Ryzen Mobile Tuning Program Offers Overclocking-Like Capabilities for Ryzen Mobile La

[harlan4096]

As close as you can get to overclocking a Ryzen laptops

Reddit user kbsk1 has created a free program called "Renoir Mobile Tuning" (via Twitter), allowing users to manipulate power and thermal parameters on Renoir Ryzen Mobile 4000 series CPUs. This is a great solution for Ryzen laptops owners who want to tweak their processors to extract the most performance or efficiency. 

This tool can come in handy if you want to achieve better performance on your Ryzen laptop. The program allows you to dial in a higher-than-OEM power limit, which then keeps CPU clocks higher, and for longer, than the laptop would normally run under high load. Be aware, though, that you will probably bump up against the limits of the laptop's cooling subsystem, and increasing the power limits will also likely reduce battery life. In either case, this is about as close as you can get to overclocking a Ryzen laptop.

Controlling temperatures and increasing the longevity of Ryzen CPUs could be the most interesting use-case, though. Ryzen 4000 mobile CPUs are notorious for having super-aggressive boost algorithms that keep the processors in high temperature ranges. It isn't uncommon to see temperatures hit around the 95C range, and some laptops average 100C under full load. Technically these temperatures are in spec, the chips can reach 105C before throttling, and they have in-built mechanisms to prevent them from reaching exceeding the spec.

In either case, the relatively high chip temperatures result in more heat output from the laptop. As usual, dialing back the limits can also increase power efficiency (i.e., battery life) at the cost of a small amount of performance. So, for those of you who are interested in reducing temperatures or perhaps squeezing out a bit more battery life, you can decrease the temperature limit significantly with the Ryzen Mobile Tuning program. You can also decrease the power limit, which is obviously another method for reducing CPU temperatures and power consumption.

Just be aware that this is a third-party program, so use it at your own risk. Especially if you plan on increasing power limits, thus increasing stress on the laptop's CPU, cooling, and power delivery subsystem. The program is free, and you can download it on Github, but proceed at your own risk. 
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