BIOS Updates for Ryzen: Asus Turbo Game Mode Disables 2nd CCD and SMT 160 comments
For days, Gigabyte has been promoting an “X3D Turbo Mode” via BIOS updates for AM5 motherboards. The mode will most likely disable the 2nd chiplet and simultaneous multithreading (SMT) on dual-chiplet Ryzen (Ryzen 9), and possibly also enable EXPO. Asus already offers a similar mode.
This is what Asus Turbo Gaming Mode does
The mode there is called “Turbo Game Mode”, which should be less confusing than Gigabyte’s “X3D Turbo Mode”, which has no specific reference to the X3D processor.
Techtip took a look at what Asus mode does on the Asus ROG X870E Crosshair Hero. The corresponding BIOS version has the build number 0605 Beta and can be downloaded by anyone in the support area.
The release notes promise higher performance thanks to Turbo gaming mode “in select games.”
Include Turbo Gaming Mode: Improve performance in certain games. Update AGESA version to Combo AM5 PI 1.2.0.2a: improve compatibility and performance.
After installation, it becomes obvious what the mode does at Asus: it disables a potential 2nd processor core chipset on Ryzen 9 and simultaneous multi-threading. EXPO is not activated.
Tweaks can be an advantage in some games that can’t handle too many cores or threads. However, in applications that rely on multi-core performance, there are downsides to disabling full cores and SMT – Asus highlights this when enabling the mode.
The screenshots below were taken on a single chiplet processor where the mode only disables SMT.
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