AMD delivers next-gen overclocking with Precision Boost Overdrive 2

With their Ryzen 5000 series of Zen 3 processors, AMD wants to make overclocking great again, offering users more options to tinker with, more variables to tweak and the ability to make their CPUs both faster and more power-efficient. This is the future of overclocking, and AMD calls this future Precision Boost 2. 

Traditional overclocking is dead, offering hardware enthusiasts increasingly minor performance improvements in many workloads while often coming with huge increases to both power consumption and cooling requirements. Rather than use the traditional ‘higher volts=higher clocks’ approach to overclocking, AMD has enhanced its Precision Boost Overdrive system to deliver undervolting for Zen 3, an adaptive voltage curve that’s processor-specific and the possibility of single-threaded performance boosts. 

With Precision Boost Overdrive 2, AMD is taking a smarter approach to overclocking, and that will allow Ryzen users to achieve higher performance levels, or reduce their system’s power consumption. If users have the right processor, it is possible that both higher performance levels and lower power draw can be achieved at the same time.   
 

  
AMD’s original Precision Boost technology was designed to enable higher power limits on AMD’s Ryzen processors. This allowed Ryzen users to deliver higher sustained clock speeds and all-core boost clocks. In many cases, single-threaded clock speeds did not improve, but that is due to change with precision Boost 2. 

Precision Boost 2’s performance gains will be processor-specific, allowing each Ryzen 5000 series processor to reach its fullest potential. 5GHz clock speeds can be achieved using AMD’s boost algorithm, and idle power draw remains low due to the dynamic nature of AMD’s technology. 

We are no longer talking about overclocks where fixed voltages are used and a single clock speed is targetted. AMD’s Precision Boost 2.0 targets the entire voltage/frequency curve, enabling both performance and efficiency gains.  

  
Below is a list of variable which can be tweaked using Precision Boost 2.0, allowing users to define package power limits, current limits and thermal limits. AMD’s new Curve Optimiser feature can also help to enable higher sustained boost clock speeds and higher levels of single-threaded performance. 

  
Like traditional overclocking, no two Ryzen 5000 processors will deliver the same results. As always, the Silicon Lottery always applies. Some CPUs will feature more undervolting headroom, while others will offer higher maximum boost clocks. 

Using AMD’s Curve Optimiser, users can define the operating conditions of their processors, giving them a deeper level of control over their Ryzen processor than ever before. 

  
Below is an illustration of how two processors can vary, with one offering higher frequencies at lower voltages. 

  
AMD’s Curve Optimiser can be used on single cores or on all cores within a CCX (CPU die), giving tweakers as much fine-grained control as they could ask for. 

  
Below are some suggested settings from AMD, though ideal settings will be dependent on your exact processor and hardware configuration. 

  
In terms of single-threaded performance, AMD delivered 16 point and 12 point improvements in Cinebench R20 respectively, surpassing what was possible with their original Precision boost tools. 

Additional single-threaded performance could be instrumental in gaming workloads, though it is worth noting that these performance gains are relatively minor. Even so, small performance gains can quickly add up on well-tweaked systems. 

  
Precision Boost Overdrive 2’s performance impact is even more impressive when looking at multi-threaded results, allowing AMD’s Ryzen 9 5900X to achieve a score of over 9000 in Cinebench R20. 

For context, the manual overclock Cinebench R20 score from our Ryzen 9 5900X (review here) was 9009 points. If AMD’s data is accurate, higher single-threaded and multi-threaded results are possible using Precision Boost 2. 

  

Precision Boost Overdrive 2 will be possible on Ryzen 5000 series desktop processors on AMD 400-seres and 500-series motherboards with AGESA 1.1.8.0 BIOS files. These new BIOS files are due to release this December.  

  
You can join the discussion on AMD’s Precision Boost Overdrive 2 technology on the OC3D Forums.