CPU Overclocking

To verify whether CPU overclocking potential is different between motherboards using the X470 or X570 chipset, we first set out to manually test maximum overclock potential of both our processors on the ASRock X570 Taichi board for an established baseline value. For cooling, we used a 240 mm all-in-one watercooling solution.

Different motherboards will often put out different voltages even when set to the exact same value in the BIOS or through the Ryzen Master overclocking software. Especially on X470 did I notice that the voltages were quite a ways off from what I wanted to run, so I double-checked on both X570 and X470 and measured the voltages physically with a digital multimeter on a capacitor of the VRM area. While you are at it, also pay attention to the "loadline calibration" feature, which will automatically increase CPU clock when the system is loaded as it could mess with voltages, too.

Ryzen 7 3700X

For the Ryzen 7 3700X, we picked a fixed voltage of 1.4 V, which is high enough to get some good overclocking potential and low enough to not overheat the system when all cores are heavily loaded.

Both systems achieved the exact same maximum overclocking frequency of 4,225 MHz. 25 MHz more had them eventually crash during stability testing.

Ryzen 9 3900X

As mentioned in our main review of the Ryzen 9 3900X, heat output when overclocked is a big issue for this processor. The highest voltage that kept CPU temperatures below 95°C with our 240 mm watercooler was just 1.225 V, which is surprisingly low and limits OC potential, too.

Maximum overclock of the Ryzen 9 3900X is a nice round 4,000 MHz on both X470 and X570, so there is no difference in CPU overclocking potential between both chipsets, even with a high-powered, overvolted processor like the Ryzen 9 3900X.