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- Nov 20, 2012
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NOTE : While I am a moderator and a mild enthusiast, I am by no means an expert. Do your research, look at some other guides online, and be sure that the changes you make to your system will not hurt it. I ONLY STATE THIS FOR YOUR PROTECTION! (and as a mild disclaimer that myself nor MSI are responsible for your actions)
NOTE 2 : While this is based on me using an MSI B350 Gaming Plus board with a Ryzen 5 1500X, it will be similar for all MSI based X370 and B350 boards, with only some minor changes in the menus within the overclocking page.
NOTE 3 : This guide is meant for those with little to no knowledge of overclocking. This is a beginners guide, and is not meant to help those doing extreme overclocking and cooling attain higher clocks.
With that out of the way, lets start with some of the basics.
The main CPU?s that this guide will cover will be the following :
NAME Base CLK BOOST CLK
AMD Ryzen 7 1800X 3.6 GHz 4.0 GHz
AMD Ryzen 7 1700X 3.4 GHz 3.8 GHz
AMD Ryzen 7 1700 3.0 GHz 3.7 GHz
AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 3.6 GHz 4.0 GHz
AMD Ryzen 5 1600 3.2 GHz 3.6 GHz
AMD Ryzen 5 1500X 3.5 GHz 3.7 GHz
AMD Ryzen 5 1400 3.2 GHz 3.4 GHz
Let?s start with some basic terminology :
CPU Core Voltage : This is the core voltage fed to the CPU.
CPU NB Voltage : On most MSI motherboards, this really changes the voltage that is fed to all the ancilliary hardware ?around? the CPU cores, and it otherwise known as the SoC voltage in most AMD documentation and presentations.
DRAM Voltage : This is the voltage fed to the DRAM modules.
LLC : Load Line Calibration ? This is a function of the motherboard whereby it attempts to better handle changes in load and regulate the voltage to a component better during those abrupt changes in load.
DRAM Frequency : This is the frequency of your memory.
BIOS Updates
See : https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threads/283344 for the latest BETA BIOS update for your board. This is a great place to start prior to overclocking your board, simply because new features could be added that could allow faster memory or CPU speeds, as well as increased performance for the very young Ryzen platform.
BIOS Setup and Memory Overclocking
With that out of the way, lets start with the basics. When you first boot your PC, you?ll be presented with a main screen as follows :
[attachthumb=1]
The first thing you?ll want to do is enter the ?Advanced? mode by pressing F7 on your keyboard.
You should now have a screen as follows :
[attachthumb=2]
In this screenshot, you can already see I have overclocked my system?.however we can still go over the settings.
At this point, click on the ?Overclocking settings OC? button on the middle left.
In there, you will have a screen similar to the following :
[attachthumb=3]
At this point, you see a few settings right away.
I would start by changing the OC Explore Mode : FROM ? Normal TO ? Expert. This unlocks a few menu?s further down.
[attachthumb=6]
Next, I would change your Memory Retry Count : FROM ? 5 TO ? 2.
This changes how many times the system will retry booting if you set the memory clock higher than the system can handle.
Next, I would concentrate on getting your memory running at the highest frequency possible. There are a few ways to do this, namely :
1.Setting the DRAM frequency manually
2.Trying the A-XMP Profiles (1 or 2)
3.Using the Memory Try It! Feature
I would attempt to setup the memory in the order outlined above.
MANUAL MEMORY SETUP
First, set the memory to the max frequency supported by the memory. (At the time of this writing, if you are using memory with timings greater than 3200 MHz, the highest you should set it to is 3200 MHz)
At this point, I would reboot and see if it sticks. Be prepared to using the CMOS reset jumper in case it doesn?t work.
If it doesn?t work, then I would go 1 step lower in speed (usually 2933 MHz if starting at 3200 MHz) and see if the system can boot with it at that frequency.
Repeat this until the system can boot and it seems stable.
A-XMP Profiles
If you want to try A-XMP, the profiles work as follows :
1.Profile 1 is 1 step lower than the MAX frequency supported by the memory. So for 3200 MHz memory, it would try it at 2933 MHz.
2.Profile 2 is set to the MAX frequency of your memory.
Select the profile you?d like to use and reboot to see if it?s stable. If it doesn?t boot you may need to clear the CMOS to get it to boot again.
Memory Try It!
This is very simple. It will reboot and try your memory at a few settings to determine which ones will work and go from there. This is basically a last resort at attempting to just overclock your memory ?simply?.
Now, if you managed to get it to a decent frequency and you?re happy, you can skip down further to the overclocking the CPU parts.
However, if you weren?t quite stable and think things could improve, continue reading!
The first thing to change voltage wise to help with memory overclocking is the NB Voltage. This has valid values of 0.8V to 1.15V for constant usage. Any higher than 1.2V and your CPU?s life span could be decreased substantially! I generally recommend 1.10V to 1.15V for this if you?re having issues getting the memory running at a higher clock.
