Intel Launches Performance Maximizer: Automated 9th Gen CPU Software Overclocking Tool

Raevenlord · Jun 19, 2019

Intel has launched a software overclocking utility tool for their latest 9th Gen, unlocked CPUs that promises to take the guesswork and BIOS delving out of the overclocking equation. The Intel Performance Maximizer tries to do exactly what the name implies by automagically overclocking your unlocked (read, K-suffix CPU for unlocked multipliers) with no further user intervention needed. Intel describe this tool as the one that "(...) makes it easier than ever to dynamically custom-tune an unlocked Intel processor based upon its individual performance potential."

Intel says they will offer you a one-time, free CPU replacement in addition to your usual 3-year warranty on a company CPU, should anything wrong arise during this method of overclocking. Intel say's this is a way to maximize your CPU performance on a per-sample basis, so results may vary according to your CPU's thermal properties (as we know, some CPUs perform and overclock better than others due to slight variations in the manufacturing process). But if you don't want to get inside your BIOS for a dirty, hands-on approach, you can always use Intel's software, which has been released at a very conspicuous time indeed, considering AMD's Ryzen 3000 series release.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

TheLostSwede · Jun 19, 2019

Did Intel forget that they also have the Core i3-9350K/KF SKUs?
I guess it's easy done when you have as many SKUs as they do...

Also @Raevenlord , you forgot to mention the $19.99 overclocking warranty they're selling now, sorry, Performance Tuning Protection Plan.
At least it's cheaper than the last time they did something like this. Who says Intel doesn't give you value for your money?
I guess the good news is that if you get the Xeon W-3175X, the Performance Tuning Protection Plan is included...

Home Page

Intel

click.intel.com

Home Page

Intel

click.intel.com

Oh and for some reason, the overclocking software is 1.3GB in size...

koaschten · Jun 19, 2019

TheLostSwede said:
Did Intel forget that they also have the Core i3-9350K/KF SKUs?
I guess it's easy done when you have as many SKUs as they do...

Also @Raevenlord , you forgot to mention the $19.99 overclocking warranty they're selling now, sorry, Performance Tuning Protection Plan.
At least it's cheaper than the last time they did something like this. Who says Intel doesn't give you value for your money?
I guess the good news is that if you get the Xeon W-3175X, the Performance Tuning Protection Plan is included...

Home Page

Intel

click.intel.com

Home Page

Intel

click.intel.com

Oh and for some reason, the overclocking software is 1.3GB in size...

The reason is, it is practically it's own OS in a UEFI Boot Image. Which is why there is a lot of limitations for what systems it can run on.
- system must be in UEFI modus
- Win 10 1809 or 1903
- must be on GPT partitioned system disk
- only Z390 chipset

As per this german post -> https://www.heise.de/newsticker/mel...-mit-Intel-Performance-Maximizer-4448544.html it shrinks the system partition, creates a 16GB partitioon and installs the tool to it. Then it boots to that instead of windows and starts testing out the limits of the CPU. They tested with a i5-9600 and an undisclosed cooler and gained 500Mhz. When it's done it basically boots to the Tool, applies the overclock setting, then chainboots windows. That's how I understood it.

If you want to undo the overclock, you have to remove the tool, it won't clean up behind itself though, so you have to re-max the shrunk partition yourself.

ratirt · Jun 19, 2019

TheLostSwede said:
Did Intel forget that they also have the Core i3-9350K/KF SKUs?
I guess it's easy done when you have as many SKUs as they do...

Also @Raevenlord , you forgot to mention the $19.99 overclocking warranty they're selling now, sorry, Performance Tuning Protection Plan.
At least it's cheaper than the last time they did something like this. Who says Intel doesn't give you value for your money?
I guess the good news is that if you get the Xeon W-3175X, the Performance Tuning Protection Plan is included...

Home Page

Intel

click.intel.com

Home Page

Intel

click.intel.com

Oh and for some reason, the overclocking software is 1.3GB in size...

I'm not sure what I should think of this. Wait I know. It is laughable

Protection plan my ass

I don't know how you guys perceive this but for me it is like the last resort to stay in the game. Doesn't intel have something better than this? It's like they know it is over and they are so afraid to lose the processor primacy they would do this lousy stuff for people to believe in what they offer?
Maybe I'm wrong but that's the first impression and believe it or not it has never failed me.

TheLostSwede · Jun 19, 2019

@koaschten that's some really helpful info, that I guess shouldn't been in the news post...
I don't think a lot of people will like that.

koaschten · Jun 19, 2019

@TheLostSwede
Well that info probably is not in there, because that's probably just a copy&paste from Intels PR department...

