[SOLVED] 3700 boosting issue

[masonr143]

I recently built my first pc and while overall the experience has been great i still have a few concerns as to the boost behavior of my r7 3700x.

So like some other amd users i've had some issues with the stock wraith prism cooler randomly ramping up to near full speed on stock settings, while the cpu is idle and sitting below 55°C. Naturally i thought my fan curve must've been to aggressive but after poking around in the bios that doesn't seem to be the case because the problem persists even when all fans are on the silent preset.

I did notice though that even when idle the cpu was constantly boosting up to 4.3ghz and would never actually reach the base clock of 3.6ghz. So I eventually stumbled across a youtube video (which ill link here) that recommended bringing the minimum power limit down to 50% from the default of 100% and limiting the processors maximum power limit (in the AMD power plan settings of the control panel) to anywhere below 100% because that specific number seemed to be causing the fan issue.

So i tried this and it seemed to work, the fans were much quieter and staying at a consistent speed but the cpu was now clocked all the way down at 3.5ghz and now even running cinebench r20 could not get the cpu to boost at all while the processor was well within its thermal limit.

So it seems like i have two options, use the lower power limit get better thermals, less noise, but less performance across the board. Or use the higher limit, worse thermals, more noise, but getting the performance i actually paid for.

So i really hope the chip wasn't actually designed like this and if anyone has any solutions id be glad to hear them. I'll link screen shots of the weird clock speeds here.

 

[rgd1101]

full system spec? include make and model of the psu

 

[JetSetter84]

Are you using ryzen powerplan? If you install the chipset drivers from either your motherboard website or amd website it is included within.

 

[RodroX]

At least on the recent AMD Ryzen CPU, when you set the maximum power limit of a power plan to anything lower than 100% you are basically disabling the boost function of the CPU. It wont boost again as long as you keep the 99% in there.

I do agree that the minimum power limit should be lower than 100%, in fact my Ryzen 5 3600 is set to 5% and I haven't found any issues using such a low value.

Another important thing is what tool are you using to monitor your CPU behavior, right now I only like hwinfo64 and Ryzen Master.

I got to buy a new cooler, my stock fan was not good enough for the chip. And I found that lately, after all the Windows updates, and with the newer Chipset drivers which I got from AMD web page (motherboard site are usually older) the boost behavior is much better than the early days after the launch.

 

[GarrettL]

Get a good aftermarket cooler and enjoy what the cpu is capable of with PBO enabled.

 

[Karadjgne]

that recommended bringing the minimum power limit down to 50% from the default of 100% a

You aren't on Balanced power plan if that's the setting, that's Performance power plan numbers.

Balanced is min 5% max 100%
Performance is min 100% max 100%
Eco I'm not sure on as I've yet to Ever use it, or see anyone use it. But min will still be 5%.

Ryzens are dynamic cpus. They boost according to loads, voltages, temps and currant. They prefer to be in a minimum state then boost as needed by the load, tempered by power limits and capped by temps. Balanced is AMD recommended for nominal usage as it'll allow the cpu to change, choose preferred cores etc.

Running with Performance plan, that doesn't happen. The cpu stays at artificial load capacity, power limits stay pushed, so the cpu has little actual control over anything until temp limits are reached. With far higher than necessary voltage and currant settings, even minor loads see much higher temp swings, so the fans ramp up accordingly.

Because Ryzens are Dynamic, a good cooler isn't always a fix. A Superior cooler generally IS. For instance, if a Ryzen is boosting to 3.7GHz at 80°C with the stock cooler, swapping for some aftermarket cooler that's a little better will still get you the 80°C, but the boost will be 3.9GHz instead. That'll continue up until the cpu hits power limits. It's only once that happens that a superior cooler will have the ability to actually lower temps, the coolers ability exceeding the cpus ability to raise temps with higher boosts.

Overclocking on a smaller cooler shows better improvements to performance than a bigger cooler, temp limits remain constant, but the OC lowers voltages and currant demands, so higher boost. An oversized cooler with OC shows better temp improvement, the cpu speed and power limits are already reached regardless, as is cpu performance, so the extra capacity/efficiency of the cooler works realistically only on temps.

