Intel Performance Maximizer (IPM) Review - Tom's Hardware

Intel's new free Performance Optimizer (IPM) software tool, which is a needed feature to grapple with AMD's auto-overclocking Precision Boost ... Skiptomaincontent Tom'sHardware Tom'sHardware Search RSS (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) UKUSAustraliaCanada Reviews BestPicks RaspberryPi CPUs GPUs Coupons More Laptops SSDs Motherboards Cooling Desktops PCBuilds Monitors RAM PCCases Keyboards Headsets Mice PowerSupplies 3DPrinters VRHeadsets AboutTom'sHardware Forums(opensinnewtab) TrendingBestTechDealsGPUBenchmarkHierarchyAMDRyzen7000CPURankings Tom'sHardwareissupportedbyitsaudience.Whenyoupurchasethroughlinksonoursite,wemayearnanaffiliatecommission.Here’swhyyoucantrustus. Page1of6: OverclockAll(Some?)oftheThings Page1:OverclockAll(Some?)oftheThings Page2:IPMvs.PrecisionBoostOverdriveandMCE,TestSetup Page3:VRMark,3DMarkandAotS:Escalation Page4:FarCry5,GTA:VandHitman Page5:Rendering,EncodingandCompression Page6:FinalThoughts Today'sbestIntelCorei9-9900KFdeals(opensinnewtab)(opensinnewtab)$650(opensinnewtab)View(opensinnewtab)LowStock(opensinnewtab)(opensinnewtab)$839.99(opensinnewtab)View(opensinnewtab)(opensinnewtab)(opensinnewtab)Nopriceinformation(opensinnewtab)CheckAmazon(opensinnewtab)ShowMoreDealsWecheckover250millionproductseverydayforthebestpricesOverclockAll(Some?)oftheThingsEnthusiastsknowtheheadachesassociatedwithCPUoverclockingalltoowell,likeintenseresearch,repetitiverebootsandmotherboardfirmwareadjustments,nottomentionthepossibilityofacorruptedoperatingsystem.Intel'snewfreePerformanceOptimizer(IPM)softwaretool,whichisaneededfeaturetograpplewithAMD'sauto-overclockingPrecisionBoostOverdrive,aimstoeliminatethosefrustrations,thusdeliveringthegoodnessofoverclockingtotheless-technicallysavvy.Itaimstodeliverone-clickoverclockingthroughasimple-to-usesoftwareutilitythatautomaticallytunesandoverclocksyourprocessor.Theutilityisnowavailabletothepublicforfree,soweputtheCorei9-9900KtothetesttoseehowIntel'stoolcomparestootheroverclockingoptions.Wecameawaywithsurprisinglyimpressiveresults.IntelPerformanceMaximizerInstallationandRequirementsTheIPMcomeswithseverallimitations.Forstarters,itonlyworkswithIntel's9th-genK-seriesprocessors,ofwhichtherearecurrentlyonlythreemodelsavailable:TheCorei9-9900K,thei7-9700K,andthei5-9600K.IntelalsosupportstheF-seriesmodelsofeachrespectiveSKU,butourtestinghasshownthatthesegraphics-lessversionsofthechipsarenearlyidenticaltotheirfull-fledgedcounterparts,sowedon'texpectmajordifferences.AswithallofIntel'soverclockableprocessors,you'llalsoneedaZ-seriesmotherboard(Z390inthiscase)tounlocktheoverclockingfeatures.Intelhasn'tsharedthereasoningbehindthelimitedsupport(whichcouldbeduetosometypeofphysicalaspectonthechip,likeadvancedsensors),butthecompanysaysitwillfollowupatalaterdatewithmoreinformation.WedoknowthatIntelplanstoextendsupporttoitsfutureK-seriesprocessorsanditshighenddesktop(HEDT)lineup,butwearen'tsureifthesoftwarewilleventuallysupportprevious-genprocessors.Fornow,thesoftwareoverclockstheprocessortoitshighestsustainablefrequencyonallcores,butafutureupdate(dueoutthisyear)willtuneeachcoreindividuallybasedonitscapabilities. ModelCores/ThreadsBaseClock/BoostClockCacheTDPRCPCorei9-9900K8/163.6GHz/5.0GHz16MB95W$488-$499Core i9-9900KF8/163.6GHz/5.0GHz16MB95W$488-$499Corei7-9700K8/83.6GHz/4.9GHz12MB95W$374-$385Corei7-900KF8/83.6GHz/4.9GHz12MB95W$374-$385Corei5-9600K6/63.7GHz/4.6GHz9MB95W$262-$263Corei5-9600KF6/63.7GHz/4.6GHz9MB95W$262-$263 