PC Building

[plaidygami]

I've found several guides that all kind of outline different ways and methods of undervolting AMD CPUs. Some mention using AMD Ryzen Master, while some omit it. Ditto with CoreCycler (with different values, too), etc.

So from your personal experience, what was the easiest way to undervolt your CPU? How long did it take you? Were the results worth it? I just want to get my 5800X3D's temps down since I'm using a Scythe Mugen 5 Rev. B and the CPU still dances in the 80's.

[johnnyenglish]

The easiest way to do it? Right here!

https://youtube.com/shorts/0iyja9yQ-tM?feature=share

Now that took that out of the way..

There are several ways to do it, vCore Offset is more towards older Ryzens where curve optimizer wasn't a thing yet, although it can still be used today. I do use it. 

First let me talk about Undervolt and Curve Optimizer.

Some people still prefer manual all core OC, and with that, manual negative vCore does the trick.

On my older 2700X I would push PBO really hard, specially in the winter, and then apply an Offset negative vCore. If the CPU wants 1,4v then the board says, "No - 0,1 offset means 1,3v" and thus temps would be slighty lower and more headroom for boosting would be made available. Performance goes up.

Curve Optimizer is much more easy, you set a negative number and this (see picture) would happen.

For a given voltage it will have a certain frequency. Roughly speaking. 

Why do I still use Offset Undervolt? 

I cant do - 30 all core curve optimizer, crashes. I have to seek individual values per core, takes some time and patience. Havent done yet. So I use curve optimizer and then apply an extra negative Offset just to keep it cooler.

With - 6 all core and - 0,08v Offset im able to get stock 7950X Cinebench scores with the EcoMode 105 and a 240 AIO cooler on a 7950X. Several cores are boosting as high as 5775mhz which is respectable.

Like I said before in another threads, overclocking is much more elegante now.

Where to do it? 

I'm a BIOS person, so I like doing things there. But not every BIOS is overclocking friendly. In those cases Ryzen Master is excellent and easy.

Now that the basics have been covered, search try and learn as there is so much more than adjusting one value. 

Good luck 

[plaidygami]

Thanks for the reply!

Yeah I prefer using the BIOS as well, because it feels like the safer option to use. I've previously tried using Ryzen Master before on my 5600X and ran into some awful issues, because I didn't know what I was doing. At least MSI Bios has explanations on what different settings do.

So what you're saying is that I can use Curve Optimizer, set a negative number for all cores, and then on top of that do an additional offset?

I've heard two things when I looked Curve Optimizer before, 1) most 5800X3Ds should be stable on -20 to -30, and 2) the aforementioned is false and -10 to -15 is stable and from there to try to push it little by little.

So I guess I should start with -5 all core curve optimizer and go from there? (E.g. -10, -15, etc). And do I need CoreCycler for any of this? Or is that not needed?

Sorry if I misunderstood your guidance. I'm still very new to this.

[johnnyenglish · Accepted solution]

Yes, you can still undervolt more but if your CPU for some reason is able to do - 30 all core, going even further with vCore Offset may throw the system to unstable levels.

Some say starting high is better but I find that route too crashy for my taste. 

So I would start low, try just - 15 all core and use the pc extensively for a few days to validate stability. Stress test it as much as possible with Cinebench, occt, core cycler and real gaming. If all goes well move to - 20 and do it again. If and when it starts crashing, you have found the limit. Check temperatures and see if they are ok.

You may not even need to do any vCore Offset at all and Curve Optimizer be the magic you need. 

Later on, much later on, you can then explore other tuning options. 

Some BIOS will have a PBO setting in AUTO, if you change that to ENABLE, board will be calling the shots and may push the CPU even more. Manual will let you set SCALAR, extra frequency and more. 

Beware, forcing PBO with the board will require some good cooling and X3D parts are more sensitive. 

Go easy and Good luck.    ; -) 

[plaidygami]

That's actually what I initially did - I just set PBO to Enabled. I'm still below average on 3DMark Time Spy (for my CPU+GPU combination), and the temps are high, but at least it's boosting properly. I didn't realize that it would be pushing it that much. Whoops.

I'll try that; I'll start with -15 and see if my CPU can handle that. Should I keep PBO on Enabled, or set PBO back to AUTO? Or another setting?

[johnnyenglish]

I would check what is the actual score in benchmarks like Cinebench and heaven or gaming to see the diference. 

Try toggling between auto and enabled to see the diferences in performance.

What speed are you able to achieve with your DDR4, and latency? 

[plaidygami]

PBO Auto (17820)

PBO On (17871)

Keep in mind I'm using a Scythe Mugen 5 Rev. B. I tried adjusting the fan curve as much as I could, but after learning that PBO just pushes my CPU even more, it makes sense why I'm struggling to hit average scores and the temps are high.

My RAM is set to 3600 MHz with XMP on.

Okay, I've now set PBO to Advanced and set an all-core CO of -15. Gonna test it out with a couple of 3D Mark runs and then some Civilization 6. I'll update this post with the results later today.

PBO Advanced CO All-Core -15: First try (18030)

PBO Advanced CO All-Core -15: Second try (17996)

PBO Advanced CO All-Core -15: Third try (18000)

[johnnyenglish]

Nice to see those scores going up. But I fear that you may need better cooling. 

Keep an eye to amazon deals, you can grab a super deal with warranty. Saw some strix lcII 360 rgb for 160€ but also a deepcool for 140 and Artic for 130.

If aio is not your thing try a big dual fan Noctua, they usually are a sure deal. 