 

[kurdtnz]

I have the 3600X and a prism cooler and have done exactly what you have. The throttling up and down of the cooler was driving me insane! Most of the time,im just using my pc for browsing and watching movies etc and the prism was still throttling up and down like a F1 car! So i changed my max power limit to 99% and now it runs so much more quieter. When I do game,I just switch it back to 100% and put up with the associated noise. I will be buying a better cooler at a later date,it is a shame though,the prism is an awesome looking cooler.

 

[CountMike]

I have the 3600X and a prism cooler and have done exactly what you have. The throttling up and down of the cooler was driving me insane! Most of the time,im just using my pc for browsing and watching movies etc and the prism was still throttling up and down like a F1 car! So i changed my max power limit to 99% and now it runs so much more quieter. When I do game,I just switch it back to 100% and put up with the associated noise. I will be buying a better cooler at a later date,it is a shame though,the prism is an awesome looking cooler.

When I set Ryzen Power saving plan so minimum CPU is 5% and maximum 50%, that limits CPU to about 2.2GHz at load and drops to under 1GHz at true idle. That's perfectly enough for any day to day use like browsing, watching movies even light gaming. That happens no matter if PBO is enabled or not. It also keeps temps very low and fans quiet.
When power is needed, it's easy to switch to another PP, I use 1ismus power plan https://www.techpowerup.com/review/1usmus-custom-power-plan-for-ryzen-3000-zen-2-processors/ set to 5/100%
For best performance, temperature is the key, up to 62-65c as over 70c performance is dropping fast. For every couple degrees over 70c you may expect 100MHz loss.

 

[kurdtnz]

When I set Ryzen Power saving plan so minimum CPU is 5% and maximum 50%, that limits CPU to about 2.2GHz at load and drops to under 1GHz at true idle. That's perfectly enough for any day to day use like browsing, watching movies even light gaming. That happens no matter if PBO is enabled or not. It also keeps temps very low and fans quiet.
When power is needed, it's easy to switch to another PP, I use 1ismus power plan https://www.techpowerup.com/review/1usmus-custom-power-plan-for-ryzen-3000-zen-2-processors/ set to 5/100%
For best performance, temperature is the key, up to 62-65c as over 70c performance is dropping fast. For every couple degrees over 70c you may expect 100MHz loss.

Big thanks for that! I wont pretend I fully understand it all but I have read through that techpowerup review and have set up the 1ismus power plan and changed the bios settings as it instructed. So now, im also just going to jump between the two power plans, as and when needed.

 

[JetSetter84]

I am using the default ryzen high performance power plan and it works perfectly. It was developed by amd specifically for ryzen, so I doubt 1usmus plan is better overall, but may calm the cpu when idling. Ryzen will boost like crazy, even idling as there are still processes that need computing and ryzen will try to do this as fast as possible. I would suggest creating your own fan curve that is relaxed until 60-65 degrees and then a steep line to 100 percent at 85-90 degrees. Then sit back and let ryzen work its magic...

 

[CountMike]

I am using the default ryzen high performance power plan and it works perfectly. It was developed by amd specifically for ryzen, so I doubt 1usmus plan is better overall, but may calm the cpu when idling. Ryzen will boost like crazy, even idling as there are still processes that need computing and ryzen will try to do this as fast as possible. I would suggest creating your own fan curve that is relaxed until 60-65 degrees and then a steep line to 100 percent at 85-90 degrees. Then sit back and let ryzen work its magic...

Setting minimum CPU %% to about 5% lets my 3700x drop to under 1GHz and less than 1v at idle but my startup list is pretty empty.

 

[JetSetter84]

I think the best way to go is use the new ryzen power saving plan included with the newest chipset drivers when on desktop, browsing etc and switching to ryzen high performance power plan when you need some juice.

 

[CountMike]

I think the best way to go is use the new ryzen power saving plan included with the newest chipset drivers when on desktop, browsing etc and switching to ryzen high performance power plan when you need some juice.

There's no more "juice" in High performance PP, just different default settings. Any PP can be customized to act as other ones.
There's also this: https://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Launchers-Shutdown-Tools/Power-Plan-Assistant.shtml
that can ad or subtract some options to any PP.

 

[JetSetter84]

I definitely notice dropped frames and overall less consistency in frame times when using any other plan other than ryzen high performance