TechPowerUp's W1zzard did not honor the ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC Edition graphics card model with any awards—as disclosed in his late January evaluation, a major negative point was highlighted: "no additional power limit increases allowed." The premium-tier ASUS offering managed to top TPU's "Maximum Overclock Comparison" GeForce RTX 5080-class table; comfortably leading the pack with an out-of-the-box (default) 400 W power setting. Reviewers and well-heeled owners—of this $1500+ special quad-fan package—have lamented the apparent lack of extra headroom. Sitting in fifth place was GIGABYTE's RTX 5080 GAMING OC SKU; a card that can support up to 450 W. As reported by VideoCardz earlier today, ASUS has taken onboard aforementioned feedback.

Resultant under-the-hood tinkerings were implemented mid-way through last month. The "ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5080 16 GB GDDR7 OC Edition" support page has welcomed a new downloadable file—authored on March 14—this BIOS update is advertised as being capable of: "increasing the (model's) maximum TGP to 450 W." Additional bragging rights will be granted with this patch; owners can boast about their expensive bits of kit being further enhanced—NVIDIA's reference specification TGP/TDP is 360 W. Thumbs up go to Team ASUS once again—mid-February Astral series updates tweaked noise profiles; not too long after an absorption of launch day criticism.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, is thrilled to announce a new high-speed memory overclock DDR5 specification with an ultra-high kit capacity - DDR5-8000 CL44 with 128 GB (64 GB x2) kit capacity. This is the world's first DDR5 memory kit with 64 GB high-capacity modules to reach the extreme overclock level of DDR5-8000, setting a new milestone for high-performance computing, content creation, AI applications, and advanced workstation workloads.

New Era of Overclocking High-Capacity DDR5 64 GB Modules
Engineered for high-capacity overclocked performance, the DDR5-8000 128 GB (64 GB x2) combines ultra-high memory speed with massive memory kit capacity, surpassing the previous module capacity maximum at 48 GB per module. At last, power users and content creators who seek overclock performance memory for capacity-hungry applications will have the ideal DDR5 memory solution. Refer to the validation screenshot below to see DDR5-8000 CL44-58-58 128 GB (64 GB x2) tested on the ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X870E APEX motherboard with the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X desktop processor.

XPG, a gaming brand of ADATA Technology, a global leader in memory modules and flash memory, is proud to announce its successful collaboration with GIGABYTE Technology. Leveraging the XPG LANCER RGB DDR5 memory and LN2 (Liquid Nitrogen) cooling technology, achieved an astonishing 12,762 MT/s overclocking speed, breaking the DDR5 memory overclocking world record. This remarkable achievement has been verified by the renowned international overclocking scoring platform, HWBOT, reinforcing XPG's leadership in extreme overclocking memory.

A Legendary Overclocking Record By Two Industry Titans
This record-breaking overclocking effort was spearheaded by GIGABYTE's renowned overclocker and engineer, HiCookie. The setup featured the Z890 AORUS TACHYON ICE motherboard, meticulously designed for overclocking, paired with the XPG LANCER RGB DDR5 memory and an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor. The XPG LANCER's optimized PCB design, IC tuning capabilities, and integrated circuit technology ensured stable operation even under the extreme LN2 environment, laying a crucial foundation for this world record. The Z890 AORUS TACHYON ICE motherboard, boasting an array of overclocking-centric features, including an OC button and an LN2_SW liquid nitrogen mode switch, further facilitated the CPU's ability to achieve its peak performance under extreme conditions.

G.Skill International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, is announcing a new high-capacity, low-latency DDR5 specification of DDR5-6000 CL26 with a total of 96 GB (48 GB x2) kit capacity, intended for the AMD AM5 platform. Designed for PC enthusiasts, gamers, professionals, and AI applications who are looking for high performance, this new memory kit enables low-latency performance at high kit capacities on the latest AMD computing platforms.

