Welcome back PCWorld fans for a look at fresh features coming to AMD Radeon Software that should
help you all grab a little extra performance without any effort. I know times are tough, and
grabbing new components is hard, but if you manage to get your hands on the latest AMD processors and
graphics cards then it’s never been easier to speed things up just a bit more. This is thanks
to a CPU and GPU Auto Overclocking utility built right into the latest Radeon Software Adrenalin
version 21 point 9 point 2. Let’s get into what you’ll need, how to do it, and if it's worth it.
As we get started on this adventure with AMD Radeon Software’s Auto Overclocking
feature there are a couple of key items you’ll need to have in place
for the time being. First on the list is a Radeon RDNA2 based RX 6000 Series graphics card.
Right now for desktop users, that ranges from the most recent Radeon RX 6600 XT all the way up to
the behemoth Radeon RX 6900 XT. While we don’t see support for the Radeon RX 5000 Series right now I
wouldn’t count that line out just yet since we saw the release of Smart Access Memory come recently.
Okay, that takes care of the graphics card, but what about the CPU? Just like with the graphics
card there is a limit, this time it’s limited to the Zen 3 based Ryzen 5000 Series CPUs. Meaning
Ryzen 5 5600 Series up to the Ryzen 9 5950X will be required to take advantage of this option.
While there doesn’t seem to be a motherboard chipset limitation outside of needing to support
the Ryzen 5000 Series CPUs, I would presume that the better support from the motherboard
the better this feature could work. Because of that, I would recommend this more for a 500 Series
chipset owner, so the b550 and x570 crew. However, I would encourage you to at least give it a try
if you’ve got a 400 Series chipset as there is no reason to not take advantage of free performance.
Okay, so you’ve got everything you need to get this feature cranked up.
Now what? Pretty simple from here on out, but here goes.
First, make sure you’ve got the latest Radeon Settings driver,
at least version 21 point 9 point 2, in order to have access to this feature.
Second, navigate to the performance tab at the top of Radeon Settings. Once there
go to the tuning tab just below the Performance tab.
Now you’ll simply change the tuning control under Automatic Tuning from Default to Auto Overclock.
When you click that option you’ll get a warning letting you know your system may crash or reboot,
and that a system restart will be required to complete this process. If you’re wondering why
you get this warning is because anytime you run your processor or graphics card past the factory
specification it can cause some instability, but this isn’t going to go for crazy overclocks
so chances are you’ll not experience any hiccups. Click proceed to auto overclock if you so dare!
Lastly, just sit back and let the system restart after taking some quick measurements. Once you’re
back in Windows, open up Radeon Settings to see what the results were for your auto overclock.
The Auto OC on my test bench equipped with a Ryzen 9 5900X and Radeon RX 6700 XT
resulted in a modest boost in clocks. The CPU getting about a 4 percent or 200MHz uptick
and the GPU is now pushed up about the same 4 percent to 2714MHz for the core. Keep in mind
that the GPU will only auto-overclock the GPU core and not increase the memory speed.
But what does that mean for performance? Well, it helped for sure, but my results weren’t
mind-blowing. Taking a look at 3DMark Time Spy we see the graphics performance doesn’t budge
much, however, the CPU score did go up. The lack of GPU up-tick is likely because the RX 6700 XT
was boosting quite high already, even at stock.
What about actual gaming? Well, I ran a couple of games through to check it out at both 1080p
and 1440p. If Forza Horizon 4 is your jam then don’t expect much to change in performance
as these parts seem to really be cranking out the frames in this title at both resolutions.
Watchdogs Legion did however get a slight bump in performance at both resolutions.
Not a big jump in any way, but more performance is more performance in my book.
At the end of the day, it’s great to see a continued effort to add more beneficial features
to the Radeon Software suite. The hardware is a fixed metric so once you buy it you own it,
and it’s the software support that really makes the purchase hold up over time.
Pairing CPU and GPU auto overclocking support within the Radeon Software suite
wasn’t something I honestly ever expected so it’s a nice surprise. While high-end enthusiasts
might scoff at the idea, the folks who want a little more performance but don’t want to become
an expert overclocker now have a useful tool at their disposal. Now I’d like to thank you for
joining in today’s video and let me know if you enjoyed it by hitting that thumbs up and make
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