The Ryzen Clock Tuner is a Windows application that allows us to various certain values and parameters of AMD Ryzen CPUs in their different forms. Luckily we are not facing an application that is difficult to use, but with a large number of configuration options. That is why we have made this guide so that you can get the most out of it.
First of all, when using the Clock Tuner Ryzen 2.0 we recommend that you have the equipment ready, the first thing is to make sure that the voltage and multiplier parameters of the CPU are in auto, have a stable RAM profile and in SVM mode disabled and BIOS updated with AGESA Combo AM4 1.0.0.4 version and .NET Framework 4.8 installed.
You also have to have the Load Line Calibration value in the BIOS / UEFI of your PC as follows:
- L3 for ASUS and MSI boards.
- L2 or Auto if the board is from ASRock.
- Turbo or Auto for GIGABYTE / AORUS.
- L4 + for Biostar.
Once these changes are made, you can start using the Ryzen Clock Tuner.
The Clock Tuner Ryzen 2.0 interface
The Clock Tuner Ryzen 2.0 interface consists of several tabs, which are selected by choosing the tabs on the left, which are placed vertically. The tab that interests us is the one that says “Tuner” of which we see the window above these lines.
In the upper right we have the monitoring of the different CCXs and therefore of the different CPU cores, since these are found in the CCXs. The information that we first obtain is the temperature in which the processor is at all times. As for the information provided in the central box, it is your ID as a processor, those with the highest values are those that should reach a higher clock speed, and if within the same CPU there may be that difference between cores and some of them run faster than others.
As for the little boxes underneath, these measure CPU telemetry values:
- CPU usage (%) measures the percentage of CPU that is currently in use.
- CPU TEL (V) is the voltage value that the CPU requests from the VRMs.
- Instead CPU VID (V) measures the voltage of the CPU itself.
- Power consumption, in Watts, is measured by CPU PPT (W) .
- To finalize the amperage used by the processor it is measured by the CPU EDC value (A) .
Pay attention to these parameters because they will give you precise information at each moment of the state in which the different CPU cores are at each moment.
Parameter setting
Here are the parameters that we can manipulate and what each of them does:
- Testing mode: this allows us to select the stress test that the CTR will do to the CPU to check if it is able to withstand the changes in the long term.
- Cycle time: allows us to configure the time, in seconds, that the stress test that we have selected in the previous parameter will last.
- CCX delta (MHz): indicates the increases or decreases in the clock frequency when the different tests included in the Clock Tuner Ryzen are carried out. It is recommended that the speed increases for AMD Ryzen are 25 in 25 MHz. In the case of Ryzen 9 between 75 MHz and 175 MHz for processors terminated in X and from 100 to 150 MHz for XT. If you have a Threadripper then the speed increases will range between 75 and 100 MHz.
- Polling period (ms): Every when the information has to be updated in the information window on the right.
- Reference frequency (MHz): the speed setting to find the highest stable clock speed for the processor will start with this value and work its way up. So choose that value well.
- Max frequency (MHz): it is the inverse of the previous value, in this case we do not mark the minimum value, but the maximum value.
- Diagnostic voltage (mV): the voltage at which the CPU must operate during the diagnosis, keep in mind that the value is in milliwatts.
- With the Max PPT (W) value we mark the maximum power consumption for the CPU in total.
- In the Max EDC (A) value we set the maximum current that the VRM must absorb, while in Max TDC (A) we indicate the maximum current that is allowed to flow in the processor.
- Max temperature (° C): the maximum temperature at which the CPU has to work, it is recommended not to exceed 90ºC.
Cinebench R20
The Clock Tuner Ryzen has the Cinebench R20 benchmark integrated, with which we can measure the performance after making the pertinent adjustments to the CPU through this application. What’s more, if in the settings sub-window you have selected the option “CB20 testing” then it will give you the benchmark results with a before and after.
The benchmark results will be uploaded to the Cinebench database and you can even compare them with the results of other users, to get a rough idea of the performance increase through ClockTuner Ryzen.
To access it, you only have to select the benchmark tab in order to do the corresponding tests and measure performance.
Profiles in AMD Clock Tuner 2.0
The Ryzen Clock Tuner makes use of several different profiles to maintain the stability of the processor at all times while trying to achieve the maximum possible performance, for this it uses three different profiles: P0, P1 and P2 where P0 is a novelty of the CTR 2.1 onwards.
The P1 profile is used for heavy processor tasks, that is, those that exceed 75% of the CPU load and require the CPU to be rushed to solve it. So it is in this mode where you should set the highest possible clock speed within the limits of the processor.
As for the P2 profile, this is activated only when the processor workload has a medium workload, which will always be between the value of CCX usage min and CCX usage max . The default values being 25% and 75% respectively. On the other hand, if the workload is below the CCX usage min then the P0 profile will be used, which is only compatible with the new Ryzen 5000 based on Zen 3, in this profile the CPU is put into turbo speed mode.
Beware of misuse
When we open the application, AMD makes it clear to us in a message that modifications to the processor’s values and parameters that are made and that negatively affect the processor’s performance will not be covered by the processor’s warranty. So you end up forcing the processor too much and you break it, you have to know that AMD is going to know it and it is not going to change it.
How can they know? Well, due to the fact that there are small NAND Flash memories inside each Ryzen processor, which is where the operating parameters are stored and these can be consulted by AMD at the time of using the processor. Our recommendation is that when it comes to increasing the speed of the CPU, you should do it in small steps and always check things such as temperature and consumption.
It goes without saying that if you have a piece of hardware that allows you to directly measure the temperature and voltage of your Ryzen CPU, take that into account and use it as well, as having two telemetry methods is going to be better.
