Don’t use Ryzen Master Eco Mode with Ryzen 9 7900X 7950X CPUs until you read this

Conclusion – how you set Eco Mode matters

AMD’s Eco mode for their Ryzen 7000 series processors is an incredible feature. Yes, it can limit multi-threaded performance, but that means that you can safely use Eco mode without any noticeable performance drops in many workloads.

While it is handy to be able to enable Eco mode with a single click in Ryzen Master, we would like to see AMD implement a system that allows Ryzen Master users to select 105W and 65W Eco modes independently with AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X and Ryzen 9 7900X processors. Both modes are useful, and not all Ryzen users want to crank their 12/16 core processors down to 65W. 

Why do we want a 105W Eco mode in Ryzen Master? Simplicity. If Ryzen users can switch between these modes with a few clicks and no BIOS intervention, we could keep our system in eco mode when we do not require huge levels of multi-threaded performance, and set our CPUs to full power mode when we require the extra grunt. Minimal hassle, strong multi-threaded performance when we need it.

When it comes to gaming, most games will not see any major performance drops when Eco Mode is enabled with a Ryzen 9 7900X or 7950X. Simply put, the downsides of Eco mode only surface when you need to use all (or almost all) of your CPU cores. Modern games do no benefit from huge core counts, they benefit from strong single-threaded performance and a strong memory subsystem. 

So, 170W, 105W and 65W. Which is best? Ultimately, it depends on what you want from your system. 170W will maximise your systems performance, but it will also increase your power bill and demand a lot more cooling performance from your PC. 65W will lower your all-core/heavily multi-threaded performance, but it will also decrease your power requirements and cooling requirements and have a minimal effect on single-threaded performance. 105W offers a useful in-between, granting users a lot of multi-threaded performance when it is needed while keeping thermals and power draw at reasonable levels. None of these options can be defined as “the best” unless you have a specific definition of “the best”, be it maximised performance, maximised performance/watt, or a balance of both.

AMD, if you are reading this, a 105W Eco mode option for Ryzen Master would be a very useful option for Ryzen 9 7900X and 7950X users. Your current 65W mode leaves a lot of multi-threaded performance on the table, and while this mode is useful, there are a lot of users who will not want to be as aggressive with their power savings. We love Eco Mode, but we would like to see more balance here. That’s it, we need a “Balanced” mode for Ryzen 9 series CPUs in Ryzen Master! Eco Mode 65W, Balanced Mode (105W), and Default Mode (170W). Please AMD, just make it happen!

You can join the discussion on Ryzen Master’s Eco Mode and manually set Eco Modes on the OC3D Forums.