No, there isn't a method to circumvent or exceed the manufacturer-set maximum of 200MHz in Auto Overclock.
No, there isn't a method to circumvent or exceed the manufacturer-set maximum of 200MHz in Auto Overclock.
I've adjusted my setup to a 5600X boosted to 4850MHz at around 50°C. ClockTuner showed it could reach up to 5050MHz. Although CTR overclocking isn't reliable, WoW Classic ran smoothly at 4900GHz with CTR reduced to 1.375. However, the undervolting caused frequent hard restarts in benchmarks like Cinebench. Given the CPU can exceed 4850MHz, is there a method to avoid AMD's hard limit without using CTR?
However, you're making a point about different approaches. For a serious overclock, you're unlikely to surpass 200MHz unless you're pushing it. If you manage that, you're generally targeting 100-150MHz. What CTR does is apply an undervolt in a controlled way. The main issue with stability is that this method relies heavily on software adjustments. Ryzen is known for demanding higher voltages, which the software can't fully address. Zen 3 now includes a curve optimizer similar to CTR but at the hardware level, offering greater stability. This is the recommended path. CTR was designed for Zen 2 and isn't well-supported on Zen 3. The key difference between overclocking and undervolting lies in their impact: OC sets a fixed clock multiplier that aims to exceed the base boost (which is actually lower than the single-core speed), whereas undervolting maintains normal boosting but increases power and thermal capacity, allowing higher overall performance. For instance, a stock 5600X might reach a single-core boost of 4.6GHz, while an overclock could push it to 4.3GHz. With OC, you might achieve 4.5GHz for all cores, but the single core will be capped at something like 4.7 or 4.8GHz. Actual outcomes depend on the chip, but undervolting generally yields better overall results compared to overclocking.
I'm not sure about what you meant by that. Curve optimizer is useful with high-end chips, but most of my tests showed instability or no improvement. With the auto overclock setting at +200MHz I achieved a steady single core boost to 4850MHz and an all-core boost of 4.6-4.65GHz during stress tests. I was curious if it's feasible to push beyond the +200MHz limit in Auto OC, maybe up to +250 or even higher, which could allow single core speeds near 5GHz thanks to better heat and power margins compared to the 125W cap on the 5600X (where auto OC uses roughly 90-95W at full settings). I tried a curve setting around 0 0 -24 0 -24 -24 but it was unstable and didn’t improve results in Cinebench R23. The -24 0 -24 0 -24 -24 and -15 0 -15 0 -15 -15 settings also failed to show any difference. The 2 0 settings are for my top cores, which strongly resist negative curve adjustments.