[Newbie] Ryzen 5950x Undervolted via Precision Boost Overdrive 2 - Guidance Request

[Jayvid]

Hello,

Just as the title states, I am really new to all of this because I started building my own rig about 1-2 years ago. I've run into so many issues and learned so much based off of the issues I ran into (clearly I didn't do enough research prior lol). I recently found out that my PSU was going bad because out of nowhere, it started giving off a loud rattle noise and eventually my PC would not power on. I have filled out my tech specs of my current build.

The issue that I am currently having is that some of my computer applications hang or there are periods that if I click to open something, there is a delay in response. The cause of this could either be an instability with my current undervolted settings or whenever I went to OneDrive and disabled the backing up of main folders for this PC (I just don't like using OneDrive because I feel it could cause so many issues in the background.) When I initially disabled OneDrive backup, my explorer would not appear anymore, just a black screen and the only thing that I could do is open task manager. Even ending explorer.exe and running a new explorer.exe process was unsuccessful, so due to all of this, I'm assuming that it could be the cause of my delays as well (maybe some type of System File Corruption??). If I could get any advice or any input on my setup that would be amazing because I'm really new to this and although I have learned a good bit, I have also learned that there is still a lot to learn lol. I will post some HWInfo pics and the BIOS settings that I have enabled.

[Important Info to consider]
So right now, my BIOS was set to optimized defaults and I'm currently running BIOS version 4602 and this is the ASEGA info ? -> 1. Update AGESA version to ComboV2PI 1208.
I have Precision Boost Overdrive enabled with the limits of 150 PPT, 90 TDC, 140 EDC. My board's defaults are 142 PPT, 95 TDC, and 140 EDC. I adjusted these values because even with my Voltage Curve of -5 on best cores and -20 on other cores, my temps would hit about 87 degrees Celsius, I'm currently running a Curve of 0 on the two best cores, 5 on the next two best cores and 15 on all other cores.
I have the Max Boost Frequency set to +125 with a temp limit of 90 degrees Celsius. I also left the Scalar on Auto because this seemed to work best for me.

As mentioned at some point below, I have CPU Load Line Calibration set to Auto because I'm using PBO2 algorithm and the SOC Load Line Calibration set to Level 5 because this gives me the least amount of VDROP (even for CPU if I want to do a manual OC which I'm not). Should I have the SOC LLC set to Auto as well?

I have the Resize Bar Enabled which on an ASUS TUF board, this is equivalent to "Auto"

I have read that disabling the fTPM feature in the processor can help as well? Mine is currently enabled but I do see the option in the BIOS to disable this.

I am currently running the Balanced Power Plan as it appears to be recommended for a 5950x utilizing PBO2 algorithm.



[Possible Upgrades that I think I may need]

X570 TUF GAMING-PLUS (Wi-Fi) -> Corsair Dark Hero VIII
So, I don't plan on trying to push my chip to the extreme depths of overclocking, I don't have that type of cooling anyway. I just want to be able to push my CPU to the best stable performance while at least hitting 5,000MHz. I have been informed that the Corsair Dark Hero VIII is a great board for the 5950x if you plan on overclocking a bit further than normal boosts .I'm not sure if I should upgrade to this from my current board to achieve my goal or not.

RTX 2070 Super -> RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio 16G
My current GPU is okay, but it's not the best and probably only recommended for a less powerful CPU (Upgraded from a Ryzen 5 2600), I currently utilize the Unreal Engine software for 3D assets and I definitely notice the difference between the performance of the CPU and the GPU. Things load up really face and my camera movement is really snappy, but whenever there is a 3D asset (the more polygons the more the impact of course) and I face it or move my camera towards it or around while facing it, my FPS drops an insane amount. As I said, I assume this is due to the fact that even if I overclocked my GPU (currently not) the max stable limits of my GPU would not have the ability to keep up with the performance of a 5950x with Multi-core or Single-core loads efficiently (Little to No FPS Drops)

