Stefan Mileschin

Clock boosting fixes

AMD has released more details about changes to the boost clocks of its third-generation Ryzen processor family as part of an AGESA update.

Most modern processors have something like a aurbo mode to allow the CPU to increase its operating frequency above the normal maximum. There are two flavours one which allows an all-core boost when all of the processor's physical cores are running flat out and the other is an any-core boost can be achieved by a single core running a single thread.

But noted overclocker Roman 'der8auer' Hartung discovered that only a minority of processors in AMD's third-generation Ryzen processor family reached their promised boost clocks - as few as single-digit percentages at the higher end of the range.

AMD investigated and found that the firmware that was artificially restricting boost clocks. It promised to provide an update on September 10. According to what we got from AMD, it has confirmed Hartung's research.

AMD's Robert Hallock said: "Our analysis indicates that the processor boost algorithm was affected by an issue that could cause target frequencies to be lower than expected. This has been resolved. We’ve also been exploring other opportunities to optimise performance, which can further enhance the frequency. These changes are now being implemented in flashable BIOSes from our motherboard partners. Across the stack of 3rd Gen Ryzen Processors, our internal testing shows that these changes can add approximately 25-50MHz to the current boost frequencies under various workloads."

https://fudzilla.com/news/pc-hardwar...n-improvements