[SOLVED] Which software utility or method should I use to overclock AMD Ryzen?

[animemangamer]

I recently switched to AMD from Intel with a 5900X on a Asus Crosshair Hero motherboard.

I see most people recommend going to the BIOS to do it manually or automatically? But I'm not sure because I never really mess with anything in the BIOS. In the past, I usually just use a software to passively overclock my system when it needs to like AI Suite3 for example with Dual Intelligent Processors but I'm aware now that this software has become obsolete and outdated and not really the best to use.

Right now I'm thinking of using the AMD Ryzen Master but unsure. I really want to try the BIOS method if there is a way to do it automatically instead of manually entering values.

For GPU, I'm still using MSI Afterburner as it seems like it's still a gold standard for GPU utility unless there are better options now out there. But I'm not even sure how I'm utilizing this software given my GPU has a waterblock so there is no fan curve to set.

I control all my case fan speed curves with iCue.

Unrelated questions:
My iCue reading on 5900X seems to be very limited to only load & temp and no clock speed reading is this normal? Also the two 216°C readings on my motherboard concerns me but I don't know what they are not to mention the Fan #2 running at 65K RPM.

Any input greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

 

[mamasan2000]

Regarding the strange readings, I would run HWinfo64 and check with that. It's very accurate.

First step should be to figure out max CPU voltage you should see under an all-core heavy workload. The information is out there, check many sources. I would avoid Youtube for this.
Unless it is a trusted overclocker, like Der Bauer or Buildzoid.

In terms of CPU overclocking, manual has always been the best way, in BIOS. Utilities are pretty poor. We'll see if Hydra is anything different.
There is 2-3 ways to OC, depending how you count. PBO, Curve Optimizer and Static (old-skool) overclocking.
Up to you which you choose. PBO + CO can be combined. Static overclock means you disable PBO and CO.
With Static overclock, you have 3 variables, CPU voltage, LLC level and CPU frequency.
With PBO you have 3 variables too, PPT, TDC, EDC. https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/3491-explaining-precision-boost-overdrive-benchmarks-auto-oc Scroll down
Usually EDC is the limiting factor, keep it under 100% limit at all times, Hwinfo64 will list this value. So, if you can keep EDC at 90-98% under a heavy workload, you should be getting the best performance.
With CO, you apply a negative offset. Either all-core or per core. Naturally per core is more tedious to test but gives the best results. I doubt the difference is huge though. I can't be bothered to even test it.

 

[animemangamer]

Regarding the strange readings, I would run HWinfo64 and check with that. It's very accurate.

First step should be to figure out max CPU voltage you should see under an all-core heavy workload. The information is out there, check many sources. I would avoid Youtube for this.
Unless it is a trusted overclocker, like Der Bauer or Buildzoid.

In terms of CPU overclocking, manual has always been the best way, in BIOS. Utilities are pretty poor. We'll see if Hydra is anything different.
There is 2-3 ways to OC, depending how you count. PBO, Curve Optimizer and Static (old-skool) overclocking.
Up to you which you choose. PBO + CO can be combined. Static overclock means you disable PBO and CO.
With Static overclock, you have 3 variables, CPU voltage, LLC level and CPU frequency.
With PBO you have 3 variables too, PPT, TDC, EDC. https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/3491-explaining-precision-boost-overdrive-benchmarks-auto-oc Scroll down
Usually EDC is the limiting factor, keep it under 100% limit at all times, Hwinfo64 will list this value. So, if you can keep EDC at 90-98% under a heavy workload, you should be getting the best performance.
With CO, you apply a negative offset. Either all-core or per core. Naturally per core is more tedious to test but gives the best results. I doubt the difference is huge though. I can't be bothered to even test it.

Hello thank you for the reply, I'll go try your suggestion.

Also, here are the readings from HWInfo, It doesn't seem to show this 216°C so I'm really confused on what it is.

On another note, would I realistically benefit from overclocking my CPU if I primarily use it for gaming or should I just leave it be? I usually like to have my settings on 4k ultra with hdr/rtx on.

 

[CountMike]

Hello thank you for the reply, I'll go try your suggestion.

Also, here are the readings from HWInfo, It doesn't seem to show this 216°C so I'm really confused on what it is.

On another note, would I realistically benefit from overclocking my CPU if I primarily use it for gaming or should I just leave it be? I usually like to have my settings on 4k ultra with hdr/rtx on.

No, there's no real gain overclocking it, just make sure you have good cooler, enable boost and PBO2.

 

[mamasan2000]

Hello thank you for the reply, I'll go try your suggestion.

Also, here are the readings from HWInfo, It doesn't seem to show this 216°C so I'm really confused on what it is.

On another note, would I realistically benefit from overclocking my CPU if I primarily use it for gaming or should I just leave it be? I usually like to have my settings on 4k ultra with hdr/rtx on.

There is a long history of programs that fail to read Ryzens sensors correctly, unless you are using Hwinfo64.
At 4k, CPU isn't the bottleneck. If you see benchmarks of games at 1080p, that is a CPU test. CPU is a smaller factor at 1440p. Singlerank RAM vs dualrank at 1080p is a huge factor, at 1440p it is a matter of 1-2 fps difference. So not even that really matters. It's GPU past 1080p.
I run 1440p. I have no experience with 4k. But CPU should be an even smaller factor in games.
Is it worth overclocking at 4K? I don't have any data on it. People generally enable PBO and are satisfied at that.
I am not satisfied but I like overclocking, actually more than playing games.

 

[drea.drechsler]

Totally agree with HWInfo being the best utility for monitoring Ryzen. The author put a lot of effort into understanding the CPU's quirks and providing different sensors readings from the CPU's SVI2 telemetry data to let you properly assess performance. His utility is also the best one I've seen at explaining the sensors wherever he can.

And I also agree that overclocking, at least in the conventional sense is pointless. You might work hours to settle on a stable clock that slightly improves multi thread performance only to find it's hurt the light threaded performance most important for gaming. That's how well balanced and optimized the Ryzen boosting algorithm works.

The boosting algorithm is closely keyed to temperature. Improved cooling will pay off by keeping it boosting longer on heavy all-core workloads. It may not help as much with gaming as it's really quite light on the CPU, but better cooling is as effective as overclocking in many ways since it enables the CPU to run at higher clocks during heavy processing loads..

But if you've got really good cooling you could enable PBO. That doesn't exactly overclock but more precisely removes limiters that hold back the boost algorithm. That will make it run a lot hotter, so it needs the better cooling or it will just limit boosting anyway due to temperature if not.