AMD Ryzen 7 1700X Review - Overclocking With The Ryzen 7 1700X

Overclocking

With so many cores in the system we cannot resist overclocking. We're keeping things relatively simple. We need to take a couple of steps if we want to overclock. First tip, always invest in good hardware by the way (MOBO/PSU/Memory/Cooling), the cheaper motherboards often are not well tuned for enthusiast overclocking. Also get yourself a good power supply and proper processor cooling. Overclocking with any 8 or more core processor (doesn't matter if that is Intel or AMD) is far more difficult than you expect it to be. Both brands end in the 4.2, maybe 4.3 range, again that is similar with Intel processors as well. 
  

After publication of the Ryzen 1800X review we received the request to see how Ryzen 7 overclocks on a heatpipe cooler opposed to a liquid cooling solution. Hence for the 1700X review we will OC based on heatpipe cooling.

Overclocking 8-cores on a high clock frequency is a tough job, but can be managed relatively easily from the BIOS. You can also use AMD's software tool of course. The Ryzen 7 1800X has a base clock of 3.6 GHz and a boost frequency of 4.0 GHz. During our measurements by trial and error we found that at 1.375~1.425 Volts you will end up at roughly 4.1~4.2 GHz (that is on all eight cores!). And yes, that is not a lot over the default Turbo, but again this is 8-cores!

BIOS Overclocking

The Guru3D reader-base overclocks mostly from the BIOS to try and find the maximum stable limit. The generic overclock procedure for multiplier based overclocking is as follows:

• Leave base clock (bus) for what it is right now (100 MHz)
• Set the per core multiplier at a maximum of your liking:
• Example 1: 100MHz x 42 = 4200 MHz
• Example 2: 125MHz x 33 = 4125 MHz
• Increase CPU voltage; though setting AUTO should work fine. Start at 1.350 volts and work your way upwards into a state of equilibrium in perf and cooling temps.
• Make sure your processor is properly cooled as adding voltage = more heat
• Save and Exit BIOS / uEFI
    

Now... have a peek at the screenshot below: 

Here is an example at 4000 MHz @ all cores

As stated for this tweak we test the OC with a Noctua Heatpipe cooler. While it is not enough to keep temperatures under control, we have been able to sustain a stable 4.0 GHz on all cores.

Our ease of overclocking tip: with proper liquid cooling our findings are more widespread. A stable and acceptable overclock is 4.1 GHz on all 8 cores with the voltage set to auto. This does apply to the ASUS HERO motherboard we used. That number seems to be the sweet spot that I'd like to recommend to you. Overclocking however always varies per system, PC, ASIC quality, cooling and sure... a bit of luck as well.

Power Consumption

Back to that tweak; adding that some extra voltage on the CPU for the OC also has an adverse effect on the overall energy consumption. Under stress and overclocked we all of a sudden use roughly 200 Watts under full processor load. That is power consumption for the whole PC measured at the wall socket side including a GeForce GTX 1080 in idle and the Predator 240 liquid cooling kit (yes pumps and fans eat power as well). All characteristics we observe, measure and see look pretty similar to the 8-core 6900K in terms of heat, power consumption and clock frequency wise.