ClockTuner App For Ryzen 3000 Zen 2 CPUs Promises Performance Boost, Lower Power Draw
The utility is called the ClockTuner for Ryzen (CTR) and seems like it would be likened to the Holy Grail for PC enthusiasts. At its heart, CTR is able to work at the CCX (Core Complex) level, where it is possible to undervolt each individually. Even with existing energy saving features already in place, CTR undervolting allows individual CCXs (each of which contains 4 cores) to run even cooler, allowing for faster clock rates.
CTR is able to regulate the clock frequencies of each CCX individually after first evaluating its quality using a special preset in the popular Prime95 utility. 1USMUS even crafted a Cinebench R20 benchmark plug-in. “A step-by-step algorithm to change the frequency allows for balanced operation for all CCXs without shifting the load on the CPU nodes (modules),” writes Guru3D. What’s even more impressive is that “even if your motherboard does not support CCX configuration for CTR, it is not a problem. Low-level SMU access is able to bypass any motherboard or processor manufacturer limitations.”
AMD’s Zen 2-based processors are already known for their relatively good efficiency thanks to the 7nm process node; especially compared to their Comet Lake-S counterparts from Intel. However, CTR promises to take these performance and efficiency advantages to the next level, with a Ryzen 9 3900X seeing its performance increased by nearly 7 percent with a subsequent 9.5 percent reduction in power consumption. Even while running at a higher frequency, the CPU was able to operate at 1.225V instead of 1.312V.
1USMUS claims that his solution is better than other automated utilities out there that can increase total board power (TBP) by upwards of 50 percent. Given its wide AM4 motherboard support, and careful coding to ensure that it doesn’t trip antivirus software where it might be seen as a malware threat, we could see CTR being quite popular with enthusiasts. Even better, 1USMUS will be making CTR available for free for anyone to download.
However, you’ll have to wait until September before you’ll be able to download the ClockTuner for Ryzen. We’ll be updating this article accordingly once we’re able to get our hands on it.
