AMD Turbo Core & 1090T OCing question(s)

[Sunny129]

i'm not sure if this is the best forum for this question, but since Turbo Core technology essentially overclocks certain cores on a Thuban CPU, i figured i'd start here. you see, i'm trying to reconcile Anand's description of how Turbo Core works with what's actually happening with my Phenom II 1090T CPU. in two different articles, he explains that Turbo Core-enabled AMD CPUs only actually enter Turbo mode when half (3) or more cores are idle, at which point the idle cores are underclocked to as little as 800MHz, and the remaining active cores receive a frequency boost of up to 500MHz above their default clock speed (3.7GHz in the case of the 1090T). in any other situation (2 idle cores or less), all 6 cores operate at the default 3.2GHz. he then goes one to point out that, while Turbo Core seems to work, he rarely ever saw any of the boosted cores reach 3.6GHz, he did see the occasional 3.4GHz boost, this point is illustrated in one of his screen shots:

now i have been unable to get the AMD Overdrive utility to work on my computer for whatever reason, so i unfortunately cannot verify that the 6 cores on my 1090T CPU are behaving similarly to the ones on the 1090T in Anand's review (with the same software suite anyways). however, i was able to install the third party software "Core Temp" without a problem. but it is giving me results that contradict both Turbo Core's capabilities and Anand's experience with it. currently i'm crunching for Einstein@Home 24/7 using all 6 cores, and Core Temp is telling me that all 6 cores are operating at 3724.24MHz (232.77 x 16.0), even though all 6 cores are under 100% load crunching for E@H. first of all, according to how Turbo Core works, all 6 of my cores should be running at the default 3.2GHz since all 6 cores are active. secondly, this is a 525MHz OC on all six cores, which is far better than anything Anand experienced in his review. and so i have to wonder if something is amiss. According to the AMD Overdrive utility, Anand rarely saw a 400MHz boost to 3.6GHz (on how many cores i don't know, but it would appear to be just one core based on the illustration above), and occasionally saw a 200MHz boost to 3.4GHz (again, on how many cores i don't know, but it would appear to be just one core based on the illustration above). according to Core Temp, i'm getting a 525MHz boost to 3.7GHz on all 6 cores under 100% CPU load?!?

this doesn't even make sense, given that AMD Turbo Core isn't meant to boost performance when all 6 cores are in use, but rather to boost performance of a few cores for tackling applications that use one or very few threads while the other cores remain idle.

**something that just dawned on me is the fact that my mobo is an ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3. the only thing i've played with in the BIOS so far are memory timings...i've left everything else at its default setting for now. is it possible my mobo's auto-OCing features are enabled by default? perhaps that's why Core Temp is reporting unusually high clock speeds considering i haven't gone out of my way to OC the CPU myself yet? also, i thought Turbo Core has to be disabled in the BIOS in order to have any sort of system stability while OCing? i'd appreciate any insight fellow AT'ers. :$

*EDIT* ijust remembered that i installed just about everything on the ASUS driver and utility disk, including ASUS Turbo V EVO, an OCing utility accessible in Windows. when i ran the utility, i noticed that the CPU base clock was set to 232MHz instead of the default 200MHz...that would explain a 3.725GHz OC. but it doesn't explain MY 3.725GHz OC b/c i don't have ASUS Turbo V EVO enabled on start-up. is something in the BIOS meant to OC in its default setting? and again, what about AMD Turbo Core? everyone i've seen OCing a Thuban so far has disabled Turbo Core. i was under the impression that it had to be disabled in order to maintain stable OCs. is this a myth?

TIA,
Eric

 

[Rhoxed]

I actually use turbo core for my OC 3.5ghz and 4.125ghz turbo, and mine works exactly how it should, ramps up unless all 6 cores are used. - This is if im not running 4.2ghz on all cores to bench etc.

 

[richierich1212]

maybe the AMD Overdrive utility has some registry values stuck or something even after uninstalling it?

 

[Sunny129]

I actually use turbo core for my OC 3.5ghz and 4.125ghz turbo, and mine works exactly how it should, ramps up unless all 6 cores are used. - This is if im not running 4.2ghz on all cores to bench etc.

ok good...so achieving stable OCs with Turbo Core enabled is not a myth.

maybe the AMD Overdrive utility has some registry values stuck or something even after uninstalling it?

hmm...perhaps you're right. to be more specific about my experience with the AMD Overdrive utility, it seemed to install without a hitch. it wasn't until i tried to run the program that i found a runtime error that occurs a second or two after initialization (while the splash screen is still showing). at this point, Overdrive stalls (meaning it doesn't freeze up b/c i can still terminate it by right clicking and choosing "close", yet i can't do anything useful with it either...it just kind of sits there at the splash screen). so while i haven't been able to use Overdrive's functionality to make any changes to Turbo Core or clock speeds (or any other settings for that matter), it did install without errors. i suppose simply installing AMD Overdrive can change registry values just like the installation of many other applications. but would simply installing AMD Overdrive actually OC my system if i haven't yet run the utility and changed any settings?

btw, i never uninstalled it, despite it not working on my computer. perhaps i'll uninstall it when i get home from work today and see what happens with respect to clock speeds and core boosting...

 

[Sunny129]

ok, so i figured a few things out since yesterday. first of all, i uninstalled AMD Overdrive just to be sure that it wasn't causing my "phantom" OC. it turned out to be the Turbo Key II toggle switch on the mobo itself. the ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 ships with the switch in the "on" position for whatever reason. i turned it off and rebooted, leaving all other BIOS settings at their defaults (save for memory timings), and sure enough Core Temp now reports all 6 cores @ 3.2GHz. i have Turbo Core enabled, and so i've noticed the occasional jump to 3.6GHz by one of the 6 cores when 3 or more cores are idle, but i have yet to see the idle cores drop below the default 3.2GHz when a core boosts up to 3.6GHz, which i find quite odd. another interesting thing i noticed is the difference between temps under 100% CPU load @ 3.2GHz and 3.7GHz. when the Turbo Key II switch was on and my CPU was @ 3.7GHz, i was getting ~45°C under full load. now that its running at the default 3.2GHz, my full load CPU temp is now only ~33°C.

 

[richierich1212]

lol I have the same mobo (non-G) and never bothered with the turbo key. Sorry Sunny.

 

[Phynaz]

I have the feeling your temps aren't reading correctly. All six cores loaded and you are only at 33 degrees...Sounds too low to me.

 

[Sunny129]

I have the feeling your temps aren't reading correctly. All six cores loaded and you are only at 33 degrees...Sounds too low to me.

i agree...at least @ the default 3.2GHz it would seem that way. but my core temps of ~45°C @ 3.7GHz under 100% load seem quite normal...i'm still trying to get to the bottom of this. since we're talking about CPU/core temps, i should mention that i'm cooling on air using the Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme with the fan on its lowest setting (~1150rpm). i've also used Arctic Silver 5 for thermal paste.