High-Capacity & Low-Latency Performance DDR5 Memory for AMD AM5
G.Skill continues to push the limits of DDR5 memory with the new DDR5-6000 CL26 at a high kit capacity of 96 GB (48 GB x2). Featuring a very low latency timing of CL26-36-36-96, this memory kit is engineered to provide efficiency and responsiveness for high-performance computing tasks, such as content creation, 3D modeling, or AI applications, on the latest AMD AM5 platforms. See below for a Memtest validation screenshots on the ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X870E HERO motherboard with the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D desktop processor, as well as on the MSI MPG X870E CARBON WIFI motherboard with the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X desktop processor.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, thrilled to announce an extraordinary overclocking milestone achieved by the Z890 AORUS TACHYON ICE motherboard paired with the latest Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) processor. Leveraging its proprietary LN2 SWITCH technology - the critical innovation behind this breakthrough—and V-COLOR Manta XFinity RGB DDR5 memory, legendary overclocker HiCookie has established a groundbreaking world record of DDR5-12752. This remarkable achievement solidifies GIGABYTE's position at the forefront of extreme Overclocking performance.

⁠The Z890 AORUS TACHYON ICE is a motherboard designed exclusively for overclocking enthusiasts, offering exceptional capabilities with its advanced all-digital power design. Equipped with overclocking toolkit, convenient shortcut keys, toggle switches, and voltage detection functions, Z890 AORUS TACHYON ICE empowers overclockers to push beyond their boundaries effortlessly. This extraordinary achievement showcases GIGABYTE's ongoing commitment to the overclocking community.

Biwin, a world-renowned innovator in cutting-edge memory and storage solutions, proudly introduces the Biwin Black Opal OC Lab Gold Edition DW100 RGB DDR5 192 GB Memory Kit (48 GB x 4), available in DDR5-6400 CL30-39-39-108 1.4 V and DDR5-6000 CL28-36-36-102 1.4 V specifications. Breaking the capacity limits of traditional consumer memory, this ultra-large 192 GB kit offers the performance boost needed for AI computing, large-scale data processing, and next-gen computing.

Push Memory Performance with Revolutionary 192 GB Memory Kit
Biwin Black Opal DW100, delivering an ultra-high-capacity 192 GB (48 GB x4) configuration, redefines what's possible with desktop memory and exceptional memory bandwidth, stability, and efficiency. This breakthrough enables users to take full advantage of DDR5's enhanced data throughput to power fast, out-of-the-box speeds for AI computing, large language models (LLMs), generative AI, and edge computing, and other data-rich workloads.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) announced today that the ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 OC Edition graphics card has broken four world records and two global first place records in 3DMark Port Royal, 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme, 3DMark Time Spy Extreme, UNIGINE Superposition 1080p Xtreme, UNIGINE Superposition 8K Optimized, and GPUPI v3.3 32B.

ROG Astral is the flagship ASUS graphics cards family, and this OC Edition achieves a stunning boost clock speed of 2580 MHz right out of the box. A cutting-edge thermal solution keeps the heavyweight GeForce RTX 5090 GPU cool: a bold quad-fan design and phase-change GPU thermal pad ensure healthy temperatures that boost hardware longevity. Plus, a vapor chamber helps prevent heat buildup - offering one more layer of protection to keep performance at its peak. This card also packs premium power delivery to make sure the GPU gets stable, reliable power.

Biwin, a leading innovator in storage and memory technology, in cooperation with the OC Lab, launches the new OC Lab Gold Edition DW100 RGB DDR5 at DDR5-8000 CL34 & CL36 32 GB (2×16 GB) along with a second DDR5-6400 CL28 EXPO profile.

Both DDR5-8000 options, with their ultra-high speeds and optimized timings, are tailored for overclocking and extreme performance scenarios that push the system to the limit. These profiles excel in scenarios where every ounce of speed is needed, such as high-end gaming, benchmarking, or other performance-demanding tasks. The DDR5-6400 option strikes a more balanced approach, prioritizing lower latencies while still delivering a strong performance. With its lower latency, the DDR5-6400 provides smooth gaming, faster application load times, and overall system responsiveness.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, proudly announces the remarkable overclocking achievement by Z890 AORUS TACHYON ICE motherboard with the latest Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) processor. Featuring the exclusive LN2 SWITCH function, which is key to breaking through in this overclocking attempt, and V-COLOR Manta Xfinity RGB, esteemed overclocker HiCookie has once again pushed the limits and set an astonishing record of DDR5-12726. This achievement reinforces GIGABYTE's commitment to providing cutting-edge technology for overclocking enthusiasts.