G.Skill Trident Z Neo Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin SDRAM PC4-28800 DDR4 3600 CL16-19-19-39 1.35V Dual Channel Desktop Memory Model F4-3600C16D-32GTZ (Not even sure what die these are, but apparently they are not as friendly as the sticks listed below)
->
G.SKILL, F4-3600C16D-32GTZNTrident Z Neo, DDR4-3600, CL16-32 GB Dual-Kit (Apparently this one is Samsung B-die as well as the CL14 version of this RAM and even a badly binned stick can perform well and overclock to 3800MHz okay)

Some of these may not be necessary and there are some necessary upgrades that may not be listed, however, feel free to chime in wherever you see fit and please let me know why you've drawn your conclusion because this will help me understand everything as well (thanks in advance )




Below I have posted a few of my HWInfo screenshots. These were taken as I am typing this post. If you notice anything that is off, please feel free to let me know because my goal is to find the path to achieve my goal and any mistakes that I may have made I would love to be aware of those.

I noticed a few of my cores are hitting 5,000MHz, but my best cores are Core 2 (Core 1 clock) and Core 4 (Core 3 Clock). Core 1 (Core 0 Clock) is hitting a max of 5,075MHZ whilst the best cores are only maxing at 5,000MHz, but the best cores have a higher average core clock that's about 150MHZ higher so maybe that's why.. just rambling here.

[Voltage and Core Clocks]

So here, I manually set a CPU SOC voltage of 1.15 in the BIOS and I set the SOC LLC to Level 5 (Level 5 seems to be what gets me the least amount of vdrop, probably should drop to maybe 4 or 3 because I think too much of a lack of vdrop could be a hinderance? Well anyway, I have the CPU LLC set to auto because I read that setting this could cause issues with PBO2 since the voltage would need to be regulated based off of the PBO algorithm.


So My CPU Package Power only reaches to about 151W, I don't think that's bad but I know it's not a super crazy power boost which is what I expect since I just want to maximize my CPU performance without trying to overclock beyond limits. However, if this is how much power is being pushed out, shouldn't my temps be a bit lower than they are? But they aren't too bad though, If I can keep them below 85 degrees Celsius, I will be satisfied.

Is it okay that my Power Reporting Deviation has a minimum value of 69.8% ? I would assume this is when my PC uses it's power saving features to reduce the consumption under light loads?? Just a guess.

If there is any information that I should have provided that is not mentioned, definitely feel free to ask me to provide this as I am willing to do whatever to understand this lol.

To summarize, I want to have excellent Multi-Core and Single-Core performance (Prioritizing Single-Core as I am a gamer) with as cool as possible temps while utilizing Curve Optimizer to Undervolt and increasing Max Frequency to push the max boost clock speed further. I also want to prioritize stability (obviously) but I mean that If getting the the next step of increased performance will decrease stability, then I'd rather stay put.

Thanks for reading and thanks for all of the help in advance, couldn't think of any better place to go to get guidance on this matter than this forum community here, I've learned a lot from you all just by following other posts and replies from community members.

 

[Deleted member 185158]

With your settings, run p95 small fft unchecked.

Power deviation should be close to 100%.

The above will show you the all core fitness v-core.

Do this at defaults, and then again with your tweaked settings to see how your optimizations compare.

 

[Jayvid]

With your settings, run p95 small fft unchecked.

Power deviation should be close to 100%.

The above will show you the all core fitness v-core.

Do this at defaults, and then again with your tweaked settings to see how your optimizations compare.

Hmmm okay, Thank you for that response. So you say All core fitness v-core, are you referring to when I run p95 small fft unchecked with default settings? I take it that you mean once I find that all core v-core that's being used at default, That can be my starting point when I start tweaking. Sorry for any confusion btw.

 

[Deleted member 185158]

Hmmm okay, Thank you for that response. So you say All core fitness v-core, are you referring to when I run p95 small fft unchecked with default settings? I take it that you mean once I find that all core v-core that's being used at default, That can be my starting point when I start tweaking. Sorry for any confusion btw.

