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Today is a special day – the launch of the long-awaited ClockTuner for Ryzen (CTR) project, which may impact the performance of Ryzen processor-based systems with the Zen 2 microarchitecture. Before we begin a tour of CTR and recommendations, I I would like to touch the bottom, the same thing that inspired me to create this software. There will be no superfluous information, so I hope you read absolutely everything. This will avoid a number of problems and misunderstandings.
I think many of you will well remember the launch and early revisions of the Ryzen processors based on the Zen 2 microarchitecture. They brought new levels of performance and lower prices for Intel processors. Rise in AMD shares and an unprecedented buzz in the forums. Delight users and another slice of fuel on fire in the form of a cool bonus: Precision Boost Overdrive (additional automatic overclocking). In short, PBO is a technology that allows you to change the power limits that limit the boost of the processor and therefore increase the frequency in automatic overclocking. Furthermore, the user is offered the opportunity to change the frequency curve by a certain amount. For those who have not seen the presentation of this technology, you can familiarize yourself with it here:
Users were promised an additional processor frequency depending on the “success” of the sample, the cooling system and the VRM capabilities of the motherboard. Many even believed that smart overclocking existed and would bring results. In the first UEFI firmware, some users reported that PBO was capable of boosting the clock by an impressive amount up to 200 MHz, but only on Ryzen 5 3600 processors and at the cost of enormous power consumption. The rest of the CPUs were left out, they were not allowed to change the frequency curve. After a while, it became clear that no one was involved in this technology and other processors would not get the functionality that Robert Hallock told us about.
As many of you already know, the new technological process is a series of complexities at all stages of production and processing, so TSMC 7nm was no exception to the rule. One of the most important points is the crystal classification, which makes it possible to form both energy efficient processor lines and high frequency gaming solutions. In addition to determining the energy characteristics of the crystal as a whole, the energy characteristics of each nucleus are also determined individually. That is, a crystal can contain both several very successful nuclei, capable of conquering a very high frequency, and several less successful nuclei. In theory, this allows the processor manufacturer to make maximum use of all cores and vary the processor frequency based on the number of cores loaded. Sounds good right? In practice, things are a bit different. Since the energy performance evaluation process is complex and the evaluation time is limited (time is money), a simpler way of evaluating energy performance is used. As a result, we have a certain sample of the processor, with information about its approximate capabilities. Consequently, for each sample to perform as it should, the operating voltage will be chosen according to the worst sample. Disadvantages are incorrect core labels, exaggerated power consumption (and heat dissipation) if the user finds a successful copy of the processor. In other words, such a sample has a hidden reserve.
Fortunately, AMD was also able to provide a counterweight to these popular drawbacks (Intel has the exact same drawbacks) by individually overclocking each CCX. Let me remind you that CCX (Core CompleX) is one of the structural units of the processor, which can include up to 4 cores, caches and other related modules. The Ryzen 3000 series line has products where the amount of CCX can range from 1 to 16 (Threadripper 3990X). However, with a powerful tool like CCX overclocking, most users (95%) will have no idea what frequency to set for each CCX and what voltage it should be. Processors with four or more CCXs may surprise the novice enthusiast.
Since all this is a great complexity for many, and the processor reserve is not used, I came up with the idea to create software that can easily and easily help users to get free performance, if there is such a thing. of course.
System requirements and job readiness
For the program to work properly, the system must meet the following requirements:
- AMD Ryzen processor with Zen 2 architecture (Renoir temporarily not supported);
- UEFI with AGESA Combo AM4 1.0.0.4 (and newer);
- SVM (virtualization): it is recommended to disable (optional);
- CPU Voltage – Automatic (UEFI);
- CPU Multiplayer – Auto (UEFI);
- stable RAM overclocking or stable XMP mode;
- Windows 10 x64 Build 1909–2004;
- .NET Framework 4.6 (and newer)
- Ryzen Master 2.3 (driver used for monitoring).
The following set of requirements is also mandatory and relates to UEFI settings. Since the success of CTR is highly dependent on the VRM capabilities of the motherboard (I highly recommend reading this chapter), we need to create some kind of foundation in UEFI to ensure the system tuning process from BSOD.
The most important setting is LLC (Load Line Calibration), my recommendations are as follows:
- ASUS – LLC 3 или LLC 4;
- MSI-LLC 3;
- Gigabyte: Turbo in most cases, but it can also be Automatic;
- ASRock – Auto or LLC 2; An important point is that CTR has poor compatibility with ASRock motherboards, as all LLC modes exhibit abnormally high Vdroop, that is, strong voltage drop;
- Biostar – Level 4+.
For ASUS motherboard owners, it is recommended to use additional settings:
- Phase mode: standard;
- Current capacity mode: 100%.
How to set the CTR:
- Download the CTR.7z file and unzip it to a convenient place for you.
- Download the Cinebench R20 file and unzip the contents of the file into the “CB20” folder (located in the CTR folder).
- Launch Cinebench R20, accept the license agreement, close Cinebench R20.
- CTR is ready to go.
Credits
Behind absolutely any project, in addition to the developer and the author of the idea, there are people who also made their contribution. I want to express my gratitude to everyone who participated in the tests, gave technical advice or found important information that could improve the CTR. In particular, a special thanks to:
@A_z_z_y (Vadym Kosmin), Martin Malik, @ CodeZ1LLa (Oleg Kasumov), @lDevilDriverl (Oleksii Baidala), Sami Makinen (AMD), Danny Ordway (ACI), @Spaik (Alexey Savitski), @datspike (Alexey Elesin), Keaton Blomquist, @tsa, @cluster_edge, @Anem (Anton Emashov), @ GUN’G’STAR, @CapFrameX, @irusanov, @stormpand.
Also, CTR contains third-party modules:
- AMD’s Ryzen Master SDK is the primary monitoring module.
- LibreHardwareMonitorLib – svi2 cpu monitor и soc svi2.
- Maxon’s Cinebench R20 is everyone’s favorite benchmark.
- George Woltman’s Prime95 – Best Comprehensive CPU Stress Test.
- Reverse engineering of Shamino’s CCX work tool, as the basis for accessing the SMU.
