Overclocking

The overclocking process using a Ryzen 9 7950X is exactly the same as the previous Ryzen generations. However AMD has already tuned the turbo algorithm to the ceiling, very little room is left for manual overclocking. This is a good thing for those who have no desire to overclock, but this also leaves those who like the hobby somewhat unsatisfied. Gone are the days of heavy all-core overclocks being beneficial, what is left is AMD Ryzen Precision Boost Overdrive. When configured correctly, you can have similar performance to stock CPU setup, but with a lower power draw. In some cases upwards of 5% increases in CPU performance are possible. It is worth taking the time to go through the settings and set PBO up correctly according to your hardware and use case.


If you are not keen on using the BIOS for CPU overclocking, AMD provides a piece of software called Ryzen Master. This is a all-in-one tool for overclocking on Ryzen platforms. You can also have the software try to auto optimize PBO or use the AMD Eco mode preset to limit the AMD 7950X to 90 Watts. Multi-threaded scores are reasonable, considering the lower power target with just over 30,000 pts in Cinebench R23.


The next was a brute force overclock after trying out PBO for a bit first. AMD says any, and all overclocking (including memory) will void the warranty. Lots of warnings in software are given as well. In any case, if you do plan on overclocking, a media-only overclocking guide suggested not to exceed 1.3 Vcore, and AMD says Tj.Max is 95 °C for the cores. This temperature threshold is for the "lifetime" of the CPU, where you can exceed this up to 115 °C before the system shuts off. Doing so will degrade the CPU over a shorter period of time, but 95 °C is perfectly acceptable and designed to operate that this temperature. The good news is that more than 1.3 Vcore will never be practical without first delidding the CPU, or going with an exotic, sub-ambient cooling solution. The bad news is, as you might have guessed, that the CPU temperatures can easily reach 95 °C with just 1.25 static Vcore, under load. A primitive overclocking session ended with a all-core overclock of 5.3 GHz at 1.25 V. just barely passing 95 °C in Cinebench R23. Not very exciting overclocking using this method, but possible none the less.

HWInfo Sensors

HWInfo Sensors have been requested. Here you go folks!

Memory Overclock

Memory support for AMD Ryzen 7000 series and subsequently, the X670 chipsets is all over the place. BIOSTAR isn't shooting for the stars here as it only has the memory QVL list going up to DDR5-6000. This extends to the motherboard specifications, listing the maximum support memory speed of DDR5-6000 in OC mode.

Trying different configurations, compatibility is one thing to be concerned about early on in the AM5 lifecycle. Similar to other vendors, BIOSTAR is also at the mercy of AMD AGESA updates. Right now, with the initial retail BIOS, it is highly suggested to buy memory from the QVL list, or any DDR5-5600 single-rank (2x 16 GB) kit to be on the safer side. The reason being is that many configurations just do not work right now. For example, four DIMMs will not boot at DDR5-5200 and above. Dual rank memory boots at DDR5-6000, but is questionable in terms of providing a stable experience in windows. Lots of errors came out within seconds of a memory test. Sometimes the DDR5-6000 kit used for this review would revert back to DDR5-4800 during the next startup, after a normal (end of the day) system shutdown.