We’re revisiting Intel’s locked Alder Lake CPUs with a particular sneak peak of an upcoming MSI motherboard that is able to making a few of our favorite present technology processors a lot sooner. For instance, it is potential to make the Core i5-12400 as much as 50% sooner in video games, and we will present you the way.
One of the one points with elements such because the Core i3-12100, Core i5-12400 and Core i7-12700 is that Intel locks them down, that means there isn’t any strategy to tinker with them to spice up efficiency by overclocking them.
Out of the field efficiency remains to be glorious, and in the event you’re constructing a brand new PC it is laborious to disregard what these locked Alder Lake CPUs have to supply. It’d be laborious to disregard if the enhance was in extra of 20% sooner, and much more so when it could actually exceed 50% in some situations.
How Does It Work?
Overclocking locked Non-Okay Alder Lake processors was first found by famend overclocker der8auer. Just just a few months after the discharge of Intel Twelfth-gen Core collection der8auer managed to overclock quite a lot of locked CPUs utilizing the BCLK methodology, pushing them to frequencies effectively above what they usually function at. For instance, he pushed a Celeron G6900 from the default clock frequency of three.4 GHz to five.3 GHz, an enormous 56% frequency improve.
This was thrilling information and we went on to research the findings, however we by no means did as there was a catch, a moderately vital one, that made this pointless for the overwhelming majority of customers. Not to decrease der8auer’s findings as they have been correct and hats off to him for being the primary one to find this, however the difficulty boiled all the way down to motherboard help.
You see, der8auer found that BCLK overclocking was potential on the Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Apex, an almost $1,000 Z690 motherboard that requires DDR5 reminiscence. While a cool discovery regardless, it isn’t precisely a viable choice for shoppers. There have been cheaper boards that supported BCLK overclocking such because the Asus ROG Strix B660-G Gaming WiFi and B660-F Gaming WiFi, however each required DDR5 reminiscence and are nonetheless priced over $200 — not the perfect pairing for a $160 Core i5-12400F processor.
The motive these LGA 1700 boards can overclock locked CPUs is as a result of they function a PCIe 5.0 clock generator. This is why the ROG Strix B660-G Gaming and B660-F Gaming supply PCIe 5.0 x16 help for the first PCIe x16 slot, whereas nearly all different boards are restricted to PCIe 4.0.
OC That Makes Sense
With the Asus B660 boards each priced at $310, we have ignored locked Twelfth-gen overclocking, till now. News broke just lately that MSI was engaged on a particular BCLK OC model of their B660M Mortar to be known as the “MAG B660M Mortar Max WiFi DDR4”. Given the B660M Mortar is less expensive than the Asus — like half the value — I used to be very .
We requested MSI in regards to the rumors they usually stated the knowledge was strictly confidential, but in addition that sure, that is one thing they’re engaged on. Naturally we requested they ship us a board and to our shock they agreed and despatched an early pre-production unit, so right here we’re.
When in comparison with the unique B660M Mortar, this Max mannequin is the very same aside from the Renesas RC26008 exterior clock generator and a minor tweak to the VRM which sees the Auxiliary MOSFET upgraded from a 70A mannequin to an 80A mannequin.
The Test
Time to overclock, and the aim of this function is not to max out the locked CPUs that we’ve, however present you that: 1) the BCLK operate really works, and a pair of) the minimal stage of efficiency it is best to be capable of get hold of.
We’ve overclocked the Core i3-12100, i5-12400 and i7-12700 to an all-core frequency of 5.1 GHz with a Ring frequency of 4.1 GHz. The P-Core ratio was set to x39 utilizing the fastened mode, the Non Okay OC microcode was enabled, the Ring ratio was adjusted to x31, and I went for a CPU base clock of 131 MHz.
Then for the reminiscence, we used DDR4-3600 CL14 which was set to a x27 multiplier, which resulted in a DRAM frequency of 3537 MHz, which is not the actual frequency as that is not how DDR reminiscence works, however for simplicity sake let’s go along with that.
