For a while now, there has been speculation about AMD planning to increase the TDP of some of its new Zen 5 CPUs. In fact, we reported on a leak a few weeks ago that AMD would be upping the TDP of the Ryzen 7 9700X and the Ryzen 5 9600X.
In the same leak, it was also mentioned that users would have the option to switch to the high TDP mode or keep it low for power efficiency. While it was not confirmed back then, it looks like the rumors were true. It has been a rollercoaster ride for the 9000 series, especially when you consider that AMD was also planning (last minute) on 105W for the 9700X.
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D launches today!
AMD has finally launched the highly anticipated 9800X3D, vowing for gaming CPU supremacy for another year. Below are the latest listings we can find
Prices correct as of November 7th, 2024.
MSI’s next BIOS update offers new “TDP to 105W” setting
As pointed out by X user kuroberumo, MSI is now offering a new option, “TDP to 105W,” to increase the TDP of the Ryzen 7 9700X and the Ryzen 5 9600X.
The X (Twitter) post also tested the CPU with the boosted 105W TDP on Cinebench, and noted a 13% increase in performance. As can be seen in the screenshot above, the Ryzen 7 9700X scored 20,409 with the original 65W TDP. However, the R23 multi-core score went up to 23,153 points with the increased TDP of 105W.
So far, there has been no confirmation from AMD, and MSI has not shared any public announcement about this feature either. It is possible that this new TDP mode will be available with the next BIOS update. In fact, the earlier leak did mention that this feature will be available with the upcoming AGESA 1.2.0.1a Patch A BIOS update.
In case you missed it, AMD released the Ryzen 9000 series processors earlier this month. The Zen 5 CPUs were advertised as “power efficient,” which the Ryzen 7 9700X and the Ryzen 5 9600X tried to achieve with 65W TDP.
However, the reviews for the processors have been underwhelming, so AMD’s solution to that might be increasing the TDP. The increased power consumption did result in a 13% performance boost. Plus, users have a choice not to turn up the TDP, which is great for users who don’t need a performance boost. Furthermore, a recent optional Windows 11 update aids performance too.
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