Precisely!!
This process brought to us in part mostly by TheStilt over at OCN.

Just remember them temps play a Huge role in this deal. I guess that's why under volting is such a popular thing, not always necessary. Especially when you can obtain this valuable information and tweak around it.

I should mention to wait till temps level out.

 

[Jayvid]

Okay, I will definitely test this out, I'll use defaults as my starting point and comparison points and focus on ideal temps, I have been able to make bios adjustments and check HWinfo and confirm that my adjustments gave the expected response, i.e., undervolting a bit further to drop temps a bit. I'm sure there were instabilities that came about afterwards but the temps did lower.

Based on what you have given me. Since I'm undervolting, this is an easier way to reach higher clocks with less temps, however it can cause a lot of frustrating instabilities if not tweaked correctly. But using the steps you mentioned above, I can find a stable overclock without undervolting unless I have NO CHOICE.

Also, I want to add.. I don't think I have the best cooling setup, I could use fans that could reach higher RPMs.. mine max out at 1,600-1,900 RPM. I have 3 120mm fans on the front on the radiator that max at 1,800 RPM, 2x 140mm fans that max at 1,900 RPM(I also have another small 1x 120mm cheaper fan on top of the 2x140mm fans, this is connected to my PSU so it maxes at about 700RPM that's not adjustable) and 1x 120mm top fan that maxes at 1,700 RPM. , Maybe I should grab some that could go past 2,000RPM. I thought the Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML360 Illusion 47.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler would be perfect for this CPU, as it is a beast, but I think I would need something stronger.. maybe a custom loop that includes my GPU? (Will be upgrading to the Radeon 6950 XT soon) ... also my ambient temps are pretty warm, I'm in south GA and it's usually about 70 degrees F room temp and 75-80 + outside.

 

[Deleted member 185158]

Okay, I will definitely test this out, I'll use defaults as my starting point and comparison points and focus on ideal temps, I have been able to make bios adjustments and check HWinfo and confirm that my adjustments gave the expected response, i.e., undervolting a bit further to drop temps a bit. I'm sure there were instabilities that came about afterwards but the temps did lower.

Based on what you have given me. Since I'm undervolting, this is an easier way to reach higher clocks with less temps, however it can cause a lot of frustrating instabilities if not tweaked correctly. But using the steps you mentioned above, I can find a stable overclock without undervolting unless I have NO CHOICE.

Also, I want to add.. I don't think I have the best cooling setup, I could use fans that could reach higher RPMs.. mine max out at 1,600-1,900 RPM. I have 3 120mm fans on the front on the radiator that max at 1,800 RPM, 2x 140mm fans that max at 1,900 RPM(I also have another small 1x 120mm cheaper fan on top of the 2x140mm fans, this is connected to my PSU so it maxes at about 700RPM that's not adjustable) and 1x 120mm top fan that maxes at 1,700 RPM. , Maybe I should grab some that could go past 2,000RPM. I thought the Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML360 Illusion 47.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler would be perfect for this CPU, as it is a beast, but I think I would need something stronger.. maybe a custom loop that includes my GPU? (Will be upgrading to the Radeon 6950 XT soon) ... also my ambient temps are pretty warm, I'm in south GA and it's usually about 70 degrees F room temp and 75-80 + outside.

It's warm down there. I've got family in Georgia actually. My wife's going to visit later this year.

Custom can get expensive. But a nice solid copper waterblock should help a bit with package temps.
If anything, try a fan right on the VRM package area and see if that helps.

Yes, most people don't have a base point for their temps, overclocks and v-core adjustments. They are in belief that they lowered v-core and it helped. Problem I have is they don't say What it helped lol.

If lower temps don't net significant frequency, then it's simply just lowered temps. Which the cpu finds meaningless past 70c.
A default system, 70c is the high temp alert. So the cpu requests for 100% cpu fan duty cycle. The reason it's that low is because it doesn't know the gradient of your cooling.

