AMD Motherboard Power Adjustments Could Shorten The Lifespan Of Your CPU

Recently revealed information suggests that some X570 motherboard sellers are misreporting key measurements of AMD’s Ryzen processors to overstate performance.

Motherboard sellers are adjusting the board’s stock power limits to allow the processor to draw more power – hence, upping the figures they list on their product page. However, this also generates more heat which can sadly have an effect on the chip’s lifespan.

Can Motherboard Sellers Do This?

It’s a fairly standard procedure for motherboard vendors to adjust the chip’s stock power limits. Pretty much every vendor makes tweaks to Intel chips. However, Intel actually approves these power limit adjustments. This is because these adjustments don’t interfere with the chip’s lifespan.

When it comes to AMD chips, that assurance isn’t there. According to a post by The Stilt on HWinfo boards, this could result in a much shorter lifespan for the processor.

“In short: Some motherboard manufacturers intentionally declare an incorrect (too small) motherboard specific reference value in AGESA. Since AM4 Ryzen CPUs rely on telemetry sourced from the motherboard VRM to determine their power consumption, declaring an incorrect reference value will affect the power consumption seen by the CPU. For instance, if the motherboard manufacturer would declare 50% of the correct value, the CPU would think it consumes half the power than it actually does,” The Stilt explained in the post.

Why Is This Such A Problem For The CPU?

The forum user went on to explain why this is such an issue and why people need to be aware of it.

“In this case, the CPU would allow itself to consume twice the power of its set power limits, even when at stock. It allows the CPU to clock higher due to the effectively lifted power limits; however, it also makes the CPU run hotter and potentially negatively affects its life-span, the same ways as overclocking does. The difference compared to overclocking or using AMD PBO, is that this is done completely clandestine and that in the past, there has been no way for most of the end-users to detect it, or react to it.”

HWinfo has, in response to this, announced a brand new feature called the “CPU Power Reporting Deviation”. This allows users to detect any inaccuracies in the motherboard’s firmware. It’s free to download and all you need to do is put your CPU through multithreaded tests which will help to monitor the real values.

“Since at least two of the largest motherboard manufacturers still insist on using this exploit to gain an advantage over their competitors despite being constantly asked and told not to, we thought it would be only fair to allow the consumers to see if their boards are doing something they’re not supposed to do,” HWinfo said.

This is certainly something to consider if you currently have or are thinking of buying an AMD CPU and an X570 motherboard. If we hear any updates on this, we will keep you updated.