Noob overclocking question

[VelikiPCguy]

Apologies for the silly question, I'm a complete layman when it comes to PC building.

 

For overclocking a GPU, I understand you either need to know how to do it yourself, or you can generally get an aftermarket version which comes with its pre-built OC.

 

But for a CPU, is it the same? Do you overclock the motherboard and not the CPU itself? Can it come pre-OCd or would you have to do it yourself?

 

I'm thinking of getting the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X as my CPU, and I've read somewhere that it(and all series 9 CPUs) automatically overclocks based on need during usage, as long as the motherboard they're on supports this (I'm using the Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master). Is that correct?

[Chris Pratt]

Every modern CPU technically auto OCs itself. That's what "boost" is. A traditional OC, though, is about raising the actual base clock to boost clock territory. No CPU comes out of the box with this kind of OC, though Ryzen does have a feature called PBO that can be enabled via Ryzen Master, which raises the power and thermal limits to generally run at higher clocks than typical, both base and boost.

[tkitch]

For a video card, you can get some overclocking if you use "MSI Afterburner"

The app looks at your card's BIOS and lets you fool around with voltages and speeds that are within limits set by the card's manuf.

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, NewwGuyy123 said:

Do you overclock the motherboard and not the CPU itself? Can it come pre-OCd or would you have to do it yourself?

 

Back in the day Yes, you increased the frontside bus speed of the motherboard chipset combined with the cpu multiplier (locked/unlocked/raised/lowered) and a divisor to keep your ram at a stable frequency... CPUs today as @Chris Pratt said, especially when Ryzen is concerned, they overclock/underclock themselves situationally more or less.  

[VelikiPCguy]

13 minutes ago, Chris Pratt said:

Every modern CPU technically auto OCs itself. That's what "boost" is. A traditional OC, though, is about raising the actual base clock to boost clock territory. No CPU comes out of the box with this kind of OC, though Ryzen does have a feature called PBO that can be enabled via Ryzen Master, which raises the power and thermal limits to generally run at higher clocks than typical, both base and boost.

 

8 minutes ago, si1enze said:

Back in the day Yes, you increased the frontside bus speed of the motherboard chipset combined with the cpu multiplier (locked/unlocked/raised/lowered) and a divisor to keep your ram at a stable frequency... CPUs today as @Chris Pratt said, especially when Ryzen is concerned, they overclock/underclock themselves situationally more or less.  

Ah so as long as I enable the PBO via Ryzen Master, it should overclock itself, got it. Will doing this damage its longevity in any way?

[Guest]

No, it's safe - you can just enable Precision Boost in the bios.  As long as your temperatures are good, it will probably boost past it's specified frequencies.  If you go into the advanced Precision Boost options, you can specify a CPU temperature limit, and a TDP Wattage limit, if you run into temperature issues.

[VelikiPCguy]

1 minute ago, si1enze said:

No, it's safe - you can just enable Precision Boost in the bios.  As long as your temperatures are good, it will probably boost past it's specified frequencies.  If you go into the advanced Precision Boost options, you can specify a CPU temperature limit, and a TDP Wattage limit, if you run into temperature issues.

Got it, thank you. Do you reckon I should run into temperature issues with a Ryzen 5950X CPU (using PBO) if I have a Noctua NH-D15 air cooler?

[Guest]

If you didn't notice my signature - I run a 5800X with the Noctua NH-D15S (single fan), and it's been fine.  I set a custom fan curve in the bios usually, but for this cooler I run the fan at 100% all the time, barely hear it.

[VelikiPCguy]

5 minutes ago, si1enze said:

If you didn't notice my signature - I run a 5800X with the Noctua NH-D15S (single fan), and it's been fine.  I set a custom fan curve in the bios usually, but for this cooler I run the fan at 100% all the time, barely hear it.

Ah great, thank you. So in general, would you prefer an air cooler or an AIO liquid cooler for performance?

[VelikiPCguy]

7 minutes ago, si1enze said:

If you didn't notice my signature - I run a 5800X with the Noctua NH-D15S (single fan), and it's been fine.  I set a custom fan curve in the bios usually, but for this cooler I run the fan at 100% all the time, barely hear it.

Also, interesting point custom fan curve, doesn't keeping it at 100% all the time potentially cause longevity issues? And you say even at 100% it's not really audible?

[Guest]

I've never used an AIO water cooler... I use to do half inch inner diameter custom loop cooling.  But from what I've seen of AIO's they're not a Lot better, but they're not too much more expensive considering this NH-D15S was like $90 on sale.. Somebody else probably has more experience with AIOs..

[Guest]

Just now, NewwGuyy123 said:

Also, interesting point custom fan curve, doesn't keeping it at 100% all the time potentially cause longevity issues? And you say even at 100% it's not really audible?

Sure, but the fans are pretty cheap, $22-25 USD a piece.  They are pretty low RPM compared to other fans.. at 100% it's only 1,500rpm.

[VelikiPCguy]

2 minutes ago, si1enze said:

Sure, but the fans are pretty cheap, $22-25 USD a piece.  They are pretty low RPM compared to other fans.. at 100% it's only 1,500rpm.

