[SOLVED] Why does my CPU boost to under the base clock?

[CurseOre]

I have a Ryzen 5 2600 OCed to 3.95GHz. That being said, it never actually gets to 3.95GHz. My processor has a boost clock of 3.9GHz while the base clock is 3.95GHz. The speed never turbos past the base speed.

Here is a userbenchmark that I ran:https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/44014390

Here is my build:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Six-Core 3.95GHz
GPU: EVGA 1060 SSC 6GB
Memory: GSkill Ripjaws 8x2 GB RAM 3200Mhz
Motherboard: Gigabyte Aorus B550 Elite
Case: NZXT S340 Elite Black
Operating system: Microsoft Windows 10 Home

 

[Redneck5439]

Ok, there are several things to go over here... First of all userbenchmark is pure garbage, just a steamy pile of..... There is no easier way of saying it, but it is a benchmark that both AMD and Intel Reddit have both banned because it is so extremely biased toward Intel based systems. Put simply it is the worst possible benchmark to use even though it is usually the first thing you'll see Google regurgitate when you do a search of CPU performance.

You would be much better off running benchmarks like Cinebench, Blender, Performance Test, PC Mark 10, 3DMark (Firestrike, Time Spy, etc..)... If you are running a monitoring app while running userbenchmark you probably aren't seeing accurate frequencies to being with, but the above mentioned benchmarks will all show you a much more accurate picture. With that said, the R5 2600 has a base clock of 3.4Ghz and a boost clock of 3.9Ghz. Therefore any boosting behavior above 3.9Ghz is just extra performance (ie overclocking) above what AMD has specked the processor to. In your post you say that your processor never turbos past the base speed but you quote the base speed to be 3.95Ghz which is actually better than the boost frequency for the 2600.

There is also two main "schools" for overclocking Zen+... There is precision boost / precision boost overdrive, and there is manual overclocking with a set multiplier. If you are using precision boost and PBO then you should be using a negative offset on your Vcore and the overall obtainable boosting frequency will depend on load / power / heat and your processor will only reach 3.9Ghz (maybe a little better) boost on a single core in light loads. If you are manually overclocking by setting a multiplier then you will probably be using a set Vcore or a positive voltage offset to give your processor more voltage to be able to run at 3.9, 3.95Ghz all core. If you are running a manual overclock and a set multiplier than your processor won't really "boost" it will simply go directly to your set overclock under load (if you are running with an offset Vcore voltage and Ryzen balanced power plan you may see the processor run with lower voltage and a lower frequency at idle but under load will go to your set multiplier there really isn't any "boosting" with a manual overclock).

 

[Howardohyea]

I don't really get what you mean by "boost clock of 3.9GHz while the base clock is 3.95GHz " The base clock is always lower than the boost clock which is different to your Overclocking clock.

 

[CurseOre]

Ok, there are several things to go over here... First of all userbenchmark is pure garbage, just a steamy pile of..... There is no easier way of saying it, but it is a benchmark that both AMD and Intel Reddit have both banned because it is so extremely biased toward Intel based systems. Put simply it is the worst possible benchmark to use even though it is usually the first thing you'll see Google regurgitate when you do a search of CPU performance.

You would be much better off running benchmarks like Cinebench, Blender, Performance Test, PC Mark 10, 3DMark (Firestrike, Time Spy, etc..)... If you are running a monitoring app while running userbenchmark you probably aren't seeing accurate frequencies to being with, but the above mentioned benchmarks will all show you a much more accurate picture. With that said, the R5 2600 has a base clock of 3.4Ghz and a boost clock of 3.9Ghz. Therefore any boosting behavior above 3.9Ghz is just extra performance (ie overclocking) above what AMD has specked the processor to. In your post you say that your processor never turbos past the base speed but you quote the base speed to be 3.95Ghz which is actually better than the boost frequency for the 2600.

There is also two main "schools" for overclocking Zen+... There is precision boost / precision boost overdrive, and there is manual overclocking with a set multiplier. If you are using precision boost and PBO then you should be using a negative offset on your Vcore and the overall obtainable boosting frequency will depend on load / power / heat and your processor will only reach 3.9Ghz (maybe a little better) boost on a single core in light loads. If you are manually overclocking by setting a multiplier then you will probably be using a set Vcore or a positive voltage offset to give your processor more voltage to be able to run at 3.9, 3.95Ghz all core. If you are running a manual overclock and a set multiplier than your processor won't really "boost" it will simply go directly to your set overclock under load (if you are running with an offset Vcore voltage and Ryzen balanced power plan you may see the processor run with lower voltage and a lower frequency at idle but under load will go to your set multiplier there really isn't any "boosting" with a manual overclock).

Ah I see. I would like to use PBO with my cpu but my motherboard only has auto and no as options. I have the Vcore set, but I would have done offset if it was available or more easily noticeable in my bios. What is the Ryzen balanced power plan?

 

[CurseOre]

I don't really get what you mean by "boost clock of 3.9GHz while the base clock is 3.95GHz " The base clock is always lower than the boost clock which is different to your Overclocking clock.

