The reason for PBO in this situation is to maintain performance when temperatures are expected to rise again.
The reason for PBO in this situation is to maintain performance when temperatures are expected to rise again.
Hi everyone!
I just installed a new PC and am experimenting with undervolting it to improve its lifespan. I’ve conducted several stress tests, benchmarks, and stability checks across various configurations, but I’m still unsure about the purpose of Precision Boost Overdrive.
Here’s what I tried:
- Default settings: Cinebench 2024 score of 1339 with an average temperature of 85°C.
- With PBO enabled at +200MHz, limited to the motherboard, curve optimizer set to -20, and thermal limit at 80°C, the system remained stable and achieved a score of 1375, with an average temp of 80°C.
- After resetting all BIOS-related PBO settings and keeping only the curve optimizer at -20, I got a score of 1351, but the average temperature dropped to 68°C.
This has left me puzzled. Was the first setup an overclock attempt? Should I keep using just the curve-only configuration? It feels cooler yet still delivered better performance than the default.
My aim is to lower CPU temperatures while keeping performance stable or slightly improved. Any suggestions on whether to keep adjusting PBO or leave it unchanged?
System specs:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit EVO
Motherboard: MSI MAG B850M Mortar WiFi
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 32GB DDR5 6000MHz CL30
Storage: Kingston FURY Renegade 2TB
GPU: PNY RTX 4070 Ti Super
PSU: Corsair RM850x 3.1 (2024)
Case: Lian Li A3
OS: Windows 11
Monitor: Xiaomi G Pro 27i
Thanks in advance for any advice! 😊
Yup, PBO involves increasing power limits while allowing all cores to operate beyond those limits but not exceeding their maximum clock speeds. PB refers to standard turbo boosting.
I understand your frustration, even with an older CPU. I bought one of the 5900XT during that Amazon promotion. To stabilize temperatures and prevent throttling, I had to adjust the voltage by -0.1 and turn off PBO in two locations. Now all cores consistently reach 4.8 or higher, rarely dropping near 5. The benefit is that even with a Dark Rock Pro 4 air cooler, the CPU stays below mid-70s temperatures during any workload—whether it's real gaming, heavy tasks, or bench tests.
For me, PBO has proven effective in lowering temperatures and boosting performance. Initially, I used curve optimizer which gave positive results but caused stability issues at low frequencies. Switching to Curve Shaper resolved these problems. While both tools can be applied together, the outcomes add up, making it confusing. Curve Shaper is the best fit for me. My temperatures consistently stay below mid-70s during full load tests, mostly in the high 60s. Try adjusting the settings to find the optimal mix of performance and temperature that aligns with your goals. You might find SkatterBencher's videos helpful for a clearer understanding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9fL8XD2v2Q