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AMD AM5 - BIOS + "X3D" CPUs & RAM: Optimized
🕑 Added 2024-11-06 11:05:22 +0000 UTC
If you bought a brand new AMD AM5 Motherboard along with an AMD 7800X3D or 7950X3D or the newest 9800X3D, congratulations! You have the best architecture and CPU for gaming in the world right now!
That said, like for all things, the "stock" experience with those Motherboards and CPU configurations can be noticeably improved with faster boot times, increased performance and consistency, all while consuming less power and being more silent.
All of this by tweaking your BIOS so I will try to guide you at best for optimizing it the most :)
DISCLAIMER: Updating and changing BIOS settings will NOT void your warranty but it's still a very delicate process which should be done only in a stable environment (with no power loss) and only if you exactly know what you're doing. If you don't feel confident in doing so, you can stop reading right now.
DISCLAIMER #2: The following optimization guide is based on an ASUS AM5 Motherboard, but you'll find most settings in all other manufacturers' AM5 Motherboards, just in different places. If you don't find specific ones try using the Search function or still go ahead with the others.
1. Update your BIOS to its latest "Stable" version
First of all go to your manufacturer support webpage for your specific AM5 Motherboard, then under their Drivers/Utility/BIOS/Firmware section to find the latest Stable (not Beta) BIOS version to download. Once downloaded, extract it (and rename it using the specific .exe if you have an ASUS board) and put it in an USB drive formatted in FAT32.
Keep the USB drive plugged and turn off the PC.
Turn on the PC and keep pressing the F2 or Del key when you see the BIOS logo to enter the BIOS settings page.
From the Advanced Options / Tool section you can launch the BIOS update utility from which you can select the updated BIOS file in the USB drive and launch the update itself.
IMPORTANT: Be sure to have your current BIOS to its default settings BEFORE launching the update for it to be as smooth/without issues as possibile. If that's not the case, "Load Optimized Defaults" and reboot before launching the update.
Also DO NOT UNPLUG OR TURN OFF THE PC DURING THE ENTIRE UPDATE PROCESS
2. BIOS OPTIMIZATION (in Advanced Mode)
Select an "EXPO Tweaked" or XMP profile (if available) for your RAM: this will load an already tweaked/optimized and more importantly tested profile for your specific RAM with lower latency and faster speed
Starting with BIOS containing AMD AGESA update 1.2.0.2b, there is a new option called "Core tunings Configuration for gaming" (or "Latency Killer" in other BIOS) which I recommend to manually set to Level 1 (or Enabled in other BIOS) in order to noticeably lower memory latency (while staying stable) and therefore improve both 1% Low fps and Average fps in all games (up to +7%), along with much improved input latency
Enable both Power Down Enable and Memory Context Restore: usually under DRAM Timing Controls. It's important that both are enabled at the same time. This will drastically reduce the PC boot times from 20-40 seconds to only 6-10 seconds
Enable Core Performance Boost: this enables the CPU to use it's boost clocks; should be set to "Auto" which should already mean "Enabled", but better be sure and have it Enabled manually
Enable Medium Load Boostit: to make boost clocks both higher and more consistent also for medium load scenarios, for example games in particular
Set Precision Boost Overdrive to Enhancement: this is the latest version of PBO which will squeeze the most the CPU speed under load while respecting a temp limit which can be set below
Set the PBO Enhancement Thermal Limit to Level 1: for best and most consistent PBO performance. Don't worry about that 90°C temp limit, those CPUs will never reach that when setup with all my other settings. So we can move on to know why :)
Set CPU Boost Clock Override to Manual and set a Positive Override of 50: this is a very minor overclock which will ensure PBO to actually reach your maximum boost clock speeds when needed
Set Curve Optimizer to All Cores + Negative 20: this is a very important setting which will basically undervolt your CPU by a very good margin without being unstable for most users, ensuring that boost clock speeds are kept longer and in a more efficient way with cooler temps and quieter compared to stock. If for some reason you will face instability with this (for example Windows crashing entirely when you leave it alone in idle for a while) try lowering the value to 15 and see if it happens again. If yes lower it to 10
Disable "Native ASPM" & "CPU PCIE ASPM Mode Control": to remove energy efficiency states to PCIE to avoid microstutters in-game. The extra power draw with those states disabled is minimal while having constant and full PCIE bandwidth when needed is a much bigger benefit for games.