Finally, the load-line calibration management was set to Mode 2 and the CPU Core Voltage mode was set to override mode with a Core Voltage of 1.37v. You might most likely wind this all the way down to 1.28 ~ 1.30v with out compromising stability, however we wished to ensure the CPUs have been secure for all testing.
We’re sure this overclock could possibly be higher tuned for better effectivity or a better frequency relying on silicon high quality, however the objective was to search out an overclock that labored for all chips. We have three Core i3-12100 chips available, one is an F-SKU and all labored. We even have two Core i5-12400 chips, each labored, and a single 12700, which additionally labored.
For benchmarking we’re utilizing DDR4-3600 CL14 reminiscence which has been set to DDR4-3537 utilizing the CL14 timings. Cooling the {hardware} was the Corsair iCUE H115i RGB Pro XT, and the graphics card of alternative for this testing was the RTX 3090 Ti. Let’s soar into the info…
Benchmarks
Testing with Cinebench R23 we discover some nice multi-core outcomes, although this take a look at is not notably reminiscence delicate, so we’re largely clock frequency positive aspects on this situation. The 12100 overclock resulted in a 25% efficiency enhance, whereas the 12400 turned 18% sooner. The 12700 overclock was quite a bit much less spectacular as that half is already clocked fairly excessive out of the field — only a 15% enchancment — however once more, you could possibly most likely get some chips to run at a better all-core frequency.
When single core efficiency, we see a 19% uplift for the 12100, and a 17% enhance for the 12400, whereas the 12700 was improved by simply 6%. It’s apparent the lower-end fashions profit essentially the most from the overclock.
The 7-Zip File Manager take a look at additionally exhibits a 23% improve for the 12100’s compression efficiency and an enormous 32% improve for the 12400. The 12700 is much less spectacular with a 7% enchancment.
The decompression efficiency is far the identical: a 23% uplift for the 12100, 28% for the 12400, and simply 7% for the 12700.
The 12100 overclock decreased the Blender render time by 19%, that means the overclock was 24% sooner. The enhance was 21% for the 12400 and 14% sooner for the 12700.
Power Consumption
Because we did not tune the voltages for our overclocks, the facility effectivity is horrible, nearly doubling from inventory figures. Our i5-12400 wasn’t secure with 1.29v, and this nonetheless noticed complete system consumption hit 266W, or simply an 11% discount in comparison with what’s proven right here at 1.39v, which is why we did not hassle fine-tuning voltages for this testing.
Basically, energy consumption will increase massively as a result of so does frequency. In quick, welcome to overclocking!
Gaming Performance
The Factorio benchmark solely makes use of a single core and is closely influenced by cache efficiency. The 12100 noticed a 26% efficiency improve, the 12400 a 27% improve, and the 12700 a minor 6% improve. Big efficiency positive aspects are seen for the Core i3 and i5 fashions for essentially the most half as these come clocked decrease out of the field.
F1 2021 is one other good instance of why overclocking these clocked Core i3 and i5 elements is so thrilling. In the case of the 12100 we’re an enormous 40% efficiency enhance, whereas the 12400 loved a 31% improve. Those are huge positive aspects and are definitely much more spectacular than the 4% seen with the 12700.
These outcomes present how for a lot of of at the moment’s video games, the distinction between an element just like the Core i3-12100 and Core i7-12700 is not in regards to the core rely, however moderately the large distinction in clock pace, that and the distinction in L3 cache capability.
The Riftbreaker is yet one more instance of this. Here the common body charge of the 12100 was boosted by 45%, whereas the 12400 noticed a 34% improve. Meanwhile the 12700 dropped just a few frames when manually overclocked, leading to a 2% efficiency lower.
