Asus' entry-level Prime A620M-A motherboard reportedly offers limited processor overclocking capabilities, despite AMD's traditional stance against overclocking on A-series chipsets.
Rather than manual overclocking, the motherboard integrates AMD's Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO), which allows Ryzen processors to function beyond their default settings automatically. Activating PBO on the Asus Prime A620M-A reportedly led to a 9% performance increase in Cinebench 23 for a Ryzen 9 7900. Additionally, Asus' TUF Gaming A620M-Plus motherboard may support PCIe 5.0 on its primary M.2 slot, according to a MyDrivers report. While manufacturers often remain tight-lipped about unofficial features, some motherboard makers may offer hidden benefits to outperform rivals. However, the existence of other A620 motherboards with PBO support is not yet known.
Traditionally, AMD has not permitted CPU overclocking on A-series chipsets, resulting in entry-level motherboards with modest power delivery subsystems that are unsuitable for overclocking. Nevertheless, the tech world often finds workarounds. For example, a specific A520 motherboard unofficially supported overclocking via BCLK adjustments. According to a MyDrivers report, Asus' Prime A620M-A motherboard allows limited CPU overclocking.
Rather than providing full manual overclocking, Asus has integrated AMD's PBO (Precision Boost Overdrive) into the Prime A620M-A motherboard, a feature that should not be available. PBO, which is entirely automatic, allows Ryzen CPUs to exceed their standard specifications depending on various factors, such as temperature, workload type, or active core count. A screenshot showed a Ryzen 9 7900 achieving 9% higher performance in Cinebench 23 after reportedly activating PBO on the Asus Prime A620M-A.
MyDrivers also found that Asus's TUF Gaming A620M-Plus motherboard could potentially support PCIe 5.0 on its primary M.2 slot. An HWiNFO64 screenshot seemingly displays the M.2 slot operating at PCIe 5.0 x4 speeds with 32 GT/s. However, without corroborating benchmarks from the Chinese publication, this information should be taken with a grain of salt.
Over time, AMD and Intel motherboards that should not support CPU overclocking have occasionally provided some form of overclocking. While chipmakers may overlook these features at times, they can also disable them through firmware updates. It is likely that other A620 motherboards with PBO support are available; they simply have not been discovered yet.
Unofficial CPU Overclocking Capabilities Found in AMD A620 Motherboards