To be sure ASPM is totally disabled also search for these options and disable them if you have them:
PCI Express Native Power Management: DisabledASPM: Disabled
L1 Substates: Disabled
PEG ASPM: Disabled
DMI/Chipset ASPM: Disabled
Disable unused Controllers: for example you can disable the motherboard USB Audio Controller if you only use the dedicated GPU HDMI Audio or Bluetooth and LAN Controllers if you don't use them but you only use Wi-Fi or vice versa. The more you disable the less power you will use and the faster the PC will boot
Disable Legacy USB Support: if you have modern hardware (AM4/AM5 motherboards) to improve startup time and DPC latency
Manually set Global C-state Control to Enabled: as the default "Auto" setting may actually translate to "Disabled" for some motherboards and/or BIOS version. Manually setting Global C-state to "Enabled" will make sure AMD CPUs efficiency (both in Idle and under Max Load / Max Boost Clock) is preserved instead
[Only for 1 CCD CPUs - like 7800X3D/9800X3D and NOT 7950X3D/9950X3D]
Disable CPPC Preferred Cores: to let Windows treat all cores equally (as they're all P-Cores, equally Performant cores) and better distribute workload between them and guarantee smoother frametimes and less stutters in-game.
If on some motherboards you don't have the "Disabled" option but only one of these:
- Auto
- Driver
- Cache
- Frequency
Leave it to Auto
Disable both Clock Spread Spectrum and VRM Spread Spectrum: to ensure the CPU base clock is perfectly stable without artificial fluctuations introduced by Spread Spectrum (to try avoiding electromagnetic interferences with the nearby devices)
Personally not only I hadn't any issues with nearby devices with those two off, but the overall stability and framerate consistency have improved as well
Disable "Download & Install ARMOURY CRATE app" (for ASUS boards only): as Armoury Crate is borderline malware (resource hog, difficult to uninstall) and it's basically useless as you can do all it does via BIOS, Windows Update and much better applications. This setting change will prevent the PC to auto download/install it
3. Set a Manual/Optimized Fan Curve
After applying all the changes above and "Save and exit", re-enter the BIOS after reboot to set a custom fan curve for your new settings.
Let the PC settle with stock temperatures for 4-5 minutes, so don't touch anything, then enter Advanced Mode/Settings again and in case of ASUS BIOS click on Q-Fan icon and then on Optimize All or Q-Fan icon again located in the position above. The BIOS will automatically test all PC fans for the best curve possible for the settings in use and provide some changes at the end: accept that.
There should be something similar also for other manufacturers' AM5 BIOS.
4. "Save and Exit"...and Enjoy :)
Congratulations! After saving and rebooting into Windows you will now have a faster, more consistent, more responsive experience while also having lower temperatures and a quieter, Optimized experience.
5. Test the PC stability with OCCT (Optional but Recommended)
If you want to be 100% sure your PC is stable after all these tweaks, the best way to do that is by using OCCT (even the Free version is enough)
Just download it from here , put it in a folder (as it's portable, no installation required) and open it. Then:
1. Select the "CPU + RAM" test, leave all its configuration as is (default) and launch the test for 1 hour. If you pass it without errors, you're good! If you have even a single error during the test, you need to tweak down some values as it may be too aggressive for your specific hardware (the main culprit is usually the CPU Undervolt using Curve Optimizer, so if for example you used a Negative Curve at -20 and got errors there, try a less aggressive undervolt of -15 and repeat)
2. After you passed the CPU + RAM test, I also recommend to launch the "3D Adaptive" test changing from default settings the upper % of the GPU test (so from 10% to 100% instead of 60%) and change the increase interval to 5% (from 4%) each 30 seconds. If you also pass this 1 hour test, you're super good :D ! It means your entire PC config will be stable with everything you throw at it so if you still have crashes with some games, it's games' fault (software side) not yours (hardware side). If you instead have even a single error during this test, most probably you also need to use a less aggressive GPU Undervolt (to re-tweak in MSI Afterburner this time, not the BIOS) until you pass this test again.