The next voltage to change is the DRAM Voltage. This can help increase the stability of the system when overclocking the memory. The DRAM Voltage is OK from 1.2V up to 1.45V. Any higher than 1.5V and your memory may get cooked or damaged! I don?t recommend anything over 1.45V for the memory.
At this point, reboot and see if it works. It might take a few tries to get everything configured properly and working well, but those higher clock speeds will be worth if, if your memory supports it.
CPU Overclocking
Now that we have the memory overclocking setup and stable, it?s time to overclock the CPU. This is quite simply a matter of changing the frequency and the BIOS should take care of the rest. See the next picture for a before :
[attachthumb=4]
And after :
[attachthumb=5]
Just type in the frequency you?d like (in MHz) and that?s it!
Next, I would consider increasing the CPU Core Voltage. This is normally around 1.2V under a full load at stock settings, but can vary up to 1.5V under heavy loads with XFR.
That being said, for a 24 hour/7day/week overclock, I would keep the CPU Core Voltage between 1.2V and 1.45V at the very maximum! I generally wouldn?t even go above 1.4V for an overclock.
At this point, save and reboot to see if the overclock boots to the BIOS. If it doesn?t, then you either have the frequency too high (Lower it by 100 MHz), or your CPU Core Voltage is too low (increase it by 0.175V at a time, until you hit 1.4V).
If you up the CPU Core Voltage to 1.4V and it?s still having issues booting into Windows or running a benchmark without restarting, I would lower the CPU Frequency by 100 MHz and try again.
To give some reference, my R5 1500X was able to hit 4.0 GHz at 1.3875V stable during Prime95 and other benchmarks, followed by a few hours of random games.
However, at 4.1 GHz I could boot to the BIOS and be stable, but I was unable to boot into Windows successfully, even at 1.45V.
This is how I arrived at using 4.0 GHz and then 1.3875V. Any less than 1.3875V and it would restart when I tried to do a benchmark or a game.
I?ve also seen a number of people concerned with their temperatures.
My case is by no means the perfect setup, and my wiring is by no means in the best ?placement? to allow efficient air flow. However, my system temps are all in the 30C to 45C degree range while typing this up. I wouldn?t be surprised to see them increase as load increases, but realistically the system temps should stay below 60C.
If there are any questions, concerns, or things that are incorrect, please post so that we can fix them!
Also, if you?d like, post your overclocks and voltages. It?s interesting to see what other users are able to get.
NOTE 2 : While this is based on me using an MSI B350 Gaming Plus board with a Ryzen 5 1500X, it will be similar for all MSI based X370 and B350 boards, with only some minor changes in the menus within the overclocking page.
NOTE 3 : This guide is meant for those with little to no knowledge of overclocking. This is a beginners guide, and is not meant to help those doing extreme overclocking and cooling attain higher clocks.
With that out of the way, lets start with some of the basics.
The main CPU?s that this guide will cover will be the following :
NAME Base CLK BOOST CLK
AMD Ryzen 7 1800X 3.6 GHz 4.0 GHz
AMD Ryzen 7 1700X 3.4 GHz 3.8 GHz
AMD Ryzen 7 1700 3.0 GHz 3.7 GHz
AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 3.6 GHz 4.0 GHz
AMD Ryzen 5 1600 3.2 GHz 3.6 GHz
AMD Ryzen 5 1500X 3.5 GHz 3.7 GHz
AMD Ryzen 5 1400 3.2 GHz 3.4 GHz
Let?s start with some basic terminology :
CPU Core Voltage : This is the core voltage fed to the CPU.
CPU NB Voltage : On most MSI motherboards, this really changes the voltage that is fed to all the ancilliary hardware ?around? the CPU cores, and it otherwise known as the SoC voltage in most AMD documentation and presentations.
DRAM Voltage : This is the voltage fed to the DRAM modules.
LLC : Load Line Calibration ? This is a function of the motherboard whereby it attempts to better handle changes in load and regulate the voltage to a component better during those abrupt changes in load.
DRAM Frequency : This is the frequency of your memory.
BIOS Updates
See : https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threads/283344 for the latest BETA BIOS update for your board. This is a great place to start prior to overclocking your board, simply because new features could be added that could allow faster memory or CPU speeds, as well as increased performance for the very young Ryzen platform.
BIOS Setup and Memory Overclocking
With that out of the way, lets start with the basics. When you first boot your PC, you?ll be presented with a main screen as follows :
[attachthumb=1]
The first thing you?ll want to do is enter the ?Advanced? mode by pressing F7 on your keyboard.
You should now have a screen as follows :
[attachthumb=2]
In this screenshot, you can already see I have overclocked my system?.however we can still go over the settings.
