In a surprising turn of events, Gigabyte hasannouncedits new X3D Turbo Mode feature for its motherboards. This feature is designed to boost the performance of AMD’sRyzen 7000X3D,Ryzen 9000X3D, andRyzen 9000processors by up to 20%—35%. The company said that the X3D Turbo Mode is a set of ‘unique optimization parameters’ that can tangibly improve the performance of AMD’s CPUs.
Gigabyte says the X3D Turbo Mode feature will be available on its AMD X870E, X870, and 600-series motherboards with the F4e BIOS version and AMD’s AGESA 1.2.0.2a. The capability reportedly boosts gaming performance by up to 35% for incoming Ryzen 9000X3D CPUs, up to 20% for Ryzen 9000 processors, and by an unknown margin for Ryzen 7000X3D products without clearly specifying the baseline for comparison. Yet, it acknowledges that performance improvement depends on ‘processor model and DRAM conditions.’
Gigabyte goes so far as to say that the X3D Turbo Mode enables Ryzen 9000 CPUs ‘to achieve similar gaming performance levels as their Ryzen X3D counterparts,’ which is a bold claim considering that3D V-Cacheprovides substantial single-thread performance improvements that tangibly boost game performance.
Gigabyte does not disclose how exactly its X3D Turbo Mode works nor specify whether it involves overclocking or boosting power limits. It does say that the ‘unique optimization parameters’ enable ‘smoother gameplay, higher frame rates, and reduced latency,’ which implies memory subsystem tuning. However, it is hard to believe that tweaking memory parameters alone can deliver performance increases between 20% and 35%.
Considering that Gigabyte promises performance boosts for AMD’s Ryzen 7000X3D, Ryzen 9000X3D, and Ryzen 9000 CPUs, the company is doing something not specific to AMD’s Zen 5-based Ryzen 9000 series but that works for bothRyzen 7000and 9000 series (but not for Ryzen 8000 series for some reason).
It should also be taken into account that Gigabyte’s X3D Turbo Mode requires AMD’s AGESA 1.2.0.2a. It is possible that the CPU designer itself discovered a way to improve the performance of its products, and Gigabyte uses the new set of parameters for its X3D Turbo Mode. Anyhow, let us wait and see what this mode is all about.
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Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.