PCPer goes into some more Detail

One-Click Overclocking With The Intel Performance Maximizer - PC Perspective

One-Click Overclocking With The Intel Performance Maximizer Intel today is launching the Intel Performance Maximizer (IPM), a new utility that gives users

pcper.com

Antykain · Jun 19, 2019

Going to try this on my 9900k and see exactly how it does compared to my current 5.1GHz OC. Never really cared or bothered to use any software that does an automagic OC on my rigs.. but, who knows. Maybe this is the one?

lol

TheLostSwede · Jun 19, 2019

Antykain said:
Going to try this on my 9900k and see exactly how it does compared to my current 5.1GHz OC. Never really cared or bothered to use any software that does an automagic OC on my rigs.. but, who knows. Maybe this is the one?

lol

I doubt you'll gain anything over what you've already done manually, but please report back with the results.

HTC · Jun 19, 2019

Does it include a chiller for maximum performance?

Just wondering ...

bug · Jun 19, 2019

I hope they don't make the mistake of disappointing me by releasing this for anything other than Windows. Because, you know, that's all there is out there

Edit: just saw the link in the article, of course it's Windows only.

Manu_PT · Jun 19, 2019

HTC said:
Does it include a chiller for maximum performance?

Just wondering ...

Yet another guy believing that 9th gen gets that hot on non AVX workloads. Idk man, Im at 5ghz and never seen it go past 65° with a tower air cooler.

Antykain · Jun 19, 2019

Manu_PT said:
Yet another guy believing that 9th gen gets that hot on non AVX workloads. Idk man, Im at 5ghz and never seen it go past 65° with a tower air cooler.

Yep.. I'm using a custom water-cooling setup with my 9900k at 5.1GHz and temps are nothing I even worry about. Never exceeds 55c during gaming from what I've seen. BOINC (WORLD Community Grid) does push temps occasionally to around the 70-75c range.

rtwjunkie · Jun 19, 2019

koaschten said:
The reason is, it is practically it's own OS in a UEFI Boot Image. Which is why there is a lot of limitations for what systems it can run on.
- system must be in UEFI modus
- Win 10 1809 or 1903
- must be on GPT partitioned system disk
- only Z390 chipset

As per this german post -> https://www.heise.de/newsticker/mel...-mit-Intel-Performance-Maximizer-4448544.html it shrinks the system partition, creates a 16GB partitioon and installs the tool to it. Then it boots to that instead of windows and starts testing out the limits of the CPU. They tested with a i5-9600 and an undisclosed cooler and gained 500Mhz. When it's done it basically boots to the Tool, applies the overclock setting, then chainboots windows. That's how I understood it.

If you want to undo the overclock, you have to remove the tool, it won't clean up behind itself though, so you have to re-max the shrunk partition yourself.

That’s about as dirty as it gets. :shadedshu:

So pretty much Intel has forgotten that enthusiasts have been overclocking their k cpu’s With the built in means in BIOS? Sigh.

And haven’t they already been offering the protection plan for 8 years already? Since IVB days.

HD64G · Jun 19, 2019

Much panic from Zen2 eh Intel? You will get much lower in price and profit margin soon, or else your sales will drop like a rock. Think and move fast. Time has come. 7-7-2019.

PanicLake · Jun 19, 2019

The software is 1.5 Gb... what are they smoking? That is a retarded amount of bytes for a tuning app...

TheGuruStud · Jun 19, 2019

HD64G said:
Much panic from Zen2 eh Intel? You will get much lower in price and profit margin soon, or else your sales will drop like a rock. Think and move fast. Time has come. 7-7-2019.

I can smell it. And Intel reeks.

msimax · Jun 19, 2019

i wish they would fix the broadwell-e issue that screws up every setting in the bios on every reboot with the 1903 update :mad:

Hardware Geek · Jun 19, 2019

Here's hoping they stop locking the clock multiplier on all their processors... I'll be over here holding my breath.

Darmok N Jalad · Jun 19, 2019

koaschten said:
The reason is, it is practically it's own OS in a UEFI Boot Image. Which is why there is a lot of limitations for what systems it can run on.
- system must be in UEFI modus
- Win 10 1809 or 1903
- must be on GPT partitioned system disk
- only Z390 chipset

As per this german post -> https://www.heise.de/newsticker/mel...-mit-Intel-Performance-Maximizer-4448544.html it shrinks the system partition, creates a 16GB partitioon and installs the tool to it. Then it boots to that instead of windows and starts testing out the limits of the CPU. They tested with a i5-9600 and an undisclosed cooler and gained 500Mhz. When it's done it basically boots to the Tool, applies the overclock setting, then chainboots windows. That's how I understood it.

