PC Building

[HoonyTunes]

Greetings one and all.

I just installed my new 9800x3D, having upgraded from a 7800x3D, and I'm struggling to get the around 16k CPU score that is the average for this test. I'm only getting 14k, which is only around 0.5k higher than my 7800x3D was clocking in at. So something is going on here, and I wouldn't be here talking to all of you if I hadn't tried a vast list of troubleshooting/good housekeeping steps to remedy the issue. Here is a breakdown of what I've done:

1. Enabled EXPO with my 6000mt/s CL30 memory. That's all working as it should

2. Updated all drivers including motherboard drivers (Asus x670), AMD chipset, Windows 11 and BIOS to latest version

3. Enabled PBO, set to 10x, and +200 – used curve optimiser at -15

4. Ensured Turbo Game Mode is off in BIOS

5. Closed every unnecessary background task during benchmarking

6. Re-pasted my AIO cooler (thermal limit of 95 degrees C not reached during benchmarking)

7. Tried both performance and balanced power mode settings (no difference)

8. Re-installed AMD chipset drivers (no difference)

9. Checked all cores are running and none are parked

I think that's about it. All of these steps together took me from around 13k to around 14k, but that's still 2k off the average and I'm beginning to lose the will to live lol. I'll take any knowledgeable suggestions as to what might be off here and be mmost grateful. Many thanks in advance.

[HoonyTunes]

Update. I may have a new solution. It appears I am thermally throttling with CineBench (not evident in Timespy), which means either my AIO may have an issue, or the thermal paste I used (which was pretty old, and only 2.5 Wm/k) isn't up to the task. Have ordered some new paste and will update if that fixes it.

[BigAl01]

I suggest you try some more immediate cooling solutions, like taking off the side panel and pointing a box fan to blow air on your CPU and GPU areas.  Also, please provide a list of all system components, including the PSU and things of this nature.

[HoonyTunes]

Yeah I run an open chassis anyway (glass on top, sides are open, so airflow not an issue. 

PSU is ASUS Thor 1200w

GPU is MSI RTX 4090 Suprim

Mobo is AUS ROG Strix X670

Memory is 600Mhz G.Skill C30

I run a lot of peripherals as its's a sim racing rig. So roughly 12-14 peripherals in operation at any one time during normal use, but I shut down the software that runs them all prior to benchmarking.

Also running triple monitor setup, but benchmarks only use centre monitor, others are turned off.

Running Windows 11, all up to date.

[BigAl01]

Another thing to try is running MSCONFIG (Windows key + R) and on the Boot tab, click advanced.  Check the box for the number of processors Windows can use and select the highest number (likely it's 16; for me it's 24 with my Ryzen 9 7900X 12-core processor).  Save your change and reboot.  After rebooting, run your benchmark again and tell us if that improved your performance.

[HoonyTunes]

Tnhanks for your reply. So, I tried re-repasting with better quality thermal paste, and the temps are lower. However, I still cannot get better than 14,500 on Timespy (most users reporting 15,500 to 16,500), and I'm getting around 1250 on Cinebench 2024, with reviewers reporting 1350 or thereabouts. 

I checked msconfig as you suggested, but it made no difference. It's also quite confusing from a monitoring perspective, because it's showing all cores hitting the top boost speed consistently at around 80 degrees under sustained load, but still falling short in the results. It's only 10% or so off where it should be, but when going from 7800x3D to 9800x3D, that's half of the overall uplift I should expect. 

I'm completely out of ideas.

[lokenbo2]

Try turning off "X3D" turbo mode in bios. I had turbo mode on and was getting about 10,500 Time Spy score, with turbo off its about 16,000. All other settings are the same.

[HoonyTunes]

It's already off, unfortunately. Monitoring the CPU during the bench I can see all cores are running about 5350, and there's no thermal throttling, but still same result every time: 14k.