Processor performance has been stagnant for some time, but thanks to AMD’s dynamism and competitiveness, we can now enjoy a golden age of innovation and performance that is pushing processors to new heights. Technologies like PBO2 are nothing more than an attempt to push everything a little past the stock limit for extra performance. Logically we are going to measure this gain outside of theory, in practice, to see if it is really worth it or if, on the contrary, it is better to leave everything as it is.
Index
Technical characteristics and specifications
| AMD Ryzen 9 5900X | |
|---|---|
| Architecture | Zen 3 |
| Segment | To integrate |
| Socket | AM4 |
| the | 2 x CCD |
| Cores | 12 |
| Son | 24 |
| Transistors | A stranger |
| Hidden L1 | 64 KB per core |
| Hidden L2 | 512 KB per core |
| Hidden L3 | 64 MB shared |
| Base frequency | 3.7 GHz |
| Turbo frequency | Up to 4.8 GHz |
| TDP | 105 watts |
| Lithography | 7 nm |
| Maximum temperature | 95 degrees Celsius |
| Serial heatsink | No |
| RAM memory | Up to DDR4-3200 MHz without OC |
| Memory configuration | Dual channel |
| PCIe | 4.0 |
| Integrated graphics | No |
| IGPU frequency | No |
| Launch | November 5, 2020 |
| Overclock | Yes, unlocked |
As can be seen, with this processor we are faced with a processor with 12 cores and 24 threads at a maximum frequency of 4.8 GHz. As we know, due to the algorithms used by AMD, this frequency might occur in one or more cores, but it depends on the consumption, temperature and power consumed in a triangle which always makes the CPU below figures announced by AMD.
As a result, temperatures will always be the determining factor and more or less stable, so the frequency will vary depending on the scope of the first. Cooler means more frequency, although the reality is that we should be talking about higher cooling capacity to be correct.
The importance of temperature for PBO2
Because? Well, because the best cooling system, we won’t get a lower temperature, but a similar temperature or maybe something higher, but a higher frequency without touching anything. That is, with the same parameters with LN2, we would get a higher frequency than with an air heat sink, much more, still up to the limit indicated by AMD as the frequency in Boost.
Therefore, activating the PBO2 is interesting, because it removes some of the limitations of the CPU and allows a higher voltage, a higher range of watts consumed and therefore a higher frequency. Having said that, we will know the results with two different samples, with PBO Off (fully serial processor) and PBO On. As always, our AMD test team consists of:
Synthetic tests
1080p games
2K games
4K games
CPI sin PBO2
This is one of those sections that must be seen, because although we did not logically activate PBO2 to compare the CPI, it is perfectly clear that today AMD achieves a performance per cycle superior to that of ‘Intel. And it is that after three generations of processors and two architectures, they did not increase their performance too much, but rather managed to increase the frequency, which makes the difference in the original processors.
Memory performance
The memory performance is a bit controversial, because with PBO2 on, it scores worse than off, which is curious. The performance might be almost the same as it is within the margin of error, but no matter how many times we passed this test in different software setups, the result was always the same.
In the bandwidth we could talk about a technical link, mainly because although the processor gets more frequency, the BMI is not affected much by the fact that the performance of the caches also increases somewhat, not in proportion logically. There isn’t a lot of debate here.
Frequency, consumption and overclock
Where there is debate is precisely in the consumption, because although the frequency increases as seen below, the in-game performance is practically the same, the performance with a single thread generally degrades and in multi -thread it is true that it gets noticed.
The power increase is 39 watts and the temperature has increased by almost 4 degrees, which considering that we are starting from a CORSAIR H150i Capellix, it is a more than interesting rise that is only recommended for those who need the full power of cores.
For games, it has been shown that as standard this is more than sufficient and that we will get better temperatures.
Conclusion on PBO2
AMD Precision Boost Overdrive 2 is more than interesting technology, with great potential, which works well and achieves higher performance in our CPU with just one click. But that said, it’s not for all audiences if we stop to take a close look at the data.
With an increase of 39 watts over original consumption and a total figure of 180 watts, this is not an easy number to use for heat sinks or AIOs. We are talking about temperatures above 75 degrees with systems close to 200 dollars, so this is not a characteristic for all audiences mainly because very few spend the necessary amount of money on refrigeration of this caliber.
The PBO2 is more aimed at users of custom liquid cooling, which can cool that amount of heat and even more, where the best systems will manage to keep over 250 watts below 80 degrees.
As for the performance itself, its use for gaming is certainly not recommended, since it hardly brings more than a few cases counted in 1080p and in highly optimized engines like the BFV. You still have to take the temperatures into account and take a good look at them.
For those who have achieved a superior or at least very decent cooling system and need every drop of performance in all threads, PBO2 is a highly recommended alternative as it assumes that, a boost to the CPU than in its 24 threads. . Note.
For the rest of the cases, the original processor is most recommended if we have a mix between gaming, professional and casual, because unless we can control the temperature in terms of efficiency and performance, it doesn’t make up for it. .
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