Besides the astonishing memory frequency, Z890 AORUS TACHYON ICE also break another three world records of 3DMARK CPU Profile 1T/2T/8T.

While the Ryzen 5 7500F was the least expensive Raphael AM5 Zen 4 CPU that you could find, AMD has now silently launched the Ryzen 5 7400F, a new 6-core/12-thread SKU. Similar to the Ryzen 5 9600 (non-X) that was silently introduced during CES 2025, the Ryzen 5 7400F was not officially announced, but rather just showed up on AMD's product pages. Unlike the Ryzen 5 7500F, which was available only to OEMs and system integrators (SIs), the Ryzen 5 7400F will apparently be available in retail/e-tail as well.

As said, the Ryzen 5 7400F is a Raphael architecture CPU with Zen 4 CPU cores and fits into an AM5 socket. It is a 6-core CPU with support for AMD Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT), so it packs 12-threads and has the same 32 MB of L3 cache. The base clock is set at 3.7 GHz, with a maximum boost clock of 4.7 GHz. The TDP is still at 65 W. As with the rest of the lineup, it is an unlocked CPU, so overclocking is possible, and it supports AMD EXPO Memory Overclocking technology, as well as Precision Boost Overdrive. In the boxed version, it comes with an AMD Wraith Stealth cooler.

While Intel is busy with its new Core Ultra 200S series of "Arrow Lake-S" processors for desktops, the start of 2025 is brining some interesting news for the last-generation Intel Core i9-14900KF CPU. The "Raptor Lake" CPU, without a working iGPU has officially broken overclocking world record and reached further into the 10 GHz dream. Achieved by an overclocker named "Wytiwx", the new world record is now sitting in at 9121.61 MHz, beating the previous 9117.75 MHz record held by "Elmor" by 3.8 MHz. This officially breaks Elmor's rule which started in 2022 and currently holds second, third, fourth, and fifth place in the leaderboard. We are curious if the new overclocker will maintain his lead, or if someone new will try to come out on top. Interestingly, for the new world record, Wytiwx used ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z790 APEX motherboard with CPU cooled by LN2. The run was validated on Windows 7 Ultimate Edition, which is an interesting choice for overclockers as previous records have also been set using Windows 7.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd, the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, in cooperation with the ASUS ROG team, is showcasing multiple overclock achievements on the newly announced ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E Apex motherboard, including a high memory speed of DDR5-10600 and another operating at DDR5-6800 CL28 in 1:1 mode, both under Memtest stress-test. Additionally, G.SKILL DDR5 memory is used by ASUS in-house overclocker, Safedisk, to break several overclock records with the latest AMD Ryzen 9 9950X desktop processor.

Exploring OC Limits at DDR5-10600 2x24 GB
Aiming to explore the limits of memory overclock potential of the new motherboard, Safedisk challenged the fastest possible dual-channel memory speed with Memtest stress-test running. The screenshot below shows a 48 GB (2x24GB) memory kit operating at DDR5-10600 with the ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E Apex motherboard and AMD Ryzen 5 8500G desktop processor, completing the Memtest stress-test with CPU and memory under water chiller cooling.

GIGABYTE Technology, one of the top global manufacturers of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, today unveils its groundbreaking B850 and B840 series motherboards, introducing a new era of performance optimization and EZ-friendly design for the latest AMD Ryzen processors with full-line PCIe Gen 5 x16 graphics cards support.⁠

D5 Bionic Corsa: Redefining Memory Overclocking
At the heart of GIGABYTE's new B850/ B840 motherboard series lies the innovative D5 Bionic Corsa technology, a game-changing approach to memory performance. This breakthrough technology has achieved remarkable up to 8600 MT/s DDR5 speeds, setting a new standard for memory overclocking. Through the intelligent AORUS AI SNATCH software, users can now effortlessly enhance their system's performance with unprecedented ease. The AI-powered EXPO AI BOOST feature eliminates the traditional time-consuming trial and error process, delivering optimized memory profiles that balance performance and stability with just a few clicks.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, in partnership with ASRock and Splave, a world-class extreme overclocker, have set a new world record for DDR5 memory frequency speed at DDR5-12666. As one of the world's top overclockers, Splave pushed the boundaries of memory speed to the absolute extreme limits using G.SKILL DDR5 memory, ASRock Z890 Taichi OCF motherboard, and Intel Core Ultra 9 285K desktop processor under extreme liquid nitrogen (LN2) cooling.

