How to find a good CPU to OC??

[heavy666]

Hey guys long time no see, it's been a while since I played with Overclock, back in the day we used to share step codes for the best chips. How can I spot a good CPU nowadays? It's really a lottery?
Right now I'm thinking about getting a R5 3600 or a 3600x (they are about the same price where I live). Any good tips? I heard that faster ram is something definitely I should be aiming for, right?
I'm going for a cheap B450M Pro-M2 Max
3600x as it's only like 3% more expensive than the regular 3600
memory I'm still looking for some cheap 3200Mhz 2x8 gb cas 15
I'm sticking with my case, psu and VGA.

So gimme your thoughts xD thx guys.

 

[trents]

All Ryzens overclock about the same. Overclock if you can call it that as generally you cannot get even to the max turb frequency when overclocking all cores. There is very little variation from one chip to the other. They are all overclocked practically to the limit from the factory. Not much different with Intel these days. Not like the old days partner. You can let go of that.

If you are only going for 3200 mhz on the RAM with a Ryzen 3000 then you will probably be good with most G.Skill products except maybe Aeries. I would recommend G.Skill since they seem to have fewer compatibility issues than other brands. Once you get below CL16 it gets more expensive and you won't notice the difference.

Your choice of motherboard seems good to me.

 

[bigtallanddopey]

Hey guys long time no see, it's been a while since I played with Overclock, back in the day we used to share step codes for the best chips. How can I spot a good CPU nowadays? It's really a lottery?
Right now I'm thinking about getting a R5 3600 or a 3600x (they are about the same price where I live). Any good tips? I heard that faster ram is something definitely I should be aiming for, right?
I'm going for a cheap B450M Pro-M2 Max
3600x as it's only like 3% more expensive than the regular 3600
memory I'm still looking for some cheap 3200Mhz 2x8 gb cas 15
I'm sticking with my case, psu and VGA.

So gimme your thoughts xD thx guys.

First of all Ryzen CPUs do not OC very well so if you are looking for a cpu for some overclocking as a hobby and challenge they may not be the best thing. Basically AMDs boost technology gets quite a bit out of the chip anyway and having an all core overclock does not always yield good gains in performance. That’s what I have noticed using Ryzen anyway.

Secondly, if you are looking to OC a Ryzen chip and get the most out of it, the better chips are usually better binned chips and you can often get a little more OC headroom out of them. So the 3600x may overclock higher than a plain 3600 and a 3800x may overclock higher than a 3700x even though they are the “same” cpu. This is not always the case, you may win the silicone lottery and get a 3600 that performs better than a 3600x. However that is all down to chance.

Faster ram is definitely an advantage for Ryzen, I believe the sweet spot is around 3700 (can’t remember the exact number) so if you can afford some 3600 ram then that would be ideal. However 3200 ram is more than adequate. Ram timings and overclocking are where you can easily spend the most time with Ryzen if you are trying to get as much performance out as possible.

Also, whilst Ryzen CPUs do come with a stock cooler and they are adequate for the most part. If you are overclocking you will want to look into an aftermarket cooler. A decent air one or 240mm AiO would be ideal.

 

[Woomack]

In general, higher CPUs are a better option as they already have a higher clock and are usually based on a bit better chips.
As far as overclocking itself, then on air or average water cooling like popular AIO, you can't really OC Ryzens. Good is when you reach a boost clock using all cores.
My luck (maybe 15 different chips) was that X chips were overclocking a bit better and had a better memory controller, but not much.
On cheap motherboards, I wouldn't count on overclocking at all and it's good when all run at stock settings without throttling or any other issues.

Regarding memory OC. On B450 can't count on much more than 3200. Good is when a motherboard runs up to 3600. On X570, most above-average motherboards will go up to 4600-4800 but also in most cases, anything above 3600-3733 has no point as the performance is the same or worse.

 

[trents]

But it also needs to be said that above about 3700 mhz RAM frequency and there is decoupling of the infinity fabric so there is no longer a 1:1 ratio. That would introduce some performance penalty until you get significantly past that decoupling point. And in the component price range you are looking at and with a b450 motherboard base I wouldn't consider ultra fast RAM. I would go for 3600 mhz CL 16 or CL 18 G. Skill if it's available to you at a reasonable price.

 

[DaveB]

I have a similar cheap MSI B450 motherboard, the B450M Pro-VDH. It has no problem running G.Skill DDR4-3600 16-19-19-19 memory at it's spec rating. The motherboard also has no issues running a 12c/24t Ryzen 9 3900X either under PBO or slightly overclocked. I chose to run it under PBO since I seldom run 24 thread 100% apps and for normal programs and games cores 0 through 5 will run at 4.6 GHz to 4.65 GHz under PBO. Cores 6 through 11 will only run at 4.35 GHz to 4.45 GHz max anyway which limits the all core overclock to around 4.3 GHz. So for my uses, it will run faster under PBO than it would overclocked to 4.3 GHz all cores. Plus it runs cooler and quieter.

 

[DeViLzzz2010]

All Ryzens overclock about the same. Overclock if you can call it that as generally you cannot get even to the max turb frequency when overclocking all cores. There is very little variation from one chip to the other. They are all overclocked practically to the limit from the factory. Not much different with Intel these days. Not like the old days partner. You can let go of that.

If you are only going for 3200 mhz on the RAM with a Ryzen 3000 then you will probably be good with most G.Skill products except maybe Aeries. I would recommend G.Skill since they seem to have fewer compatibility issues than other brands. Once you get below CL16 it gets more expensive and you won't notice the difference.

Your choice of motherboard seems good to me.

Listen to this guy for sure. Oh and still even without OCing really being a thing anymore Ryzen does run better with faster ram.