Nova 3700X - Benchmarking & Manual OC\UV

[mrlip]

Originally I was going to post this as part of my review of the Nova here but the post was getting a bit long so I thought it would be best to split it out.

You will see from the review that at default settings with the standard default Ryzen Master profile and CCC set to Performance Mode that the laptop was performing very well and within thermal limits. However, I wanted to start to bring down fan noise a little and just to get the temps down slightly for better optimization so I started to dig into undervolting, which on this machine configuration, also means you need to get into manual setting clock speeds to as Ryzen Master doesn't allow you to adjust just voltage and there is no offset voltage option in the BIOS either.

I am sure many of you will know, laptop chipsets notoriously have high stock voltage, I've seen as much as 1.45-1.5V used in some cores with the stock settings just prior to doing these tests. This can spike heat dramatically.

So I thought I would upload my test results and finding as others may find it useful. Please note, these are just base findings at the minute. Only 1 Cinebench multicore render test was done in the majority of cases just to confirm it would pass. I would recommend more benchmarking\stress tests would need to be carried out if you were going to use some of these settings to check stability.

My main aim was to try get the best performance possible in exchange for temps being around the mid 70's with potentially the odd spike in to the 80's. This keeps fan noise on the good side of things. You can see from my results that the 3700X is an incredibly versatile chip and I was quite surprised when it ran under 1 Volt for 3.8GHz all cores. Also worth nothing that SMT has quite a big impact on temperatures as expected.

Any questions or input please let me know! I need to go back and put the Ryzen Master profile back to default and run the benchmark again just so I have a stock settings and stock voltage comparison on the sheet but its getting late now so that's a job for tomorrow!

EDIT: New sheet now uploaded with stock values included for comparison

 

[mrlip]

A further note on anyone who is looking to manually clock or volt a Ryzen on a Clevo chassis, turns out that the Ryzen Master and Clevo Control Center do not get along.

Been tearing my hair out most the day wondering why undervolts and clock settings which I know should be stable kept reverting to default settings when gaming. As I am pretty much new to AMD Processors, At first I thought perhaps Ryzen Master had a failsafe in to revert them back to defaults if unstable during load/gaming. But then remembered, several hours later, having BSODs when trying some of these settings so didn’t think it was that. Also thought perhaps it was the game itself trying to gain max performance or a windows power plan changing etc. Never really thought of CCC interfering until I noticed that every time default settings were restored mid game, I would get the little windows spinning blue circle on the mouse pointer, exactly what happens when a mode is changed in CCC.

CCC removed, UV and temps now rock solid!

 

[leebee2110]

@mrlip Great advice mate. Really appreciate this. Just been chatting to @demon28 about this also. My RM profile also resets as soon as I start a game. I'm more than happy to get rid of CCC. How would you control the fans after that though?

 

[mrlip]

At the minute I am using a free tool called RLEC viewer which was designed for Clevo machines. I may look at the paid Obsidian tool at some point but will see how this RLEC goes. I have a Separate thread on that Here

EDIT - forgot to add, I’m now currently testing 4ghz all cores at 1.0625V with SMT Off. All set using Ryzen Master. Seems a good spot so far

 

[demon28]

Thanks for listing the fan software, I will give it a go. I think you can use Obsidian's free keyboard utility to manage your keyboards colors

 

[demon28]

Also another quick observation, I was able to uninstall CCC without removing the fan or LED control utility, you can just get the specific utility through Microsoft Store

 

[mrlip]

Also another quick observation, I was able to uninstall CCC without removing the fan or LED control utility, you can just the specific utility through Microsoft Store

ah I didn’t use the MS store version.Good tip though, good to know

 

[demon28]

Ignore what I said earlier. Turns out CCC wasnt fully uninstalled from my system thats why I was still able to use the utility. It was only the interfaces that were removed, not the actual software. After a clean uninstall it doesn't work anymore

 

[mrlip]

Ignore what I said earlier. Turns out CCC wasnt fully uninstalled from my system thats why I was still able to use the utility. It was only the interfaces that were removed, not the actual software. After a clean uninstall it doesn't work anymore

probably better off without it anyway if running manual clocks and voltages

 

[demon28]

I have been reading around about RLECVIEWER and it seems that its probably not a safe option long term. Refer to this: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/rlecviewer-custom-clevo-fan-control.818858/

 

[mrlip]

Yeah saw that, I think it’s been updated since. Either way at the minute I always have HWInfo 64 running so can temps at all times just in case anything goes wrong.

 

[mrlip]

Anyone aware of an alternative program to change/set the LED backlight? My backlight has been stuck on since I uninstalled CCC. I’ve tried the Obsidian one but can’t get it to work

 

[SpyderTracks]

Anyone aware of an alternative program to change/set the LED backlight? My backlight has been stuck on since I uninstalled CCC. I’ve tried the Obsidian one but can’t get it to work

I'm not certain of this but for basic on/off, there may be a setting in the BIOS.