I think you read it wrong or I phrased it wrong. I have the base clock set to 3.95 GHz. In task manager and userbenchmark, the 'turbo' is 3.9 which is under or less than the base clock.

 

[CountMike]

I think you read it wrong or I phrased it wrong. I have the base clock set to 3.95 GHz. In task manager and userbenchmark, the 'turbo' is 3.9 which is under or less than the base clock.

Base clock for 2600 is 3.4GHz with boost up to 3.9GHz if left on auto. Above that (if lucky) is classical overclock of which not every sample is capable.
If you want to OC it just set multiplier to higher and wil most probably have to set voltage higher.
Another question is about cooling. Ryzen adjusts boost according to temperature. Best temps are up to between 62 and 65c with alot of MHz drop above 70c.

 

[CurseOre]

Base clock for 2600 is 3.4GHz with boost up to 3.9GHz if left on auto. Above that (if lucky) is classical overclock of which not every sample is capable.
If you want to OC it just set multiplier to higher and wil most probably have to set voltage higher.
Another question is about cooling. Ryzen adjusts boost according to temperature. Best temps are up to between 62 and 65c with alot of MHz drop above 70c.

I have AIO cooling, but I have the fan curves set pretty low with the fans going at 100% at about 75C. Should I be working towards keeping them below 70? I haven't noticed too drastic of a drop while under load and above 70C. My CPU rarely gets above 70 and when it does, it usually goes right back down.

 

[CountMike]

I have AIO cooling, but I have the fan curves set pretty low with the fans going at 100% at about 75C. Should I be working towards keeping them below 70? I haven't noticed too drastic of a drop while under load and above 70C. My CPU rarely gets above 70 and when it does, it usually goes right back down.

With manual OC you can let temps go higher, it's only for auto boost (and PBO) that boost algorithm takes temps into account.

 

[Redneck5439]

Ah I see. I would like to use PBO with my cpu but my motherboard only has auto and no as options. I have the Vcore set, but I would have done offset if it was available or more easily noticeable in my bios. What is the Ryzen balanced power plan?

I am not all that familiar with Gigabyte bios... I have worked on Gigabyte systems before, and they are good motherboards, but I don't currently own a Gigabyte motherboard (all of mine are Asus) and I am really trying hard to remember the bios options for Gigabyte. The Aorus B550 Elite is well regarded as one of the best gaming B550 boards available, therefore there has to be more options for tweaking PBO than just auto. You should have options for setting scalar, max CPU boost clock override (usually tops off at 200Mhz over factory settings), and PBO limits (PPT, TDC, and EDC). These are all important variables to optimizing PBO. From working with Ryzen 2000 series processors you can usually get the best performance out of them by optimizing PBO and of course setting DOCP so your RAM is running at the frequency and timings that is advertised for it. My suggestion is to really explore your bios, go into every screen until you find where you can set PBO options. If you are going to overclock with PBO (that I would highly recommend) you should also set a negative Vcore offset, it will help the boosting behavior of the processor. Ryzen balanced power plan is a Windows power plan made expressly for Ryzen processors. If you go online and download the latest chipset drivers from AMD for your motherboard (ie B550 chipset drivers directly from AMD) you should get Ryzen balanced power plan with the update. You should really do that, as running the latest chipset drivers directly from AMD is also highly recommended.

 

[Bob.B]

I have a Ryzen 5 2600 OCed to 3.95GHz. That being said, it never actually gets to 3.95GHz. My processor has a boost clock of 3.9GHz while the base clock is 3.95GHz. The speed never turbos past the base speed.

Here is a userbenchmark that I ran:https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/44014390

Here is my build:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Six-Core 3.95GHz
GPU: EVGA 1060 SSC 6GB
Memory: GSkill Ripjaws 8x2 GB RAM 3200Mhz
Motherboard: Gigabyte Aorus B550 Elite
Case: NZXT S340 Elite Black
Operating system: Microsoft Windows 10 Home

I wonder if turbo is a fixed amount in your case 3.9.
If you have the base at 3.95 then turbo does not do anything.

 

[CurseOre]

I am not all that familiar with Gigabyte bios... I have worked on Gigabyte systems before, and they are good motherboards, but I don't currently own a Gigabyte motherboard (all of mine are Asus) and I am really trying hard to remember the bios options for Gigabyte. The Aorus B550 Elite is well regarded as one of the best gaming B550 boards available, therefore there has to be more options for tweaking PBO than just auto. You should have options for setting scalar, max CPU boost clock override (usually tops off at 200Mhz over factory settings), and PBO limits (PPT, TDC, and EDC). These are all important variables to optimizing PBO. From working with Ryzen 2000 series processors you can usually get the best performance out of them by optimizing PBO and of course setting DOCP so your RAM is running at the frequency and timings that is advertised for it. My suggestion is to really explore your bios, go into every screen until you find where you can set PBO options. If you are going to overclock with PBO (that I would highly recommend) you should also set a negative Vcore offset, it will help the boosting behavior of the processor. Ryzen balanced power plan is a Windows power plan made expressly for Ryzen processors. If you go online and download the latest chipset drivers from AMD for your motherboard (ie B550 chipset drivers directly from AMD) you should get Ryzen balanced power plan with the update. You should really do that, as running the latest chipset drivers directly from AMD is also highly recommended.

