3 ms·

> And of note; an 1800 base freq is on the low end of the performance/watt curve we've seen from their other products. Maybe AMD expects most workloads to not u

> And of note; an 1800 base freq is on the low end of the performance/watt curve we've seen from their other products. Maybe AMD expects most workloads to not use all 8 cores properly and let the boost algo max the cores out? The 1.8ghz base freq is just to hit the desired 15W TDP. The approach is pick a TDP, say 15W, then adjust base freq for the core count to hit that. That's why the 8C ends up at 1.8ghz base while the lower-end 4C has 2.9ghz base freq. Then let turbo be the thing that everyone actually uses on a daily basis, because base frequency is irrelevant. It's not actually an input into anything the CPU does for either AMD or Intel. The CPU is monitoring its power draw to stay in a power budget and a temperature budget. What speed it ends up running at is then not just dependent on how many cores are used but also what type of instructions they are running. It's a fully-dynamic system these days, making single-number specs useless.

jotm 7y ago
Man, I hope the TDP is adjustable, as well as the voltage, like many Intel chips. Would be great to see what these chips can do.
- dannyw 7y ago
  All AMD Ryzen chips, even the cheapest $50 3000G (technically branded an 'Athlon') are fully unlocked and you can adjust everything to your hearts desire. Unlike Intel, AMD does not charge extra for unlocked chips. It's not like it matters tho anyway: with Zen2, PDO2 pretty much pushes your chip up to the limits of thermal constraints. I'm looking at Ryzen Master right now, and my TDP is "1000W".
- kllrnohj 7y ago
  Given this is a laptop it doesn't really make sense to adjust the TDP even if you can. You're going to be limited by the laptop's cooling solution, which is going to be at best sufficient for factory settings but nothing more. More commonly it's actually not quite sufficient for factory settings, leading to thermal throttling over sustained loads.
  - jotm 7y ago
    Oh I am well aware. Laptop coolers are barely good enough, without exception. It's fascinating really, it's like they want their systems to run at close to throttling temperatures, so they last a tad bit longer than their warranty. Doesn't bother me, I've got 2 hands and 2 eyes, anything can be modified with those. Except encrypted BIOSes, for now :D

jotm 7y ago

Man, I hope the TDP is adjustable, as well as the voltage, like many Intel chips. Would be great to see what these chips can do.

dannyw 7y ago
All AMD Ryzen chips, even the cheapest $50 3000G (technically branded an 'Athlon') are fully unlocked and you can adjust everything to your hearts desire. Unlike Intel, AMD does not charge extra for unlocked chips. It's not like it matters tho anyway: with Zen2, PDO2 pretty much pushes your chip up to the limits of thermal constraints. I'm looking at Ryzen Master right now, and my TDP is "1000W".
kllrnohj 7y ago
Given this is a laptop it doesn't really make sense to adjust the TDP even if you can. You're going to be limited by the laptop's cooling solution, which is going to be at best sufficient for factory settings but nothing more. More commonly it's actually not quite sufficient for factory settings, leading to thermal throttling over sustained loads.
- jotm 7y ago
  Oh I am well aware. Laptop coolers are barely good enough, without exception. It's fascinating really, it's like they want their systems to run at close to throttling temperatures, so they last a tad bit longer than their warranty. Doesn't bother me, I've got 2 hands and 2 eyes, anything can be modified with those. Except encrypted BIOSes, for now :D