Rumour Suggests Only “X” Ryzen CPUs Have XFR Auto OC

As one of the biggest launches of the year from AMD, the long awaiting Ryzen processors have been subject to a barrage of leaks and speculation. While this latest report is nothing more than an unverified rumor at this point, there is enough merit for us to bring it to your attention. According to sleuthing done by Reddit and TPU, there is enough information to suggest that the XFR feature may be exclusive to the “X” branded Ryzen processors.

XFR or eXtended Frequency Range is part of AMD’s new suite of SenseMI technologies. Using a host of onboard sensors, the CPU is now capable of pushing itself past it’s specified turbo boost clocks when the TDP, power and temperature thresholds are met. AMD has even gone so far to claim that with just a better cooler, it’s possible or XFR to boost the chip higher. This is somewhat like the dynamic boosts we are seeing with GPU clocks with a base clock floor, a set factory boost clock and an even higher real world boost speed in many cases that exceeds the factory boost clock.

The real hint comes in the upcoming R7 1700, 1700X and 1800X. According to recent rumors, all three chips are 8 core 16 thread processors. The 1700 clocks in a mere 300 MHz (3.7 GHz) below the 1800X (4 GHz) yet costs only about 66% of the price which would severely undercut the 1800X. However, if we limit XFR to just the “X” processors, the real world performance of the 1700 would be stuck at 3.7 GHz while the 1800X would blow right past 4 GHz.

XFR being the defining feature makes a lot of sense as well once you consider AMD’s own SenseMI slide. Looking at the *, you can note that only select Ryzen processors will feature XFR and the “X” moniker would be an obvious distinguishing mark. The lower 65W TDP of the R7 1700 also makes sense as a way of holding back the chip as well. Of course, since it is unlocked, there is nothing stopping users from overclocking themselves. I would expect the “X” chips to be binned better though.