This DDR5-12666 world record achievement demonstrates the exceptional overclockability of G.SKILL DDR5 memory with the latest Intel Core Ultra 200 K-series desktop processors on the ASRock Z890 Taichi OCF motherboard. The overclock record has been submitted to and validated by HWBOT and CPU-Z, refer to the following links and screenshot to see the record submission: HWBOT | CPU-Z Validator

Apacer, a global leader in digital storage solutions, today announced the official release of its flagship NOX RGB DDR5 Gaming Memory, specially designed for the world's most demanding gamers and aesthetics. Engineered for unprecedented speed, stability, and stunning visual effects, the NOX RGB DDR5 is the ultimate upgrade for those seeking top-tier performance.

Peak Performance Redefined
With its overclocking capability reaching up to 8000 MT/s, the NOX RGB DDR5 Gaming Memory is built to deliver cutting-edge performance in the most intense gaming environments. The inclusion of the latest overclocking technologies, such as Intel XMP 3.0 and AMD EXPO, makes it easier than ever for gamers to achieve peak performance with just a single click.

Micron Technology today announced that it is releasing its Crucial DDR5 Pro Overclocking (OC) gaming memory with new speeds of 6,400 megatransfers per second (MT/s) to provide a smoother, faster gaming experience. This product update follows its initial February release of the gaming memory solution, which ran at 6,000 MT/s. The Crucial DDR5 Pro OC Gaming Memory's new higher speed enables gaming at higher frame rates per second, accelerates multitasking and boosts productivity.

The updated gaming memory offers twice the data rates of DDR4 and 25% lower latency for seamless, rapid-fire gameplay. Underpinned by Micron's cutting-edge DRAM innovation, the DDR5 Pro OC Gaming Memory solution is built using Micron's sophisticated 1ß (1-beta) node technology to deliver performance gains, quality and reliability.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced that new ROG Maximus Z890 Apex motherboards have been used to achieve 5 world records, 19 global first-place records and 31 first-place records. In the hands of some of the world's premier professional overclockers, the Maximus Z890 Apex has coaxed dazzling performance out of the latest Intel Core Ultra processor (Series 2) lineup and the latest high-performance memory kits.

Veterans of the overclocking scene will not be surprised to learn that these records were achieved with an Apex motherboard on the bench. This series has an undeniable pedigree. Since the very first model, ASUS has designed Apex motherboards for the singular purpose of helping the world's most talented overclockers shatter barriers on their way to new records.

Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products, announced the upcoming release of Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 CUDIMMs, compatible with Intel's new 800-series chipset (formerly codenamed Arrow Lake). Intel's 800-series chipset is the first platform to utilize Clock Drivers on CUDIMMs (Clocked Unbuffered Dual Inline Memory Modules). At 6400 MT/s DDR5, JEDEC mandates the inclusion of a Client Clock Driver (CKD) on UDIMMs and SODIMMs. This component buffers and redrives the clock signal from the processor, enhancing signal integrity to the module. To distinguish these advanced modules from standard DDR5 UDIMMs and SODIMMs, JEDEC has designated them as CUDIMMs and CSODIMMs, respectively.

Kingston FURY Renegade RGB and non-RGB CUDIMM modules start at an overclocked speed of 8400 MT/s and are available as 24 GB single modules and 48 GB dual channel kits. Since CUDIMMs and UDIMMs share the same 288-pin connector, Kingston FURY UDIMMs with XMP and EXPO profiles are also compatible with Intel 800-series motherboards. However, it's recommended to verify compatibility through the motherboard manufacturer's QVL (Qualified Vendor List) or by checking the Kingston Configurator for supported speeds and capacities.

Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, proudly announces the remarkable overclocking achievement by Z890 AORUS TACHYON ICE motherboard with the latest Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) processor. Featuring Vcolor CUDIMM 24 GB x 2 modules, esteemed overclocker HiCookie has once again pushed the limits and set an astonishing record of DDR5-10600. This achievement reinforces GIGABYTE's commitment to providing cutting-edge technology for overclocking enthusiasts.