BONUS:
BIOS versions usually reach a "mature" and actually stable status after around 1 year the release of a Motherboard
Further updating BIOS in the future may reset all your custom settings and you will need to re-enter all of them
If after updating the BIOS and all these tweaks everything is running fast, stable and with cool temps for you, you don't "have to" update your BIOS every time you see an update on your manufacturer site but you can stay with the version you have without issues
If you have crashes in Windows after the changes, the first thing to do is lowering Curve Optimizer Negative value for All Cores to something lower than 20 (so 15, 10, 5 etc.) and/or change the RAM EXPO preset to something else (like EXPO I or II instead of Tweaked) until everything is stable again
Enjoy! :)
-P
Comments
P40L0
This guide is definitely NOT compatible there. Sorry...
kaching
I have an Intel board from Asus, the Z790 Hero and I am not sure what to do here :(
P40L0
Yes if all your USB devices work properly after
Laurens
Paolo I have an gigabyte board not an amd should I still turn off legacy soppurt
P40L0
UPDATE #2 2025/08/12 - USB XHCI Hand-Off support is not recommended to be Disabled anymore as it's not causing latency issues anymore in Windows 11 (so if you have disabled it, you can re-enable it). Having a properly working USB XHCI Hand-Off will make USB 3.0 peripherals work better/faster as well - If your motherboard won't allow you to set CPPC Preferred Cores to "Disabled", leave it to Auto
Vlad760
Hi P4OL0, for my ASRock x870e Nova and 9800x3d For CPPC Dynamic preferred cores I have the following options, Auto,Driver,Cache, Frequency. Which one would be the correct one? Chat GPT said frequency but I want to double check
P40L0
UPDATE 2025/08/12 - After further testing, I recommend to disable ASPM entirely for more consistent PCIE bandwidth in-game and reduced microstutters (with a negligible higher power draw) - PSS Support and CPPC are not recommended to be entirely Disabled anymore as they include other benefits for boost clocks (so if you have disabled those, you can re-enable them). Only CPPC Preferred Cores is now recommended to be Disabled for 1 CCD CPUs (like 5800X3D/7800X3D/9800X3D)
P40L0
Not at the moment, but really: if you use the BIOS search function you should find most of these settings on any AM5 motherboards. If you can't find something try Google on how it is called on the different BIOS than ASUS
Laurens
Paolo can you make a guide for other motherboards like gigabyte aorus?
P40L0
UPDATE 2025/06/11 - Added the recommendation to disable both Clock Spread Spectrum and VRM Spread Spectrum - Lowered the universal Curve Optimizer negative value from -25 to -20 (as -25 can be a bit too much for stability as an universal suggested value) - Added Section 5 for testing the full PC stability with OCCT
P40L0
Choose Auto. On MSI Latency Killer should be = Level 2 on ASUS, which will show slightly less FPS in benchmarks but input latency will be lower. Level 1, selectable on ASUS boards, is better as you will preserve benchmarks performance (if not having improved performance up to +7%) while still having lower latency.
Emil Mathisen
on my msi board CPU PCIE ASPM Mode there is only the option for l0s entry l1 entry and l0s and l1 entry or auto what should i choose? also latency killer lowers fps there is an article about it https://www.pcgameshardware.de/Ryzen-7-9800X3D-CPU-280948/Specials/AMD-Latency-Killer-Test-Gaming-Leistung-1463077/
P40L0
Yes, I think you could apply everything you find exactly named as in the guide (or you're sure it's the exact match with a different name for other brands), but I didn't test it personally as I have AM5 so YMMV
ChexMix-n-KILL
Would (some) of these suggestions apply to the AM4 chips like the 5700x3D? Obviously my x570 motherboard only share some of these options but for C-States and other “timeless” settings are these tweaks still valid?
Eric Lunsford
Never seen #3 as an option before. Do you know which AMD motherboards have that feature?
P40L0
UPDATE 2025/05/14: Removed the suggestion to disable the iGPU as that could be useful for many reasons, including: 1) Multi-monitor setup where you can connect an HDMI to a dGPU and another HDMI to the iGPU of the motherboard and better use resources between them 2) You can manually assign light applications to the iGPU in Windows 11 Graphics options (as media players, Office apps, social apps etc.) in order to keep the dGPU in idle as much as possible to save power and make the PC more quiet/colder while still assigning the dGPU to heavier apps like games 3) On some motherboards you can share the VRAM pool between the iGPU/RAM and dGPU/VRAM for improved performance
P40L0
Not recommended. In Windows 11 is very important to have full screen optimizations in order to make Borderless Fullscreen behave like actual Fullscreen (including HDR, G-Sync, lower latency etc.) with the benefit of not tanking performance if you need to "Alt+Tab" and quickly do something else before returning to the game. High DPI scaling also very important for 4K TVs or High DPI monitors
DB
What do u think about disable fullscreen optimization + High DPI scaling override in the exe? And how would you do that in the GAmepass Version of games?
