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 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 a stock CPU setup, but with a lower power draw. In some cases, upwards of 5% increases in CPU performance are achievable as well. It is worth taking the time to go through the settings and set it 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 pt in Cinebench R23.

Memory Overclock

Another echo of previous B650E / X670E reviews here. DDR5 support for the AM5 platform is somewhat sporadic. Over the course of the last few weeks from early access, to first retail release and now the newest BIOS, improvements are seen across the all previously tested motherboards. The MSI MEG X670E ACE is the first one that boots DDR5-6400 using just auto settings. Some of this can be contributed to the new BIOS, also some of it has to do with the training algorithm and design of the motherboard. Unfortunately DDR5-6400 requires the processor to run at 2:2:1, which in turn lowers system performance, negatively impacting benchmarks. Similar to previous Ryzen CPUs, it's better to run at the highest frequency without breaking this ratio for best performance results. This will vary per processor, as not all memory controllers are equal.