Not sure how to change colours though without one of those two mentioned.

 

[mrlip]

I'm not certain of this but for basic on/off, there may be a setting in the BIOS.

Not sure how to change colours though without one of those two mentioned.

I don’t remember seeing an option in the bios but I will double check tomorrow. It’s not a massive issue, would just prefer it not to get stuck on all the time if possible

 

[FerrariVie]

I don’t remember seeing an option in the bios but I will double check tomorrow. It’s not a massive issue, would just prefer it not to get stuck on all the time if possible

You could use OBSIDIAN-PC's software to control keyboard LEDs, as it is free. Both the LED and control station from Obsidian are free, just fan control and driver updater are paid. So you could only use LED control or both tools from them, even though I'm not sure if control station is going to replace ryzen master's settings as well (hopefully not).

Another thing I wanted to ask you is regarding the power limit. I've seen some people with this chassis report that CCC is the responsible for the power limits on the laptop, so when removing it, the power limit is also removed and shown as 1000W in ryzen master, which can be potentially dangerous if not monitored properly. Is this something that happened to you as well?

 

[mrlip]

You could use OBSIDIAN-PC's software to control keyboard LEDs, as it is free. Both the LED and control station from Obsidian are free, just fan control and driver updater are paid. So you could only use LED control or both tools from them, even though I'm not sure if control station is going to replace ryzen master's settings as well (hopefully not).

Another thing I wanted to ask you is regarding the power limit. I've seen some people with this chassis report that CCC is the responsible for the power limits on the laptop, so when removing it, the power limit is also removed and shown as 1000W in ryzen master, which can be potentially dangerous if not monitored properly. Is this something that happened to you as well?

See my original post, I cant get Obsidian PC Keyboard LED software to work. Nothing happens when any of the settings are applied. I have installed Fan Control, as I read that you need to install that and run it once, but even so it doesn't work. Fan Control has a "Fix Dependencies" option which I have ran as well but still can't get keyboard LED program to work. Have you got it working on your Clevo?

Ryzen Master will show a power limit of 1000W usage wheel when running on non default settings only which is normal. It doesn't mean 1000W is available or going to be used, its just how the usage is displayed in Ryzen Master

 

[mrlip]

Scrap the above, I tried again with Obsidian PC Keyboard tool and it works as expected You do need the fan control app to be installed and opened at least once as it installs a couple of services that the Keyboard Tool relies on. But if you don't plan to use the fan control app, just open it once, close it and then the keyboard LED program works great as long as fan control remains installed.

I tried the Obsidian Control Station as well but didn't find much use for it as there aren't any options on there that can't be accessed via standard Windows functions. There is a CPU OC section on it but I think its Intel only as it uses XTU services, so may be of interest to people who have Intel CPU's. For AMD users, would stick to Ryzen Master

 

[NoNastyNick]

Scrap the above, I tried again with Obsidian PC Keyboard tool and it works as expected You do need the fan control app to be installed and opened at least once as it installs a couple of services that the Keyboard Tool relies on. But if you don't plan to use the fan control app, just open it once, close it and then the keyboard LED program works great as long as fan control remains installed.

I tried the Obsidian Control Station as well but didn't find much use for it as there aren't any options on there that can't be accessed via standard Windows functions. There is a CPU OC section on it but I think its Intel only as it uses XTU services, so may be of interest to people who have Intel CPU's. For AMD users, would stick to Ryzen Master

Hey Mrlip - I hope you're well.

I'm planning on removing CCC myself and sticking with Ryzen Master for performance needs and to reduce the overall temperature by undervolting a tad. Just got a quick query - When you remove CCC, how do you manage the Windows Performance Plans? From what I can gather, when using CCC to change (for example,) to Performance mode - This first changes to "balanced" within windows and then upon detecting a game / full screen application it changes to "high performance." Can you confirm this is the case? This is what i've experienced thus far.

I really dislike these "centers" manufacturers (clevo) place upon people. My last laptop was an MSI which I could rip off "dragon center," and use a handy application made by one of their own staff members.

Cheers,
Josh

 

[mrlip]

2 options I suppose. 1 is manually changing it when you need to on using the battery icon in the system tray.

Or my preferred option, I created a script that Is called with a games shortcut is launched, it automatically changes it to the high performance plan and then changes it back to balanced when the game closes. I can share if you like?

 

[NoNastyNick]

Hey man,
Thanks for the reply.

Could you perhaps confirm (if you can remember,) that when selecting CCC's "Performance," plan - It only changes to High Performance on detection of a game?

I've always preferred to use the built in powerplan "balanced," with the slider anyway - feels as if it gives me more control.
Really appreciate the offer - I love scripting so I'll probably make one myself if that's okay? (don't mean to be ungrateful!)

How is your undervolt running now? Still good?

Cheers,
Josh