Albs
Hi Paolo on 9950x3d i have "Dynamic CPPC Preferred Cores" set to "driver": that's correct right?
P40L0
UPDATE 2025/04/20: Added the following new recommendation: [Only for 1 CCD CPUs - like 7800X3D/9800X3D and NOT 7950X3D/9950X3D] -Disable PSS Support: this is basically the new name of the old AMD "Cool'n'Quiet" feature (which auto-underclocked the CPU to reduce temps and noise) along with CPPC scheduling and disabling it will noticeably reduce stutters and input latency at the same time with no relevant downsides so far (around the same temps and power usage as with it Enabled by default) On other AM5 BIOS you may find this split in two options to disable: 1 ) CPPC 2) CPPC Preferred Cores
P40L0
UPDATE 2025/03/27: Manually set Global C-state Control to Enabled: as the default "Auto" setting may actually translate to "Disabled" for some motherboards and/or BIOS version. Manually setting Global C-state to "Enabled" will make sure AMD CPUs efficiency (both in Idle and under Max Load / Max Boost Clock) is preserved instead
P40L0
Try Googling (or ask ChatGPT) the MSI equivalent for the one I mentioned. Not all will exist on other brands tho...
Rene Kollmann
Would be great if we had the same tutorial for other MB's like MSI. Many of your settings I cant find in my BIOS with MSI Board.
P40L0
No, the Q-Fan curve in the BIOS is only for the CPU & Case fans, not the GPU. For the GPU I use this in MSI Afterburner: https://i.imgur.com/mJ8WPo6.png
Laurens
Paolo can I use your fan curve in msi burner too instead off bios ?
P40L0
UPDATE #2 01/29/2025: Sorry guys, I was wrong... I re-did the tests for "Core tunings Configuration for gaming" options (both performance, latency, input latency and stability tests with both Legacy, Level 1 and Level 2) and even if Legacy shown the lowest latency in AIDA64 and Geekbench, actual input latency (mouse movement, controllers response) was MUCH lower/better with Level 1 along with more consistent performance in gaming. I talked to an AMD engineer and he confirmed to me that based on how Level 1 and Level 2 optimizations work they may "trick" benchmarking softwares like AIDA64 and similar to think latency is higher, while it's the exact opposite in both Windows and gaming with them. Level 1 in my case produced a lower input latency and better performance than Level 2, so is back again as my main recommendation (+ all OCCT stress tests with it passed as well). Sorry again for the confusion!
P40L0
No, you can still use everything as usual. That just means if USB3.x are natively supported by the OS or not
Laurens
Paolo if I turn off legacy usb soppurt and xhci hand off does that mean I can’t use my controller with usb cable anymore ?
P40L0
UPDATE 01/29/2025: - After new stability tests (done with OCCT), "Core tunings Configuration for gaming" (or "Latency Killer" in other BIOS) is now recommended to Legacy (or Enabled in other BIOS) again. This will ensure the best performance while preserving system stability for any type of task/game
Emil Mathisen
Should make a grub guide to weak hidden settings
P40L0
UPDATE 12/30/2024: - After further tests, "Core tunings Configuration for gaming" (or "Latency Killer" in other BIOS) is now recommended to Level 1 (or Enabled in other BIOS)
P40L0
Mmmh, I would say no as those are targeting AMD AM5 chipsets.
Laurens
Can I use some of these settings for an Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master DDR5 motherboard and intel cpu ?
P40L0
UPDATE 12/19/2024: - Starting with BIOS containing AGESA update 1.2.0.2b, there is a new option called "Core tunings Configuration for gaming" (or "Latency Killer" in other BIOS) which I recommend to manually set to "Legacy" in order to noticeably lower memory latency (while staying stable) and therefore improve 1% low fps in all games (up to +7%)
