What is the right fit voltage for this?
What is the right fit voltage for this?
I am still new to PBO after switching from a 2600 series CPU to a newer one. Having done manual overclocking for years now, these new features feel confusing at first glance. My current setup includes a 3700x processor and an Asrock B450 Pro4 motherboard with the latest BIOS update (AGESA patch B version 1.0.0.4). The PBO menu shows five limits instead of the usual three, though two extra slots are reserved for SoC features. I've just enabled XMP using the DDR3 calculator to set timings, and everything has been very stable with stock settings. I don't know if I should enable the SoC limits in PBO or leave them off entirely. Regarding scalar and auto OC: I think auto OC provides no benefit since I'm manually tweaking voltages instead, so I'll keep those at default. For fit voltage, I followed my research by maxing out PBO limits while keeping everything else set to stock values. Inside Prime95, I ran small FFTs and checked the SVI2 TFN sensor in HWinfo. The readings mostly stayed around 1.275V, but occasionally jumped slightly to 1.281V or dipped down to 1.22V. I'm confused about whether the average reading of 1.275V is what matters most, or if I should focus on the lowest value like 1.22V. Also, do I enter this specific number into BIOS settings, or am I aiming for a slightly lower target to account for voltage drop during operation? Since Zen2 has built-in core overclocking, I'm trying to learn more about how these chips work in general. Any guidance would be helpful.
That's because Ryzens are still pretty new tech, and Intel hasn't changed that much since the Sandy-Bridge days. They just got smaller. People aren't fully getting used to these changes yet. Ryzen can handle up to 1.5 volts when it's idle or doing very little work. At higher workload levels, it uses about 1.325 volts, and at extreme loads, it drops closer to 1.2 volts. That still brings the total power usage down to roughly the same amount as before, but only because of how PBO works. If you push for an overclock, those limits disappear completely. Without PBO on, what people think is "high current" is actually different from other people's view. So even if someone is using a 1.325v overclock, they will burn out at extreme speeds just because the power demand doesn't match their expectations, since Intel never really put this as a standard setting for regular users before.
You can leave the scalar on auto, I never saw any benefits from that. It slows down how fast a core works when it hits peak frequency, but that time gets measured in milliseconds. Once you pass over the peak, other cores should take over your load. Your voltages seem pretty good at full load, 1.3v+ is what most people get.
Well when I run small ffts in prime95, I check the HWinfo sensors. But those sensors fight with HWMonitor. I've even seen readings in HWinfo that are completely off, so I'm not sure if what I get is accurate. And I don't know if the max voltage for bios should be 1.275 or 1.22 volts. When I manually overclocked, I hit stable* all-cores of 4.3ghz at around 1.24 to 1.25v, but vdroop brought me down to 1.2 to 1.22v under load. I'm just not sure if this is within the safe tolerance based on the HWinfo sensors. I've seen others talk about how SOME cpu's can only handle as much as 1.25v safely. It's all a bit confusing because of so many conflicting messages from other forums.
That's because Ryzens are still relatively new architecture, and Intel hasn't changed much since Sandy-Bridge; they just got smaller. People aren't used to these changes yet. Ryzens can handle up to 1.5 volts at idle or very low use, drop down to about 1.325v for moderate use, and get even closer to 1.2v on extreme use. That still results in roughly the same wattage overall, limited mainly by PBO (Power Budget Overdrive). OC tuning basically breaks those limits if you don't use PBO and what "high current use" means changes from person to person; even an O.C. user hitting high speeds just asks for too much power that Intel doesn't know how to handle. Basically, it's like a web surfer or light gamer who has no problems at 1.325v and 4.4GHz because there is little load on the CPU needing extra current; but a video editor or heavy gamer running intense workloads will burn out the CPU at those same settings. This leads to conflicting advice from different people... Ryzens operate differently than Intel. With Intel, you set limits and the CPU adjusts everything else as long as it stays stable. So if you set 4.4GHz, the CPU pulls the right voltage for that wattage, hoping your cooling is good enough. In short: "I'll run this fast, but please cool me down or I won't be able to." Ryzens work up their limits instead; you get what you want if the CPU allows it, even with PBO set high. You can say something like, "I'd really like 4.4GHz, but you better have good cooling or else I'll run as fast as I safely can." Changing PBO settings higher is usually not a good idea unless your motherboard has extra wattage and cooling to handle the extra load. SoC (Socket Compression) is different because it's not about PBO at all; it's about how much voltage the memory controller gets. Because of differences in chips, sticks, speeds, or timings, the standard memory voltage might not be enough for high-speed RAM, especially if there are multiple sticks involved. If you think of fast RAM like a steep hill, higher speed means steeper slopes; you don't need extra help just to go down fast, but you definitely will trip over your own feet without some balance support. SoC can provide that little bit of extra stability. But you'd be talking about a 0.02v to 0.05v bump range IF the memory controller really needs it. It must never exceed 1.2 volts.