AMD Ryzen 7 1800X AM4 8-Core Processor Review

Overclocking

Overclocking

Ryzen overclocking is something that we’ve been eager to get into, especially since every Ryzen chip features built-in overclocking features for you to enjoy. It’s simply down to your choice of motherboard that dictates if you have access to it or not. By default, the chip will overclock itself comfortably to 4GHz, even pushing up to 4.1GHz if you have enough thermal headroom left while running demanding tasks. You can, of course, lock in manual settings in the BIOS or by using the downloadable overclocking software from AMD.

I can’t stress enough that this chip is pretty small and packs 8 high-performance cores, and that means that it’s possible to get it pretty darn hot in a hurry. The CPU will downclock itself (unless you override the bios settings that control it) and even turn itself off to prevent damage, but step one would be to get a high-end air cooler, or water cooler if you’re taking the voltages up to or around 1.4-1.5v or beyond.

We did manage to get the system to POST at 4.2GHz with 1.5v, but the heat was creeping up and the system shut down. While I do think the system will bench at this level, we would need a more powerful cooler to keep it stable, but it seems possible with a custom loop. 4.1 GHz with 1.488v on the other hand, was much more successful and the temperatures were much more manageable. We did have to take the NB voltage to 1.15v, and disable boost features, but otherwise the system posted perfectly and made it through all of our benchmarks with flying colours.