If you want to undo the overclock, you have to remove the tool, it won't clean up behind itself though, so you have to re-max the shrunk partition yourself.

What a strange execution. It boots to its own OS, but it still can’t support other OSes, AND you have to give up 16GB of your hard drive? This seems like a very corporate implementation of “enthusiast.”

TheLostSwede · Jun 20, 2019

Tested by Tom's

Intel Performance Maximizer (IPM) Tested: One-Click Overclocking Comes to 9th-Gen CPUs

We overclocked a Core i9-9900K with Intel's one-click Performance Maximizer tool and reached 5.0 GHz.

www.tomshardware.com

GreiverBlade · Jun 20, 2019

rtwjunkie said:
So pretty much Intel has forgotten that enthusiasts have been overclocking their k cou’s With the built in means in BIOS? Sigh.

weeellll, since they borked OC (and i tried every workaround to make it work again but none to avail...) with a microcode update on windows update, i can't even get a 100hz step up without either:
1. infinite boot
2. BSOD for when it boot

oh well that soft might be the solut..... naaaahhhh a x470/570 and a RX 3X00 will do ... (furthermore since it need a gen 9 and a Z390 ... which is absolutely not tempting at all, as an upgrade for me)

oh, i forgot... with or without HT... :roll:

(well... with all mitigation and induced performances drop .... no wonder Intel, now, need a "performance maximizer" software)

that first line of the conclusion is spot on :
"Intel's Performance Maximizer tool is great for non-technical users who want a simple and easy "free" performance upgrade for their K-series 9th-Gen Intel processors. Unfortunately, limited support for 9th-Gen processors takes some of the shine off of the too"

nothing to see her ... Enthusiast don't need it (when they can OC their CPU ... and have a 9th gen cpu )

John Naylor · Jun 22, 2019

I'm confused.... exactly what is Intel supposedly reacting to ? ... CPU Market share has been flat (77 / 23 ~ 3.35:1.00) for 3 consecutive quarters.

MoBo manufacturers have been doing this for years .... I find the better ones such as those provided with Asus and MSI boards (especially Titanium) work very well to get one in the ballpark quickly ... then I can fine tune from there.

The tool is actually a 1.5 GB download, the extra partition space is most likely used to store system information and test results.

It's free .... no one makes you use it, ... I won't likely use it, novices might .... so what's to complain about ? Like going to McDonalds and complaining that you can have a baked potato instead of fries .... if ya want. As for having an opinion, I don't have one as of yet other than saying until we see it tested and in use, I can have no opinion. For those who buy k series processors and never OC them, the Intel guarantee may make them dip their toes in these waters which is hardly a bad thing.

rtwjunkie · Jun 22, 2019

John Naylor said:
so what's to complain about ?

Well, this assenine way of doing things that is completely uncalled for:

koaschten said:
it shrinks the system partition, creates a 16GB partitioon and installs the tool to it. Then it boots to that instead of windows and starts testing out the limits of the CPU. They tested with a i5-9600 and an undisclosed cooler and gained 500Mhz. When it's done it basically boots to the Tool, applies the overclock setting, then chainboots windows. That's how I understood it.

If you want to undo the overclock, you have to remove the tool, it won't clean up behind itself though, so you have to re-max the shrunk partition yourself.

Who in the hell would allow a program to do this to their system?

ypsylon · Jun 22, 2019

With all security vulnerabilities and mitigation which slow down the performance no wonder you need every ounce of Hz to perform at desired level. Eh... Intel, Intel wake up, smell the coffee, etc, yada, yada.

FameOfTheWolf · Jun 22, 2019

This is pretty awesome if it works as easily as they say. As someone with low amounts of experience overclocking, this would be awesome to have.