What’s loopy to see is that when each the 12700 and 12100 are working at 5.1 GHz, the Core i7 processor is simply 4% sooner and we would say the majority of that margin may be attributed to the a lot bigger L3 cache of the 12700.
The Core i3-12100 already carried out effectively in Horizon Zero Dawn, however with the overclock body charges have been boosted by an extra 19% to 178 fps, which is simply 5% slower than the inventory 12700. The 12400 additionally noticed a 19% efficiency improve hitting 190 fps and now we’re Core i7-like efficiency.
Far Cry 6 is a evenly threaded sport that depends closely on single core efficiency. This means overclocked the 12100, 12400 and 12700 all delivered very comparable efficiency with simply 5% separating the Core i3 and i7 fashions.
We know Shadow of the Tomb Raider likes core and cache, so this time the 12100 cannot catch the higher-end CPUs, however nonetheless a 28% efficiency bump is good and it meant body charges have been up effectively over 100 fps always in our take a look at.
The 12400 additionally loved a robust enchancment through the overclock, boosting efficiency by 30%. But once more we discover an instance the place the 12700 was barely slower, dropping only a few frames when overclocked.
Cyberpunk 2077 efficiency was extra restricted with the 12100 and it seems as if clock frequency wasn’t the first bottleneck because the overclock solely improved efficiency by 11%. Meanwhile, the 12400 noticed a 20% uplift, although nothing was gained from the overclock with the 12700.
Watch Dogs: Legion is a CPU demanding title and as you’ll be able to see previous to the overclock the Core i3-12100 was solely simply capable of preserve 1% lows above 60 fps, however when overclocked efficiency was boosted by 30%, resoluting in 82 fps for the 1% lows and a median body charge of 110 fps.
The 12400 loved comparable efficiency positive aspects, 1% lows have been elevated by 34%, whereas the common body charge was boosted by 32%. But as soon as once more we discover the 12700 positive aspects little or no from the overclock, we’re mainly no efficiency enchancment.
Last up we’ve Rainbow Six Siege and all three CPUs had no difficulty with this older title. Still, if you’re after extra frames our 12100 overclock boosted efficiency by 33% and the 12400 overclock resulted in a 16% enchancment.
The Core i7-12700 outcomes are sudden as we solely discovered a couple of 15% enchancment in productiveness efficiency from our overclock. Most of the video games confirmed little to no uplift, however then RSS noticed a 24% efficiency uplift and we suspect that is largely as a result of elevated cache and reminiscence bandwidth as this sport may be very reminiscence delicate, so the outcomes make sense.
What We Learned
Those outcomes have been definitely spectacular and we predict the Core i5-12400 is the candy spot for this board, although the Core i7-12700 additionally is smart. We say this as a result of the B660M Mortar at present retails for $160 and MSI is anticipating the brand new Max model to come back in solely a bit of above that, so we’re hoping for $170 at most.
The catch is then timing. MSI is aiming for an August launch date, which is not far-off however by that time we’ll be getting nearer to subsequent gen CPUs. In quick, the Mortar Max is an thrilling product, however we concern it may arrive a bit too late for a lot of shoppers.
Surely, in the event you occur to search out your self in want of a brand new PC round that point, the 12100, 12400 and 12700 are nice choices and sticking one on the Mortar Max, assuming the board prices lower than $200, it might be a ripper of a deal.
In comparability, the Ryzen 5 5600 on the MSI B550M Mortar, which is a motherboard of comparative high quality, that combo would set you again $300. We suspect the 12400F on the B660M Mortar Max will likely be about $40+ extra, however the ~15% value premium will likely be value it after seeing the outcomes at the moment.
Granted, we have but to check an overclocked 12400F in opposition to an overclocked 5600, however we anticipate the outcomes to be favorable for Intel. One final due to the MSI motherboard group for offering us with an early pre-production board to mess around with, we simply want you could possibly purchase it proper now, however fingers crossed it will not take too lengthy to hit cabinets.