Just found out a new feature in the AMD X470 chipset that seems to be little known or commented on till just recently.

XFR2 and PrecisionBoost2.0 have been written about since the first announcement of X470. But what hasn't been publicized is another feature buried down in the BIOS in the AMD CBS option menus. It is under Advanced > AMD CBS > NBIO Common options > Precision Boost Overdrive Configuration.

This Overdrive option feature is very similar to Intel's Multi-Core Enhancement option in the Intel BIOS' The Overdrive allows the system to automatically clock ALL cores to a common multiplier and automatically set the necessary voltages.

It depends greatly on the cooling solution the system has. But it is providing an additional 100Mhz of clock speed on top of what XFR2 and PrecisionBoost2.0 provide.

It is only available on the new X470 chipset so it is not available on X370 motherboards even with the latest BIOS'. It is also available in the new B450 chipsets too.

I've been sitting on the fence hemming and hawing about which motherboard to buy for the 2700X chips I intend to upgrade some systems to. I have balked at the increased cost of the newer motherboards compared to X370 solutions. And all the reviews since release have pointed out there is very little improvement, if any, in performance when the same cpu and memory were tested in the same vendors X370 and X470 motherboard same product lines. But all the reviews never enabled this Overdrive feature in the new X470 motherboards during testing. So if enabled, the test results might have shown a greater performance boost and therefore justified the increased cost of the new products.

I think I have convinced myself the X470 solutions are likely worth the cost now.

---

Seti@Home classic workunits:20,676 CPU time:74,226 hours

A proud member of the OFA (Old Farts Association)

I think I have convinced myself the X470 solutions are likely worth the cost now.

I look at all these new auto-boost features with big suspicion. As with all those "too-smart" features it depends on
1) euristics used
2) real environment used.

You buy (for real cost increase) only _possibility_ of better performance, not better performance per se.
Used euristics could not allow same boost that good old direct frequency OC and stability testing would allow in particular environment.

No need to say that they turn performance testing in real nightmare mapping any fluctuations in room temperature or power source fluctuations directly into device performance...

---

SETI apps news
We're not gonna fight them. We're gonna transcend them.

Well most of the Auto Boost mechanism is baked directly into the cpu. No additional cost there since it sells for MSRP. The Performance Enhancement or Boost Overdrive is implemented on the motherboard of each vendor. And they have the choice of implementing it or not. Degree of enhancement under their design control too. One way to differentiate your product in the market compared to the competition. So up to the buyer as usual whether the additional cost is worth it and whether the theoretical performance gains are actually reached.

I did state the Boost has everything to do with the cooling solution and the power budget available. This new AMD feature is really no different than what the Intel high-end boards offer. Caveat emptor.

---

Seti@Home classic workunits:20,676 CPU time:74,226 hours

A proud member of the OFA (Old Farts Association)

Decided a progress report is due. I upgraded my AMD FX Windows7 systems to AMD Ryzen+ 2700X and ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero motherboards. I also ditched Windows and went with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.

Have to say that the new chips and motherboards are about as plug and play as you can get. I have done literally almost nothing in tuning the systems compared to the months I have spent tuning the Ryzen 1700X/1800X ASUS X370 Prime Pro systems just to get a respectable and stable system.

All I did was select The Stilt 3466 Mhz Memory Preset in the BIOS and !voila!, the memory is running at 3466 CL14 tight timings. I never got more than 3200Mhz CL14 on the 1st gen Ryzen systems with the same exact memory kits. And that was with literally months of BIOS updates and hours of stability testing.

Also, I am just running the cpu at stock Auto settings in the BIOS with a multiplier of 40 or 41. Didn't mess with any voltages, just let the cpu and motherboard figure out everything for itself and the voltages are sane and reasonable. If you are just going to use the system for general purposes, don't even bother with manually setting a fixed multiplier, just let the cpu boost some cores to as high as 4350 Mhz for general browsing. If you are going to crunch with the system, you can either leave it at Auto and it will boost cores accordingly to the loading and temps or if you want to lock in all cores at a fixed core clock, just set the multiplier to what the thermal solution allows.

Completely stable systems with the new parts. I generally get around 68-70° C. with all cores loaded at 4Ghz. That goes up to around 72-73° C. at 4.1Ghz. Those are Tdie temps or the real cpu core temps after subtracting the artificial +10° C. offset that AMD puts into the normal cpu readout temp. Also, for Linux using the latest distributions, there is a new temp driver called K10temp that is automatically installed. The latest versions of the driver report both the Tdie and Tctl temps which match the real and artificial cpu temps. That driver reports better resolution to the tenth degree compared to the it87 driver that shows the SIO chip outputs. The K10temp driver reads directly from the cpu.

So, very happy with the new hardware and software in the upgrades of my oldest crunchers.

---

Seti@Home classic workunits:20,676 CPU time:74,226 hours

A proud member of the OFA (Old Farts Association)

This is a test to edit Thread title.
[Edit]

---

Seti@Home classic workunits:20,676 CPU time:74,226 hours

A proud member of the OFA (Old Farts Association)