System Name	The Ryzening
Processor	AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
Motherboard	MSI X570 MAG TOMAHAWK
Cooling	Lian Li Galahad 360mm AIO
Memory	32 GB G.Skill Trident Z F4-3733 (4x 8 GB)
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte RTX 3070 Ti
Storage	Boot: Transcend MTE220S 2TB, Kintson A2000 1TB, Seagate Firewolf Pro 14 TB
Display(s)	Acer Nitro VG270UP (1440p 144 Hz IPS)
Case	Lian Li O11DX Dynamic White
Audio Device(s)	iFi Audio Zen DAC
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus+ 750 W
Mouse	Cooler Master Masterkeys Lite L
Keyboard	Cooler Master Masterkeys Lite L
Software	Windows 10 x64

System Name	Overlord Mk MLI
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 SE with offsets
Memory	32GB Team T-Create Expert DDR5 6000 MHz @ CL30-34-34-68
Video Card(s)	Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phantom GS
Storage	1TB Solidigm P44 Pro, 2 TB Corsair MP600 Pro, 2TB Kingston KC3000
Display(s)	Acer XV272K LVbmiipruzx 4K@160Hz
Case	Fractal Design Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s)	Corsair Virtuoso SE
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W
Mouse	Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard	Corsair K70 Max
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	https://valid.x86.fr/yfsd9w

System Name	Bro2
Processor	Ryzen 5800X
Motherboard	Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite
Cooling	Corsair h115i pro rgb
Memory	32GB G.Skill Flare X 3200 CL14 @3800Mhz CL16
Video Card(s)	Powercolor 6900 XT Red Devil 1.1v@2400Mhz
Storage	M.2 Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500MB/ Samsung 860 Evo 1TB
Display(s)	LG 27UD69 UHD / LG 27GN950
Case	Fractal Design G
Audio Device(s)	Realtec 5.1
Power Supply	Seasonic 750W GOLD
Mouse	Logitech G402
Keyboard	Logitech slim
Software	Windows 10 64 bit

System Name	Overlord Mk MLI
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 SE with offsets
Memory	32GB Team T-Create Expert DDR5 6000 MHz @ CL30-34-34-68
Video Card(s)	Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phantom GS
Storage	1TB Solidigm P44 Pro, 2 TB Corsair MP600 Pro, 2TB Kingston KC3000
Display(s)	Acer XV272K LVbmiipruzx 4K@160Hz
Case	Fractal Design Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s)	Corsair Virtuoso SE
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W
Mouse	Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard	Corsair K70 Max
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	https://valid.x86.fr/yfsd9w

System Name	All Switched Up
Processor	Intel Core i9-9900k @ 5.0GHz
Motherboard	ASUS Z390 Maximus XI Hero Wi-Fi w/ EK monoblock
Cooling	Custom EK Watercooling loop - 2x 360 \| 1x 240 Rads
Memory	16GB Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 3200MHz
Video Card(s)	EVGA RTX 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra w/ EK Quantum Vector Waterblock + Active Backplate
Storage	1x Samsung 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD - 2x Samsung 860 EVO 1TB SSD - 1x Samsung 860 EVO 2TB SSD
Display(s)	Viewsonix XG270QG Elite 1440p x2
Case	Lian Li O11Dynamic XL - White
Audio Device(s)	ifi Zen CAN/DAC \| Mayflower Objective2 + ODAC \| Sennheiser HD 6XX \| HiFiMan HE-5XX
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P6 Platinum
Mouse	Glorious Model O Wireless \| Model D
Keyboard	Glorious GMMK Pro w/ Holy Panda's
Software	Windows 11 Pro 64-bit
Benchmark Scores	yes

System Name	HTC's System
Processor	Ryzen 5 5800X3D
Motherboard	Asrock Taichi X370
Cooling	NH-C14, with the AM4 mounting kit
Memory	G.Skill Kit 16GB DDR4 F4 - 3200 C16D - 16 GTZB
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse 6600 8 GB
Storage	1 Samsung NVMe 960 EVO 250 GB + 1 3.5" Seagate IronWolf Pro 6TB 7200RPM 256MB SATA III
Display(s)	LG 27UD58
Case	Fractal Design Define R6 USB-C
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Corsair TX 850M 80+ Gold
Mouse	Razer Deathadder Elite
Software	Ubuntu 20.04.6 LTS

Processor	Intel i5-12600k
Motherboard	Asus H670 TUF
Cooling	Arctic Freezer 34
Memory	2x16GB DDR4 3600 G.Skill Ripjaws V
Video Card(s)	EVGA GTX 1060 SC
Storage	500GB Samsung 970 EVO, 500GB Samsung 850 EVO, 1TB Crucial MX300 and 2TB Crucial MX500
Display(s)	Dell U3219Q + HP ZR24w
Case	Raijintek Thetis
Audio Device(s)	Audioquest Dragonfly Red :D
Power Supply	Seasonic 620W M12
Mouse	Logitech G502 Proteus Core
Keyboard	G.Skill KM780R
Software	Arch Linux + Win10

