The Ryzen 5950x struggles due to a subpar MSI 570-A PRO motherboard.
The Ryzen 5950x struggles due to a subpar MSI 570-A PRO motherboard.
I accessed BIOS, turned off Precision Boost and adjusted the ratio to 34 with a frequency of 3.4GHz. This achieved the highest multicore Geekbench scores I've seen, though single-core results were lower. The motherboard appears to be subpar, and the cooler isn't performing well in gaming. EDIT: Score from Eco Mode at 95W: https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/6413463
It’s disappointing to note, but your setup isn’t capable of running a 5950X even at its lowest stock setting. Initially, your CPU temperature is quite high, which puts it under significant strain. Maintaining temperatures around 83°C and 86°C brings you near the thermal throttling threshold—around 90°C for this processor. The higher the temperature, the lower your performance will be, regardless of cooling quality.
If you’re using a cooler without proper VRM support, that’s another major issue. Poor VRM performance leads to voltage drops and reduced power delivery, further limiting speed. Your motherboard’s VRM setup seems subpar, as confirmed by recent reviews. When VRM overheats, it throttles both voltage and maximum wattage, causing noticeable performance drops.
Additionally, your RAM is running at 3200 MHz, which is below the ideal range for this CPU. The sweet spot is closer to 3600 MHz, so you’re likely losing efficiency. Running the CPU and VRM at higher temperatures will only exacerbate this issue.
To get accurate results, try benchmarking with a cooler and motherboard that better support the 5950X. This model isn’t suited for it—consider upgrading your components if you want optimal performance.
Sure, I get it. People often rely on generic tests and claim they should be better, but it doesn’t always reflect real-world performance. For example, Cinebench or a gaming rig with Firestrike might be more relevant than some average benchmark.
I placed an order for the Thermaltake Peerless Assassin 120SE cooler and could possibly replace it with the Asus Prime X570-P, which some tests suggest offers solid VRM performance. Perhaps after this process I can run the CPU as designed without needing "handbrake." By the way, the power supply in this unit is a Corsair RM750X and it includes an Radeon RX 6600 GPU. The PSU should be of decent quality, and the RX 6600 isn't the most power-hungry card. Just additional info since someone inquired earlier.