So how long will a fan last you (on average) if it's always on 100%? And sorry, dumb question, if the fan gets damaged, you can just buy a new fan piece - not a whole new cooler?

[Guest]

Yes, you can just buy a replacement Noctua fan.  You could also buy any fan and mount it somehow.  I bet this fan would last at least 4 years of being on 24/7 at 100% rpm.

[Guest]

Other fans that run at double the rpm or more will have a shorter life, yes.

[VelikiPCguy]

7 minutes ago, si1enze said:

Other fans that run at double the rpm or more will have a shorter life, yes.

Perfect, thanks!

[WoodenMarker]

On 5/5/2021 at 6:34 PM, NewwGuyy123 said:

Also, interesting point custom fan curve, doesn't keeping it at 100% all the time potentially cause longevity issues? And you say even at 100% it's not really audible?

The NH-D15S is far from silent at 100% rpm. Each person perceives sound differently but I think most people would find that noisy. 

Fans are designed to run at 100% rpm. Lower and static rpm can reduce wear compared to starting / stopping. 

On 5/5/2021 at 6:41 PM, NewwGuyy123 said:

So how long will a fan last you (on average) if it's always on 100%? And sorry, dumb question, if the fan gets damaged, you can just buy a new fan piece - not a whole new cooler?

Fan specs often include estimated lifespans. The NF-A12x25 for example lists an average lifespan in MTTF (mean time to failure) of >150,000hrs.

Heatsinks are solid metal filled with liquid / gas, As long as the heatpipes aren't punctured and the heatsink isn't otherwise physically damaged, it can last a lifetime. 

[VelikiPCguy]

32 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

The NH-D15S is far from silent at 100% rpm. Each person perceives sound differently but I think most people would find that noisy. 

Fans are designed to run at 100% rpm. Lower and static rpm can reduce wear compared to starting / stopping. 

Hmm, so then would an AIO liquid cooler be better due to producing little / no sound? My understanding is that an AIO isn't too complicated to install (unlike a custom water cooling rig), so wouldn't be much more of a problem for a newbie than an air cooler. And if the performance is the same, and this one's quieter...

[WoodenMarker]

8 minutes ago, NewwGuyy123 said:

Hmm, so then would an AIO liquid cooler be better due to producing little / no sound? My understanding is that an AIO isn't too complicated to install (unlike a custom water cooling rig), so wouldn't be much more of a problem for a newbie than an air cooler. And if the performance is the same, and this one's quieter...

With PBO, more cooling = more performance. Depending on how much you want to push to cpu, either liquid or air may be quieter. 

If you don't mind sacrificing some performance for the sake of less noise, air cooler may be quieter due to the lack of a pump. 

[VelikiPCguy]

4 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

With PBO, more cooling = more performance. Depending on how much you want to push to cpu, either liquid or air may be quieter. 

If you don't mind sacrificing some performance for the sake of less noise, air cooler may be quieter due to the lack of a pump. 

So this one's got a pump, that one's got a fan, either way something in making noise... So best air cooler vs best AIO liquid cooler, which one is better for performance? And what about quietness?

[WoodenMarker]

7 minutes ago, NewwGuyy123 said:

So this one's got a pump, that one's got a fan, either way something in making noise... So best air cooler vs best AIO liquid cooler, which one is better for performance? And what about quietness?

An AIO can deliver better raw cooling performance for better cpu boosting. An air cooler can be quieter if you don't mind higher temps and less boosting. 

If you're oc'ing or using PBO, the load may be too heavy for low rpm air cooling. In that case, an AIO may be quieter especially at load. 

[VelikiPCguy]

On 5/6/2021 at 4:42 AM, WoodenMarker said:

An AIO can deliver better raw cooling performance for better cpu boosting. An air cooler can be quieter if you don't mind higher temps and less boosting. 

If you're oc'ing or using PBO, the load may be too heavy for low rpm air cooling. In that case, an AIO may be quieter especially at load. 

Interesting! So far the impression I've gotten is that top air coolers > top AIO coolers, as AIO coolers are more for pizzazz and glam, but you're saying they actually perform better too?

[WoodenMarker]

16 hours ago, NewwGuyy123 said:

Interesting! So far the impression I've gotten is that top air coolers > top AIO coolers, as AIO coolers are more for pizzazz and glam, but you're saying they actually perform better too?

The best performing AIO's can easily cool better than the best air coolers. Top end air coolers are enough for most cpus. The difference between high end air coolers and AIO's can be harder to see with lower thermal loads. 

[VelikiPCguy]

1 hour ago, WoodenMarker said:

The best performing AIO's can easily cool better than the best air coolers. Top end air coolers are enough for most cpus. The difference between high end air coolers and AIO's can be harder to see with lower thermal loads. 

Ah got it, thank you. So which AIO would you suggest as the best (not necessarily most cost-effective, just performance-wise) on the market currently?

[WoodenMarker]

4 minutes ago, NewwGuyy123 said:

Ah got it, thank you. So which AIO would you suggest as the best (not necessarily most cost-effective, just performance-wise) on the market currently?

There are numerous large AIO's that cool very well and would be plenty for the 5950x. It's hard to tell which performs the best since there isn't as much test data for comparing these coolers to each other. 

What case are you using? Where are you shopping / located?