Processor	Core i9-9900k
Motherboard	ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6
Cooling	All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax ETS-T50 Black CPU cooler
Memory	32GB (2x16) Mushkin Redline DDR-4 3200
Video Card(s)	ASUS RTX 4070 Ti Super OC 16GB
Storage	1x 1TB MX500 (OS); 2x 6TB WD Black; 1x 2TB MX500; 1x 1TB BX500 SSD; 1x 6TB WD Blue storage (eSATA)
Display(s)	Infievo 27" 165Hz @ 2560 x 1440
Case	Fractal Design Define R4 Black -windowed
Audio Device(s)	Soundblaster Z
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus GX-1000 Gold
Mouse	Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard	Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)

Processor	AMD Ryzen 5 5600@80W
Motherboard	MSI B550 Tomahawk
Cooling	ZALMAN CNPS9X OPTIMA
Memory	2*8GB PATRIOT PVS416G400C9K@3733MT_C16
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Radeon RX 6750 XT Pulse 12GB
Storage	Sandisk SSD 128GB, Kingston A2000 NVMe 1TB, Samsung F1 1TB, WD Black 10TB
Display(s)	AOC 27G2U/BK IPS 144Hz
Case	SHARKOON M25-W 7.1 BLACK
Audio Device(s)	Realtek 7.1 onboard
Power Supply	Seasonic Core GC 500W
Mouse	Sharkoon SHARK Force Black
Keyboard	Trust GXT280
Software	Win 7 Ultimate 64bit/Win 10 pro 64bit/Manjaro Linux

Processor	OCed 5800X3D
Motherboard	Asucks C6H
Cooling	Air
Memory	32GB
Video Card(s)	OCed 6800XT
Storage	NVMees
Display(s)	32" Dull curved 1440
Case	Freebie glass idk
Audio Device(s)	Sennheiser
Power Supply	Don't even remember

System Name	Linotosh
Processor	Dual 800mhz G4
Cooling	Air
Memory	1.5 GB

System Name	Budget Box
Processor	Xeon E5-2667v2
Motherboard	ASUS P9X79 Pro
Cooling	Some cheap tower cooler, I dunno
Memory	32GB 1866-DDR3 ECC
Video Card(s)	XFX RX 5600XT
Storage	WD NVME 1GB
Display(s)	ASUS Pro Art 27"
Case	Antec P7 Neo

System Name	main/SFFHTPCARGH!(tm)/Xiaomi Mi TV Stick/Samsung Galaxy S23/Ally
Processor	Ryzen 7 5800X3D/i7-3770/S905X/Snapdragon 8 Gen 2/Ryzen Z1 Extreme
Motherboard	MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk/HP SFF Q77 Express/uh?/uh?/Asus
Cooling	Enermax ETS-T50 Axe aRGB /basic HP HSF /errr.../oh! liqui..wait, no:sizable vapor chamber/a nice one
Memory	64gb DDR4 3600/8gb DDR3 1600/2gbLPDDR3/8gbLPDDR5x/16gb(10 sys)LPDDR5 6400
Video Card(s)	Hellhound Spectral White RX 7900 XTX 24gb/GT 730/Mali 450MP5/Adreno 740/Radeon 780M 6gb LPDDR5
Storage	250gb870EVO/500gb860EVO/2tbSandisk/NVMe2tb+1tb/4tbextreme V2/1TB Arion/500gb/8gb/256gb/4tb SN850X
Display(s)	X58222 32" 2880x1620/32"FHDTV/273E3LHSB 27" 1920x1080/6.67"/AMOLED 2X panel FHD+120hz/7" FHD 120hz
Case	Cougar Panzer Max/Elite 8300 SFF/None/Gorilla Glass Victus 2/front-stock back-JSAUX RGB transparent
Audio Device(s)	Logi Z333/SB Audigy RX/HDMI/HDMI/Dolby Atmos/KZ x HBB PR2/Moondrop Chu II + TRN BT20S
Power Supply	Chieftec Proton BDF-1000C /HP 240w/12v 1.5A/USAMS GAN PD 33w/USAMS GAN 100w
Mouse	Speedlink Sovos Vertical-Asus ROG Spatha-Logi Ergo M575/Xiaomi XMRM-006/touch/touch
Keyboard	Endorfy Thock 75%/Lofree Edge/none/touch/virtual
VR HMD	Medion Erazer
Software	Win10 64/Win8.1 64/Android TV 8.1/Android 14/Win11 64
Benchmark Scores	bench...mark? i do leave mark on bench sometime, to remember which one is the most comfortable. :o

Intel Launches Performance Maximizer: Automated 9th Gen CPU Software Overclocking Tool

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