[plaidygami]

That's what I thought. Will definitely look into getting a Noctua or something.

My case won't fit a rad at the top; I could try a rad in the front but then I need to make sure the "tube" is long enough. I've got a Phanteks P400A Digital. Not the most rad-friendly case, unfortunately.

[johnnyenglish]

Was looking into your screenshots and I think that after you have reach stability with curve optimizer, that ram can go lower.

Maybe 14-18-18-36, as always, start low and get cl14 if its stable and no BSODs move onto others.

On my last CPU, I had bad luck with Corsair, cl16 was barely stable, but that was a 2700X

BTW what is your maximum vCore voltage right now?

[plaidygami]

Never looked into RAM overclocking (other than turning XMP on). Is it worth it?

Not sure. I haven't touched anything else, only the Curve Optimizer all-core negative. Didn't really pay attention to it in HWI64 or HWMonitor. I'll try checking it tomorrow. So far, though, -15 all-core seems to be fine. *Knock on wood*

EDIT: @johnnyenglish OHHH. I had to re-read your comment. Okay, checking HW Monitor right now (browsing Firefox, not playing anything at the moment). Under Motherboard, CPU VCORE is Max 1.184V but current is dancing around 0.956v.

[johnnyenglish]

Oh yes, in some games Ryzens love good memory.

 

1,184 maximum? Lovely.i was expecting 1,38v

Its good but it tells me even more that good cooling is really necessary. 

With a better cooler, more headroom will be made available and the CPU might boost even more. 

 

 

 

 

[Axxemann]

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@plaidygami wrote:

That's what I thought. Will definitely look into getting a Noctua or something.

My case won't fit a rad at the top; I could try a rad in the front but then I need to make sure the "tube" is long enough. I've got a Phanteks P400A Digital. Not the most rad-friendly case, unfortunately.

---

There's only ever one solution: CUSTOM LOOP 😄

[plaidygami]

I don't know if I'm ready for a custom loop, haha. I've built several computers before, but I've never looked into custom loops before. Maybe with my next build in 3-5 years I might explore that avenue.

[Axxemann]

It's not as hard as people make it look. You can skip the rigid tubing and go soft lines to start off with. It starts getting tricky when you're bending hard tubes. The general consensus is while it looks way prettier, hard tubes offer no extra cooling. And if you do it right, you can make soft tubes look pretty if aesthetics are your thing.

I've been chomping at the bit to do a full loop on my current rig, but I have to clear off some bills first. I was off work for way longer than I wanted to be. 😛

[GreatnessRD]

I didn't even know you could use curve optimizer with the 5800X3D. I thought those options were locked and folks were using that Github method. I'm going to follow this thread as I may take a peek in the BIOS and play a little bit.

[johnnyenglish]

I heard that it is locked in Ryzen Master but BIOS has it available.

[plaidygami]

So far, it's been great. I set PBO Advanced and -15 CO all cores. Been rock solid so far. Might push further and test -20 or -25.

[plaidygami]

@GreatnessRD @johnnyenglish 

Just wanna make another update. Decided to push the all-core CO to -20 as well as change the PPT, TDC, and EDC values to 100, 70, 100 respectively, after looking at a detailed YouTube video. I also applied these updates to both locations in the BIOS (Advanced Settings > AMD Overclocking, and MSI's Overclocking menu).

My 3D Mark results are now the highest they've been at 18,122. My very first score with 5800X3D was 17,820. I'll continue testing these settings for a few days for stability. If all's good, maybe next weekend I'll try -25 or -30 all-core.

[johnnyenglish]

Really enjoying your progress. 

I really love all kinds of Tweaking. 

[johnnyenglish]

I was looking into reddit and YouTube, average 5800X3D cpu scores are around 12000. Seen some getting lower than 10000 but that was probably problems with the pc.

One thing i noticed and its true, the 5800X3D with watercoolers had higher scores, people who had a simple 120mm tower cooler were getting 11000. Even checked a over 13000 but that guy has lots of tweaks and a silicon winner chip.

Read and browse everywhere, there are still so much to learn! 

[plaidygami]

So that means I managed to get more than average with my CPU cooler! Hahaha. Maybe instead of getting a new cooler, I can just add another fan to it. I also wanna buy a couple of exhaust fans and add them to the top of my case to help increase airflow.

EDIT: Also just wanna add, thank you so much for the support, I really appreciate it!

[johnnyenglish]

Your Tower cooler fins maybe heatsoaked, not sure if another fan will be the solution.

Whats your case? 

[plaidygami]

Phanteks P400A Digital in white. I've got three front fans, and one extra exhaust fan at the back I got. I wanna get another fan to attach to my CPU cooler, but yeah, not sure how much that would help. And I also wanna get two more exhaust fans at the top of my case.

[johnnyenglish]

It has 2x140 fans above but the oficial site says its not for radiators, so strange...... Can you take a live picture? 

[plaidygami]

Yeah, it's because the motherboard is too close to the top. Not enough clearance. This case wasn't designed to be radiator-friendly unfortunately. So I can only do a 120 rad in the rear or 120 to 360 rad in the front.

[elstaci]

Found this Github guide on how to undervolt the AMD Ryzen 5800X3D so that it will run faster and cooler: https://github.com/PrimeO7/How-to-undervolt-AMD-RYZEN-5800X3D-Guide-with-PBO2-Tuner/blob/main/README...

Note: Reading the guide from Github method is some what complicated but easy instructions to follow with many screens shots to help configure the processor.

I would use Ryzen Master to be used by this Guide.