Mhz
Memory: 3070ti
Storage: SSD/HDD
GPU: None specified
Power Supply: PSU
Chassis: Not specified
OS: Not specified
Monitor: Not specified
Age of PSU: Included separately
The CPU is only assured to function at the standard frequency, using temporary boost clocks for every and each core.
My bios is now at version 10.3 and PBO with the "enabled" option still doesn't function.
I turned off CPPC for testing.
All my cores are running at 3.4 during gaming and other tasks.
https://imgur.com/ba39iv0
Core Performance Boost is set to auto.
https://imgur.com/5wCcxSN
Should I try PBO with advanced settings? To check if it works in the bios without downloading Ryzen Master yet?
https://imgur.com/Euxr2y9
What should I adjust here just to test it?
Also, I'm using ARCTIC 7x as a cooler and if that matters, I'm also using Performance Power Plan with 100% CPU max/min.
So I resolved the issue by disabling PSS in my BIOS for PBO to function properly, not sure why. Now everything seems to work as expected. Regarding CPPC, should it be enabled or disabled considering CPPC Preferred Cores? Also, the CPU LCC is currently at level 4 with only five levels; the static level with the highest voltage is level 1. Should I adjust it to level 3/2 for improved stability? Would changing this affect the lifespan of the CPU?