Overclocking APU BIOS for Ryzen 5600G
Overclocking APU BIOS for Ryzen 5600G
I'm trying to figure out which indicators show if an overclock is secure for regular use. I've been testing on a system with an APU, Ryzen 5600G, and Asrock B550M-HDV. After a day of adjustments, my benchmarks and gameplay (mainly Warframe and Monster Hunter World) are running smoothly at 4.1Ghz all cores at 1.2V. The GPU clock is 2300MHz at 1.3V, and I have 1600Mhz memory with PBO enabled. Temperatures stay around 75°C for the CPU and 65-70°C for the GPU. I usually check voltages and temperatures to make sure they're within safe limits. However, I'm not sure if there are other factors I should consider. Any advice would be appreciated!
On a motherboard, VRM temperature usually describes how the CPU gets powered. This board has several issues: it lacks a heatsink and has limited power supply, making overheating likely. The design splits power into two sections—one for the CPU cores and another for the rest. The PCIe controller and memory controller are included, but the iGPU is the biggest power consumer, drawing more than half of the CPU's capacity. There are four phases for the CPU and only two for other components. Not good.
Voltage refers to the SOC level that runs everything else, including the iGPU. I advise staying below 1.2V to protect longevity.
I wasn't aware the board only featured six power phases. Back then I planned to run everything stock since it was mainly for college purposes, so I thought I got the best option I could afford—what turned out to be a fairly basic setup. Is there VRM temperature monitoring in HWMonitor? I've been using it to keep track of those metrics. I left the SoC voltage set to auto in BIOS and only adjusted the graphics voltage. I think the SoC would manage its own requirements automatically? Considering how the power phases are organized, should I run all four cores at 1.2V and lower the graphics voltage below 1.2V? I’m aiming for longevity while still testing a bit more performance. I also noticed a noticeable boost in the two games I played most, which is encouraging.
Temperatures are manageable now, though it's still stock cooler at the moment. Upgrading might be possible later. Back then, I went for what I could afford without much overclocking since I wasn't heavily gaming. Now that I'm playing more, looking back it seems Pro4 would have been a better choice.
VRM temperature tracking is probably not feasible on such an affordable board. HWinfo64 in sensor mode provides more information than HWmonitor, though I find HWmonitor's limitations confusing—it feels like a free version of HWinfo but lacks many features. On the Ryzen, BIOS errors, graphics voltage, and SOC voltage are linked; it seems the motherboard prioritizes the higher readings. A stock cooler (as a downwind) should maintain the CPU core at acceptable temperatures, just reducing the SOC voltage. Consider memory overclocking instead.
I chose HWMonitor mainly because its interface is fairly straightforward. I agree with your perspective. I adjusted the graphics card to 2000MHz @1.05V and it's performing adequately so far. It seems I maintain decent speed without significant drops. Only around a 30-point loss and roughly 3 FPS reduction on the Heaven bench. I plan to stick with this custom build since the jump from 2000MHz to 2300MHz isn't that impactful for my current PC use, though it's still better than the original. Overclocking the graphics memory feels challenging right now; there are many factors to consider and I'm unsure where to begin. I'll research more and watch tutorials before making any changes.