Trying to overclock
Trying to overclock
Have not done overclocking in over 20 years. Not a gamer, just use my desktop for photo editing. Anyways here is what I am dealing with
Asus Tuf Gaming X570 Plus
Ryzen 9 3950x
G.Skill Trident Z 3600 c14
American Megatrends Bios 3405
360mm Radiator with push/pull fans
I bought this particular board after seeing several reviews saying it was a decent all around board.
I have read
this guide
several times and figured I would give it a go. I don't remember the specifics of what I have done in the bios....other then turning off PBO, and using the DOCP profile. In my previous efforts I have not been able to get the clock past 39.5. Did some more reading/watching YouTube videos and seen several mentions of changing the VDDCR SOL voltage from auto to manual and setting it at 1.1 volts. I just passed a stress test with the clock at 40.5.
What exactly does the VDDCR SOL control? I am tempted to put it back to auto to see if my machine fails the stress test.
Wondering how far I am going to be able to push this thing....some point I may look for another board but with the availability issues it is going to have to wait. Not to mention race season will be starting here in about 6-7 weeks so then all of my free time will be put into trying to help support the local track so may have to wait until Fall....
Agree!
to OP:
Don't treat 3950X as a high-core Intel K alternative (meaning "let's see how much power I can extract from it"). Both 3950X and 3900X already provide solid results out of the box—they're designed that way.
Yes, overclocking or undervolting is feasible, which will marginally boost speed and lower heat, but with 3900X/3950X you shouldn't expect extraordinary performance.
I don't really enjoy overclocking; I favor complete stability and a quiet PC. Still, out of curiosity, I experimented with my 5900X. My aim was:
to maintain the PC's quiet operation (no fan speed increases),
not to exceed 80°C during prolonged full-load use (I...
I've reviewed the guide multiple times. Encountered a minor issue. Returned from town today, powered up my computer. Nothing happened. The monitor would briefly brighten before returning to darkness. Coolant pump was running, and one of the LEDs on the board was illuminated. I didn't focus much on it. Unplugged the device, cleared the cache, and restarted it. Applied default configurations. Curious, so I opened RealBench. Set RAM to 16g, time for 15 minutes. Around the 5-minute mark, the stress test halted due to instability. Tried DOCP settings, but the outcome was the same.
Agreed!
To OP:
Don't treat 3950X as a special alternative to high-core Intel K (meaning just try to extract as much performance as possible). Both 3950X and 3900X already provide solid results from the start—they’re designed that way.
Of course, overclocking or undervolting is feasible and will slightly boost speed while reducing heat. But with 3900X/3950X you won’t see extraordinary improvements.
I’m not a fan of pushing speeds, as I value full stability and a quiet system. Still, out of curiosity, I experimented with my 5900X. My aims were:
- Keep the PC operating quietly (no fan speed increases),
- Avoid temperatures above 80°C during prolonged heavy use (using an air cooler).
After tweaking settings and restarting, I improved multithread performance by about 5% and single-thread performance by 2% (Cinebench R23) compared to the default BIOS values. Not much, but not insignificant. I could get slightly better by raising fan speeds or allowing higher safe CPU temps—but for me, it wasn’t worth it.
I suggest checking these two videos:
Undervolting with PBO2
and
Precision Boost Overdrive 2 Guide
EDIT
I just realized while writing this, I thought OP had a 5950X CPU (even though he mentions having a 3950X). Anyway, my thoughts on overclocking stay the same for both series: 3900X/3950X and 5900X/5950X.
But 3900X/3950X don’t support PBO2 overclocking, so the videos I recommended aren’t really helpful for OP.
Sorry if this caused confusion.