I'll try out the ryzen balanced power plan tonight. I am pretty sure I have explored most of my bios and have found no setting for PBO. Assuming that I am not just blind, could a future bios update implement PBO?

 

[Redneck5439]

I'll try out the ryzen balanced power plan tonight. I am pretty sure I have explored most of my bios and have found no setting for PBO. Assuming that I am not just blind, could a future bios update implement PBO?

As a general rule of thumb its always best to be running the latest version of bios for your motherboard. If there is an update available I would highly recommend flashing it. Motherboard manufactures constantly update their bios for numerous reasons and to answer your question yes they do sometimes also offer new features in a bios update.

 

[CurseOre]

As a general rule of thumb its always best to be running the latest version of bios for your motherboard. If there is an update available I would highly recommend flashing it. Motherboard manufactures constantly update their bios for numerous reasons and to answer your question yes they do sometimes also offer new features in a bios update.

I've also heard that updating a bios when it is not needed will sometimes cause unintended consequences. On a different note, I found out that the ryzen balanced power plan may not do much anymore. Apparently it was created to fix a windows 10 issue, but windows 10 fixed their issue which made the power plan useless.

 

[Redneck5439]

I've also heard that updating a bios when it is not needed will sometimes cause unintended consequences. On a different note, I found out that the ryzen balanced power plan may not do much anymore. Apparently it was created to fix a windows 10 issue, but windows 10 fixed their issue which made the power plan useless.

Updating bios has always been a risk / reward proposition. Anytime you update the bios there is a degree of risk involved no matter who tells you differently. No matter how good you are, or how many times you have updated bios on various systems there is always the risk of bricking a motherboard... I was updating the bios on a computer brought to me for repair once and half way through the update I ran into a dual failure- some idiot drove into a telephone poll and knocked out the power, and my battery backup surge protection failed, the computer lost power at the worst possible time... it happens to the best of us... On the other side is the reward. Motherboard manufactures are always making updates / improvements to their products and sometimes the software that drives them (ie the bios) can be updated to provide huge improvements to the hardware. Bios updates usually provide better stability / performance and settings throughout the live span of a motherboard. I personally always update the bios to the latest version for the stability and performance upgrades as well as "bug" fixes that are regularly included in the newest bios.

I have found that the Ryzen balanced power plan has different results across the various Zen generations. I have built personal rigs with each Ryzen generation and all of those computers are still "in the family" so I see how they all have matured and held up over time (matured with bios updates and system updates, held up over time with the various overclocks I have applied). What I have found with Ryzen balanced power plan is its performance / usefulness greatly depends upon which generation you are using. My original 1800X system is now my mother in laws computer, and I don't really have too much information on that one as I pretty much set DOCP and everything else to AUTO as all she uses it for is email, YouTube, and playing solitaire (no need for any extra power for any of those tasks...). The next rig I built was a Ryzen 2700X system and it is now my mother's computer. I have much more information on that as I see her much more often and it is still rocking the PBO optimized overclock I applied to it the first couple weeks I had it. With PBO optimizations I applied I would get all core boost of 4.2Ghz and single core boost of 4.35Ghz utilizing a voltage offset Vcore under load is 1.344V (in second generation Ryzen that was pretty good as the base clock for the 2700X was 3.7Ghz and boost was 4.3). That rig has been running those same settings without issue for about 3 yeas now. The next rig was built around the Ryzen 3800X and is now my kids gaming rig. I of course have constant access to that rig and it has had the same manual multiplier overclock applied to it since the first week I built it. I was not able to get good enough performance with PBO on Ryzen's third generation processor so I applied an all core overclock of 4.4Ghz (for everyday use) and also had an extreme profile of 4.5Ghz all core (for time sensitive projects, ect..). When I upgraded my kids gaming rig with the 3800X I went with the 4.4Ghz all core overclock (using a voltage offset the Vcore under load is 1.36V) and it has been running that pretty much all the time for about 2 years. My current rig is the Ryzen 5900X and I am using both a manual multiplier overclock of 4.65Ghz (everyday, 4.7Ghz for time sensitive projects) and PBO single core boost of 5Ghz. With the 5900X under all core full load my Vcore is 1.24V for both the 4.65Ghz and 4.7Ghz overclocks.

What is interesting is Ryzen balanced power plan had very little effect on the 1800X, has shown good improvement with the 2700X, better stability with the 3800X, and absolutely no effect with the 5900X (in fact the best power plan for this CPU is high performance with a customized processor power management minimum processor state 25% and max of course 100%). All of the rigs listed above are running the latest Windows 10 and are fully updated (even the mother in laws). Ryzen balanced power plan seems to have the best performance effects on Ryzen second gen and third gen processors with really no effect I noticed on the 1800X and a counter productive effect on the 5900X. My recommendation for your 2600 would be to use it (or at least try it) as most second gen processors will have better performance / stability.