The Z890 AORUS TACHYON ICE is a motherboard designed exclusively for overclocking enthusiasts, offering exceptional capabilities with its advanced all-digital power design. Equipped with overclocking toolkit, convenient shortcut keys, toggle switches, and voltage detection functions, Z890 AORUS TACHYON ICE empowers overclockers to push beyond their boundaries effortlessly. Featuring the latest D5 Bionic Corsa, an AI-enhanced overclocking technology that seamlessly integrates software, hardware, and firmware, overclockers can now leverage AI technology to unlock groundbreaking DDR5 speeds with ease.
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G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, is excited to announce the Trident Z5 Royal Neo series DDR5 memory, designed for AMD AM5 platforms. Trident Z5 Royal Neo memory comes with AMD EXPO (Extended Profiles for Overclocking) technology, and will be available up to DDR5-8000 CL38-48-48-127 extreme speed memory specification in 32 GB (2x16GB) and 48 GB (2x24GB) kit capacities. With a mirrored finish in gold or silver, this new memory series is the ideal DDR5 memory solution for enthusiasts and overclockers to build a stylish, high-performance AMD PC system.

Luxury-Class DDR5 with AMD EXPO
Following the luxury-class Trident Z5 Royal design with CNC-cut aluminum heatspreader in mirrored-finish gold or silver colors and a crystalline light bar for magnificent RGB lighting, the Trident Z5 Royal Neo is designed for AMD AM5 platforms with AMD EXPO profile. Customizable RGB lighting is supported through the G.SKILL Trident Z Lighting Control software or third-party motherboard lighting software.

AMD is preparing to release its next generation of high-performance CPUs, the Ryzen 9000X3D series, and rumors are circulating about potential increases in stacked L3 cache. However, a recent report from Wccftech suggests that the upcoming models will maintain the same 64 MB of additional 3D V-cache as their predecessors. The X3D moniker represents AMD's 3D V-Cache technology, which vertically stacks an extra L3 cache on top of one CPU chiplet. This design has proven particularly effective in enhancing gaming performance, leading AMD to market these processors as the "ultimate gaming" solutions. According to the latest information, the potential Ryzen 9 9950X3D would feature 16 Zen 5 cores with a total of 128 (64+64) MB L3 cache, while a Ryzen 9 9900X3D would offer 12 cores with the same cache capacity. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is expected to provide 96 (32+64) MB of total L3 cache.

Regarding L2, the CPUs feature one MB of L2 cache per core. Perhaps the most exciting development for overclockers is the reported inclusion of full overclocking support in the new X3D series. This marks a significant evolution from the limited options available in previous generations, potentially allowing enthusiasts to push these gaming-focused chips to new heights of performance. While the release date for the Ryzen 9000X3D series remains unconfirmed, industry speculation suggests a launch window as early as September or October. This timing would coincide with the release of new X870 (E) chipset motherboards. PC enthusiasts would potentially wait to match the next-gen CPU and motherboards, so this should be a significant upgrade cycle for many.

NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4090 D GPU was launched late last year in China—this weakened variant (of the standard RTX 4090) was designed with US trade regulations in mind. Chinese media outlets have toyed around with various custom models for several months—January 2024 evaluations indicated a 5% performance disadvantage when lined up against unrestricted models. The GeForce RTX 4090 D GPU is a potent beast despite a reduced core count and restricted TDP limit, but Chinese enthusiasts have continued to struggle with the implementation of worthwhile overclocks. HKEPC—a Hong Kong-situated PC hardware review outlet—has bucked that trend.

The mega-sized flagship ZOTAC RTX 4090 D PGF model has the technical credentials to break beyond the expected overclock increase of "2 to 5%," courtesy of a powerful 28-phase power PCB design and 530 W max. TGP limit. The Expreview team pulled a paltry 3.7% extra bit of performance from ZOTAC China's behemoth. In contrast, HKEPC wrangled out some bigger numbers with a sampled ASUS ROG STRIX RTX 4090 GAMING OC graphics card—matching unrestricted variants: "it turns out that NVIDIA only does not allow AIC manufacturers to preset overclocking, but it does not restrict users from overclocking by themselves. After a high degree of overclocking adjustment, the ROG Strix RTX 4090 D actually has a way to achieve the performance level of the RTX 4090 FE."