At this point, click on the ?Overclocking settings OC? button on the middle left.
In there, you will have a screen similar to the following :
[attachthumb=3]
At this point, you see a few settings right away.
I would start by changing the OC Explore Mode : FROM ? Normal TO ? Expert. This unlocks a few menu?s further down.
[attachthumb=6]
Next, I would change your Memory Retry Count : FROM ? 5 TO ? 2.
This changes how many times the system will retry booting if you set the memory clock higher than the system can handle.
Next, I would concentrate on getting your memory running at the highest frequency possible. There are a few ways to do this, namely :
1.Setting the DRAM frequency manually
2.Trying the A-XMP Profiles (1 or 2)
3.Using the Memory Try It! Feature
I would attempt to setup the memory in the order outlined above.
MANUAL MEMORY SETUP
First, set the memory to the max frequency supported by the memory. (At the time of this writing, if you are using memory with timings greater than 3200 MHz, the highest you should set it to is 3200 MHz)
At this point, I would reboot and see if it sticks. Be prepared to using the CMOS reset jumper in case it doesn?t work.
If it doesn?t work, then I would go 1 step lower in speed (usually 2933 MHz if starting at 3200 MHz) and see if the system can boot with it at that frequency.
Repeat this until the system can boot and it seems stable.
A-XMP Profiles
If you want to try A-XMP, the profiles work as follows :
1.Profile 1 is 1 step lower than the MAX frequency supported by the memory. So for 3200 MHz memory, it would try it at 2933 MHz.
2.Profile 2 is set to the MAX frequency of your memory.
Select the profile you?d like to use and reboot to see if it?s stable. If it doesn?t boot you may need to clear the CMOS to get it to boot again.
Memory Try It!
This is very simple. It will reboot and try your memory at a few settings to determine which ones will work and go from there. This is basically a last resort at attempting to just overclock your memory ?simply?.
Now, if you managed to get it to a decent frequency and you?re happy, you can skip down further to the overclocking the CPU parts.
However, if you weren?t quite stable and think things could improve, continue reading!
The first thing to change voltage wise to help with memory overclocking is the NB Voltage. This has valid values of 0.8V to 1.15V for constant usage. Any higher than 1.2V and your CPU?s life span could be decreased substantially! I generally recommend 1.10V to 1.15V for this if you?re having issues getting the memory running at a higher clock.
The next voltage to change is the DRAM Voltage. This can help increase the stability of the system when overclocking the memory. The DRAM Voltage is OK from 1.2V up to 1.45V. Any higher than 1.5V and your memory may get cooked or damaged! I don?t recommend anything over 1.45V for the memory.
At this point, reboot and see if it works. It might take a few tries to get everything configured properly and working well, but those higher clock speeds will be worth if, if your memory supports it.
CPU Overclocking
Now that we have the memory overclocking setup and stable, it?s time to overclock the CPU. This is quite simply a matter of changing the frequency and the BIOS should take care of the rest. See the next picture for a before :
[attachthumb=4]
And after :
[attachthumb=5]
Just type in the frequency you?d like (in MHz) and that?s it!
Next, I would consider increasing the CPU Core Voltage. This is normally around 1.2V under a full load at stock settings, but can vary up to 1.5V under heavy loads with XFR.
That being said, for a 24 hour/7day/week overclock, I would keep the CPU Core Voltage between 1.2V and 1.45V at the very maximum! I generally wouldn?t even go above 1.4V for an overclock.
At this point, save and reboot to see if the overclock boots to the BIOS. If it doesn?t, then you either have the frequency too high (Lower it by 100 MHz), or your CPU Core Voltage is too low (increase it by 0.175V at a time, until you hit 1.4V).
If you up the CPU Core Voltage to 1.4V and it?s still having issues booting into Windows or running a benchmark without restarting, I would lower the CPU Frequency by 100 MHz and try again.
To give some reference, my R5 1500X was able to hit 4.0 GHz at 1.3875V stable during Prime95 and other benchmarks, followed by a few hours of random games.
However, at 4.1 GHz I could boot to the BIOS and be stable, but I was unable to boot into Windows successfully, even at 1.45V.
This is how I arrived at using 4.0 GHz and then 1.3875V. Any less than 1.3875V and it would restart when I tried to do a benchmark or a game.
I?ve also seen a number of people concerned with their temperatures.
My case is by no means the perfect setup, and my wiring is by no means in the best ?placement? to allow efficient air flow. However, my system temps are all in the 30C to 45C degree range while typing this up. I wouldn?t be surprised to see them increase as load increases, but realistically the system temps should stay below 60C.
If there are any questions, concerns, or things that are incorrect, please post so that we can fix them!
Also, if you?d like, post your overclocks and voltages. It?s interesting to see what other users are able to get.