 

[Jayvid]

Yes, I'm about 20 minutes away from Florida, snow does not even exist here.

I will look into a copper waterblock to grab with my GPU upgrade and also the fan on the VRMs, thank you for that.

I think you have gave me a great foundation to start from, I will continue to work with this based off of your info and I will post my results here.

 

[Deleted member 185158]

Yes, I'm about 20 minutes away from Florida, snow does not even exist here.

I will look into a copper waterblock to grab with my GPU upgrade and also the fan on the VRMs, thank you for that.

I think you have gave me a great foundation to start from, I will continue to work with this based off of your info and I will post my results here.

Glad to help! For certain having a starting point is good. I don't believe in single core boost myself, it's an arbitrary number that's used mostly with an idle system.

So the load testing should show the coolers performance. Do calculate the time to increase water delta and the time to cool it. That will be your gradient.

 

[Jayvid]

Ahh, that makes sense!

How do I check the water delta temps, I never knew that were possible.

 

[Deleted member 185158]

Ahh, that makes sense!

How do I check the water delta temps, I never knew that were possible.

I have a probe for my multimeter that I use with everything, but you can get a probe for your water loop. Some people also like flow meters, though I find them kind of restrictive on small hose loops.

 

[Jayvid]

I have a probe for my multimeter that I use with everything, but you can get a probe for your water loop. Some people also like flow meters, though I find them kind of restrictive on small hose loops.

Ahhh okay, I never knew anything about this.. but as I said I am new to this. Thanks for the suggestions and recommendations, I'm going to do research on the probes because I would need to have a way to check those temps.

 

[Deleted member 185158]

Ahhh okay, I never knew anything about this.. but as I said I am new to this. Thanks for the suggestions and recommendations, I'm going to do research on the probes because I would need to have a way to check those temps.

Hell yeah, you have a nice case there too. Should be fine for a full custom loop. Going to want as much rad for the gpu as you have for the cpu. D5 water pumps are nice, variable speeds. Tube size isn't a big difference for temps, but I'm a believer in more is better and run 1/2" OD tubing.

 

[Jayvid]

With your settings, run p95 small fft unchecked.

Power deviation should be close to 100%.

The above will show you the all core fitness v-core.

Do this at defaults, and then again with your tweaked settings to see how your optimizations compare.

Just a few things to touch on here, when you say unchecked.. you're referring to the hyperthreading option right? looks like that runs a 50-52% CPU load.

Also, you mentioned doing this at default, for a 5950x, would Default be CPB Disabled and PBO disabled, running stock 3.4MHz clocks? or Loaded optimized defaults (CPB and PBO enabled by default) ?

I just got off of work a bit ago and ate, I have a bit of time now to test out those recommendations, just want to make sure all of my i's are dotted and t's are crossed before getting started XD

 

[Deleted member 185158]

Just a few things to touch on here, when you say unchecked.. you're referring to the hyperthreading option right? looks like that runs a 50-52% CPU load.

Also, you mentioned doing this at default, for a 5950x, would Default be CPB Disabled and PBO disabled, running stock 3.4MHz clocks? or Loaded optimized defaults (CPB and PBO enabled by default) ?

I just got off of work a bit ago and ate, I have a bit of time now to test out those recommendations, just want to make sure all of my i's are dotted and t's are crossed before getting started XD

Accurately, PBO enabled, all else defaults. This includes XMP.
Prime95, be sure small fft is un-ticked box.
Aiming for v-core fitness voltage.
This would be your guidelines for an all core OC manually input.
You do the Memory : IF manually as well.
Expected fit voltage (I'm guessing, 1.300v'ish)
You'll want to check after the loop has leveled the temps steady, tmp2 v-core will be the fitness voltage.
Don't worry about high temps. It'll settle in where it needs to.
This would be the safe area for manually overclocking the processor.