Is AMD going to fix its CPUs problems?

[vultusprime]

Hello everyone!

I have been looking to buy a new gaming pc for the past year or so. I waited because several new things came out very close to one another.
At first I was going to buy intel, the choice was between the i5 9600k and the i7 9700k (the 8700k seemed out of stock).

 

Then the new Ryzen were released (3600, 3600x, 3700x etc..) I was very exited, especially for the ryzen 5 3600. Here was a budget cpu with plenty of gaming power. It also could be paired with a relatively cheap motherboard (MSI b450 Tomahawk) unlike the Z390s for intel.

 

I understand that with any new technology there are always a few rough edges to be smoothed out, so I waited a little longer. But right now AMD still has a few problems. The core voltage is unusually high and the high temperatures on idle. On this very forum there are several cases of people complaining about this. I have seen on other forums new Ryzen owners complaining about their CPUs showing between 40 and 50 on idle! 
Even the man himself said that having a cpu sitting at 40 degrees while on idle was unacceptable.

 

I am not a fan of either blue or red, I could care less about that. But I am a fan of what works, out of the box. Of that, I am a fan!

 

On that aspect Intel has the advantage. Regardless of performance and price, Intel will install and work as advertised, with normal core voltages and low temps on idle. AS it should be. 

If you buy a B450 or 470 board you need to update the bios. It's another step where several people find themselves with a board not posting after the update. A new x570 will remove the need to do this, but they are more expensive, therefore rendering the whole idea of buying a "budget" CPU pointless.

 

Will AMD ever sort out these problems? Nothing would make my happier that buying a new Ryzen 5 3600, it's performance/price ratio is incredible. I have already prepared a list of parts for an Intel or AMD build.

If these problems were fixed I'd go out today and buy it. But not when these "glitches" are still lingering, with no solution in sight.

 

As of now, I am once again tending towards Intel. I am not happy because I'd be spending much more. I am prepared to wait a month or 2 but eventually I must replace my aging pc.

I find myself with a dilemma. I can't buy what I want, and am forced to buy something I don't really want.

[Skiiwee29]

AMD will flesh it out and fix it yes. 

[GoldenLag]

10 minutes ago, vultusprime said:

Ryzen owners complaining about their CPUs showing between 40 and 50 on idle! 
Even the man himself said that having a cpu sitting at 40 degrees while on idle was unacceptable.

20-30*C above ambient with regular stuff running idle in the background seem fine.......

11 minutes ago, vultusprime said:

The core voltage is unusually high and the high temperatures on idle.

core voltage does what core voltage will. people have been screaming about it since Zen 1. and it just what the boost does. it doesnt do any harm. so i dont really see the problem here. 

12 minutes ago, vultusprime said:

Will AMD ever sort out these problems?

there are mobos that havent had any particular issues afaik. and the only real issue is fancurve and clockspeed, both of which have been fixed or are being fixed.

[ckinfos]

27 minutes ago, vultusprime said:

Then the new Ryzen were released (3600, 3600x, 3700x etc..) I was very exited, especially for the ryzen 5 3600. Here was a budget cpu with plenty of gaming power. It also could be paired with a relatively cheap motherboard (MSI b450 Tomahawk) unlike the Z390s for intel.

I understand that with any new technology there are always a few rough edges to be smoothed out, so I waited a little longer. But right now AMD still has a few problems. The core voltage is unusually high and the high temperatures on idle. On this very forum there are several cases of people complaining about this. I have seen on other forums new Ryzen owners complaining about their CPUs showing between 40 and 50 on idle! 
Even the man himself said that having a cpu sitting at 40 degrees while on idle was unacceptable.

 

I am not a fan of either blue or red, I could care less about that. But I am a fan of what works, out of the box. Of that, I am a fan!

 

it works out of box...if you buy the correct platform. The correct platform is usually appearing with the new cpus and as you say it is the x5xx. All other chipsets where introduced before the new generation and even with that AMD made sure they work with bios updates and only that. How the mobo manufacturers make their updates is not AMDs concern. MSI tomahawk which i happen to own .... within a flashback update handled my 3600 amd ryzen 5 without a glinch! That was msi. That may not happen with GB or ASUS but that is not the problem for AMD! AMD made the CPU and gave specifications for the older chipsets. How well brands follow them is not AMD S problem. Temperatures and voltage not harm aynthing as they are, but with updates in bios or software will be fixed and that shouldnt be a concern of yours. Use a good airflow in your pc, as you should, and dont spent thinking on it. I bought amd 3600 , msi tomahawk 450 and i cant be happier. i can tell you that a room temp 27C closed case my i5 6500 was at 40C idle too...Its not that bad to be at 40C a processor even at idle. As for intel....i have a 6th gen cpu too and i cant put it in the same newer 1151 socket....because they are for 8th gen and on....So intel is more demanding in the matter of mobos!

[ckinfos]

29 minutes ago, vultusprime said:

On that aspect Intel has the advantage. Regardless of performance and price, Intel will install and work as advertised, with normal core voltages and low temps on idle. AS it should be. 

If you buy a B450 or 470 board you need to update the bios. It's another step where several people find themselves with a board not posting after the update. A new x570 will remove the need to do this, but they are more expensive, therefore rendering the whole idea of buying a "budget" CPU pointless.

 

as for the budget...i bet you amd will be always more budget than intel.

[Brent744]

3 hours ago, vultusprime said:

The core voltage is unusually high and the high temperatures on idle

The temperatures that the Ryzen 3000 series chips are at now, are the same temperatures which intel chips have been running on since the i5's and i7's came out in 2011 or 2012. They're just higher than the 1000 and 2000 series chips but that's to be expected with their higher performance and clock speeds. My Ryzen 7 idles at 34 - 36C on idle with a stock cooler. Yes they work out of the box and all AMD stock coolers work great, unless you get into overclocking. Most mainstream intel chips (k series) will require you to purchase a cooler as they do not come with one.

Personally, I usually preferred intel due to their slightly faster single core speeds but I jumped on the Ryzen bandwagon in order to save a few hundred dollars.

 

[porina]

The Zen 2 high voltage at "idle" (more correctly at low usage) is normal and not going anywhere. It's needed to get single core boost clocks up. If you run a bigger load that activates all cores, you will see the voltage go down. Similarly the temperature at "idle" is nothing to worry about.

 

Under sustained load it gets more interesting. I don't have like-for-like comparisons but in the same way I would want a high end air cooler on Intel, I'd want a high end air cooler on Zen 2 Ryzen. Even if the power efficiency is better than Intel in general, they still run quite hot. To get the best out of them, I'd strongly suggest something better than the stock cooler. e.g. on my 3600 at stock, a Wraith Prism (taken from 3700X) it was running to the 90's with Prime95. Replacing it with a Noctua D9L got it down to the 80's and a slightly higher boost clock, and I think it is still on the hot side and want to upgrade cooler again some time. Even with P95 load, it was running at the default PPT limit of 88W which can also be reached with Cinebench, so don't think this is only limited to P95.

[asand1]

AMD says the vtage is supposed to be that high. Some users just arbitrarily decided it's too high. My temps are actually low, I think some folks have bad luck and poor cooling.