Without making much noise, AMD lifted the memory overclocking limits of the Radeon RX 7900 GRE graphics card with its latest Adrenalin 24.3.1 WHQL drivers, TechPowerUp found. The changelog is a bit vague and states "The maximum memory tuning limit may be incorrectly reported on AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE graphics products."—we tested it. The RX 7900 GRE has been around since mid-2023, but gained prominence as the company gave it a global launch in February 2024, to help AMD better compete with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super. Before this, the RX 7900 GRE had started out its lifecycle as a special edition product confined to China, and its designers had ensured that it came with just the right performance positioning that didn't end up disrupting other products in the AMD stack. One of these limitations had to do with the memory overclocking potential, which was probably put in place to ensure that the RX 7900 GRE has a near-identical total board power as the RX 7800 XT.

Shortly after the global launch of the RX 7900 GRE, and responding to drama online, AMD declared the limited memory overclocking range a bug and promised a fix. The overclocking limits are defined in the graphics card VBIOS, so increasing those limits would mean shipping BIOS updates for over a dozen SKUs from all the major vendors, and requiring users to upgrade it by themselves. Such a solution isn't very practical, so AMD implemented a clock limit override in their new drivers, which reprograms the power limits on the GPU during boot-up. Nicely done, good job AMD!

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, in collaboration with ASUS ROG and Intel, celebrates a monumental achievement of setting a new SuperPi-32M overclocking world record at an astonishing 2 min 59 sec 919 ms, marking the first time this benchmark category was achieved in under 3 minutes. This amazing world record was achieved by SAFEDISK, the legendary South Korean extreme overclocker, using G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB DDR5 memory, ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore motherboard, and Intel Core i9-14900KF desktop processor under liquid nitrogen cooling, demonstrating the bleeding edge of hardware performance of the latest computing hardware. For more information, visit the validation page on hwbot.org.

Overclocking Milestone Unlocked - SuperPi-32M at 2 min 59 sec 919 ms
SuperPi-32M is one of the most popular benchmarks for CPU and memory overclockers, and this extreme overclocking milestone commemorates the first time a score of under 3 minutes was achieved. Using liquid nitrogen extreme cooling, SAFEDISK lowered the CPU temperature as low as -188°C to reach a remarkable 8449.2 MHz and the G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB DDR5 memory as low as -60°C to reach DDR5-9052 with 32-48-45-36 timings on an ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore motherboard. This expertly configured setup and operation under extreme conditions gives testament to the breathtaking technical performance of modern computer systems.

The PC master race has yielded many interesting activities for enthusiasts alike, with perhaps the pinnacle of activities being overclocking. Usually, subjects for overclocking include CPUs, GPUs, and RAM, with other components not actually being capable of overclocking. However, the enthusiast force never seems to settle, and today, we have proof of overclocking an off-the-shelf 2.5-inch SATA III NAND Flash SSD thanks to Gabriel Ferraz, a Computer Engineering graduate, and TechPowerUp's SSD database maintainer. He uses the RZX Pro 256 GB SSD in the video, a generic NAND Flash drive. The RZX Pro uses the Silicon Motion SM2259XT2 single-core, 32-bit ARC CPU running up to 550 MHz. It has two channels at 400 MHz, each with eight chip enable interconnects, allowing up to 16 NAND Flash dies to operate. The SSD doesn't feature a DRAM cache or support a host memory buffer. It has only one NAND Flash memory chip from Kioxia, uses BiCS FLASH 4 architecture, has 96 layers, and has 256 GB capacity.

While this NAND Flash die is rated for up to 400 MHz or 800 MT/s, it only ran at less than half the speed at 193.75 MHz or 387.5 MT/s at default settings. Gabriel acquired a SATA III to USB 3.0 adapter with a JMS578 bridge chip to perform the overclock. This adapter allows hot swapping of SSDs without the need to turn off the PC. He shorted two terminals in the drive's PCB to get the SSD to operate without its default safe mode. Mass Production Tools (MPTools), which OEMs use to flash SSDs, were used to change the firmware settings. Each NAND Flash architecture has its own special version of MPTools. The software directly shows control of the Flash clock, CPU clock, and output driving. However, additional tweaks like Flash IO driving with subdivisions need modifications. Control and Flash On-Die Termination (ODT) and Schmitt window trigger (referring to the Schmitt trigger comparator circuit) also needed a few modifications to make it work.