IntelalsohasrestrictedsupporttoMicrosoftWindows10x64EditionVersionRS5(andnewer).You'llalsoneedaminimumof8GBofsystemmemoryand16GBofunallocatedstoragecapacity.Youcanusethesoftwaretoautomaticallycreateanewpartitionwithaportionofyourdrives'unusedstoragespaceifthesystemdriveisalreadyfullyprovisioned.ThesoftwarealsorequiresthemotherboardtobesettoUEFIbootmodeandbeupdatedtothelatestmotherboardfirmware(versionsunspecified).Youalsohavetodisableallothersoftwareoverclockingutilitiesbeforeproceeding,andusethecorrectversionoftheinstallexecutable(oneisforHyper-Threadedchips,theotherforchipswithout).Image1of5Withthoserequirementsmet,thesoftwareinstallationisfairlystraightforward.Intel'sdisclaimerremindsyouthatoverclockingisaninherentlydangerouspursuit:Increasedvoltagesandfrequencycankillcomponentsandresultinsysteminstability,alongwiththreateningdataintegrity,soyouproceedatyourownrisk.Inteldoesn'tprovidewarrantysupportforoverclocking-inducedchipdeath,butthecompanyishappytosellyouaPerformanceTuningProtectionPlan(PTPP)thatgivesyouaone-timereturnifyouroverclockedchipdies.Thatextrawarrantycomesatanadditionalcostof$20forthe9th-GenK-seriesmodels,anditonlyappliestoboxedprocessorsboughtatretailoutlets.Thesoftwarecreatesan8GBGPTpartitionduringtheinstallationprocess,andafteraglanceattheDeviceManagertoverifythedriverisinstalledcorrectly,you'reofftotheraces.Afterinstallation,theminimalistuserinterfacepresentsyouwithtwooptions:ContinueorExit.Thereisasettingsoptionintheutility,butthatonly letsyouremovetheIPMiconfromthesystemtray.Asidefromthat,theinterfacedoesn'thaveanyoptions--it'sobviouslydesignedtobesimple.Aftercontinuingtothetuningprocess,thesoftwarerebootsthecomputerintoapre-bootPerformanceOptimizerUEFIapplication.Theapplicationautomaticallystepsthroughaseriesofteststhatapplyvariousvoltageandfrequencysettingsandconductsstressteststofindthemaximumstableoverclockedall-corefrequency.Enthusiaststypicallytestoverclockstabilitythroughaseriesofstresstestsconductedfrominsidetheoperatingsystem,andfrequentBSODsduringtheextensivetrialanderrorphasecandamagetheoperatingsystem.Assuch,Intel'spre-boottestingapproachremovesthelion'sshareofrisktoyourOSfromtheequationduringtheoverclockingphase,thoughyoustillrunthenormalriskassociatedwithoverclockingofOSinstabilitywhenyouuseyoursystem.Onwardto5.0GHz(Imagecredit:Tom'sHardware) Base1Core2Cores3Cores4Cores5Cores6Cores7Cores8CoresIPM-OverclockedCorei9-9900K3.65.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.0StockCorei9-9900K(GHz)3.65.05.04.84.84.74.74.74.7Corei7-9700K(GHz)3.64.94.84.74.74.64.64.64.6 TheoverclockingprocesstooktwohoursonourCorei9-9900K,andthesystemcrashedandrebootedseveraltimesduringtheprocess,whichisexpected.Thepre-bootenvironmentgivesyoutheoptiontocancelthetestbeforeeachiterationincaseyouencounterhardwaredifficultiesduringtesting.Aftertesting,thesystemrebootedintotheoperatingsystemandpresenteduswiththeresultsofitsefforts:A4.8GHzoverclockforthefirsttest,anda4.9GHzoverclockafterasuccessiverun.Afterremountingourcoolerandtweakingthefanstofullspeed,wepulledoffourfinal5.0GHzoverclockwiththetool.TheCorei9-9900Ktypicallybooststo4.7GHzwhenmorethanfivecoresareactive,soanadditional300MHzoffrequencyisincrediblyimpressive,especiallyconsideringwe'vetoppedoutatthesame5.0GHzthroughexhaustivemanualtuning.Wealsonoticedthatunlikeatypicalmanualall-coreoverclock,theclockratescontinuetofluctuateduringoperation.Thatmeansyoustillgetthegoodnessoftherare5.0GHzdual-coreboostifyou'recoolingsystemcan'tsupportthefull5.0GHzoverclock.It'salsonotablethattheutilitydoesn'ttunememorysettings,soweleftthesystematthedefaultDDR4-2666forourtests.Densely-packedAVXworkloadsarepower-hungry,andthusgeneratefarmoreheatthannon-AVXtasks.TheoffsetisresponsibleforpullingfrequencybackwhentheprocessorexecutesAVXinstructions,allowingyoutoachievehigheroverclockswithoutworryingaboutAVXworkloadscausinginstability.TheIPMutilitytunestheAVXoffset,too,soitincreasedthei9-9900K'sall-coreAVXoffsetto4.7GHz,whichisahandyfeature.Intel'sIPMappliedaVIDof1.267(underload),whichismuchbetterthanthe1.385VvCoresettingweusedforourmanualoverclock.Wechalkthedifferenceuptoourmanualconfiguration'slackofanAVXoffset,meaningtheprocessorrunsatthefull5.0GHzregardlessofinstructiontype,whichrequiresmorevoltagetoensurestability.Ineithercase,AVXoffsetsareanoften-unusedyetpowerfultuningparameter,evenwithenthusiasts,sothisisaniceadditiontothetool.Fornow,thetoolappliesanall-coreoverclock,butIntelwillexpandthetooltoper-coreoverclockinginthefuturetowringasmuchperformanceoutofeachcoreaspossible.ThetoolmodifiestheWinOSregisters,meaningthesoftwaredoesn'tmakechangestothemotherboards'firmware.Thisalsomeansthatyou'llonlygetthegoodnessoftheoverclockfromwithintheoperatingsystem,sodual-booterswillneedtoinstallandrunthetoolwithineachoftheirOSinstalls.You'llalsohavetouninstalltheutilitytoreversetheoverclockedsettings.Ofcourse,ourresultsareinfluencedbytheusualvagariesassociatedwiththesiliconlottery,meaningthateachchipwillreachdifferentoverclockingceilingsbasedonsiliconquality,cooling,andpowerdeliveryaccommodations.WetestedwiththeMSIZ390Godlikemotherboardthathasarobustpowerdeliverysubsystem,butwedidn'tuncorktheextremepowerdeliveryparametersinthemotherboardfirmwarethatweemployedwithourmanualoverclock.We'retestinganauto-overclockingfeaturefornoobs,afterall.Wealsousedapowerfulcustomwatercoolingsetup(withtwo360radiators)thatcancoolthehottestprocessorsonthemarketwithease,anda1600WEVGASupernovaT2powersupply.WealsotestedthesoftwarewiththebeefyNoctuaNH-C14Saircooler,buttheutilityreportedthatourthermalsolutionwasn'tuptothetaskforoverclocking.Thatmeansyou'llhavetobringyourliquid-coolingA-gamewhenitcomestotweakingtheCorei9-9900K:Aircoolersneednotapply. MORE:BestCPUsforGamingMORE:CPUBenchmarksMORE:AllCPUsContent 1 2 3 4 5 6 Currentpage: OverclockAll(Some?)oftheThings NextPageIPMvs.PrecisionBoostOverdriveandMCE,TestSetup PaulAlcornDeputyManagingEditorPaulAlcornistheDeputyManagingEditorforTom'sHardwareUS.HewritesnewsandreviewsonCPUs,storageandenterprisehardware. Topics CPUs Intel Overclocking Seeallcomments(16) 16Comments Commentfromtheforums comparethepowerconsumptionandtemp? Reply Here,takethisIntelprovidedsoftware,useit,it'sgreatbut....BUT,....ifyouuseit,andoverclock,andkillyourprocessor,well,itwas'inherentlydangerous'...yourbad!:)(Betterluckwithyour$500nexttime!):) Granted,Intel'sXTUisnot'oneclickanddone',but,Ithoughtitwouldbehardtogettoomucheasier(Ithinkittook5-6clicks?).... Iseeit'snoweasier..:) Reply Andwhatthepoint.mostZ390alreadyhaveMCEanyway. whatthe1.5GBdownloadget? Reply rgd1101said:whatthe1.5GBdownloadget? Hopefullythe100MBofoverclockingsoftwarecomesbundledwithaninstallationofWarcraftIII.That'sabouthowmuchspaceitsdemanding. Reply A16GBSEPARATEPARTITION!?!? Hardpass. Reply rgd1101said:comparethepowerconsumptionandtemp? YeathatwouldbenicetoseehowithandlespowerandtempscomparedtoMCEormanualoverclocking. IneverhavetrustedautoOCingutilities,eveninmotherboards,astheytendtogoonthehighsideofCPUvoltage. Reply Iwonderifthisissmackingalittleofdesperation.TheseCPUsarealreadyblowingpasttheirTDPnowthatIntelhasdecidedthatbase-speedTDPismoreconvenientforthemthatmaximumpower. Maybetheycan'treallyclaimahugegamingleadanymore,andaretryingtopushthroughwhateverboosttheycan,totryandkeepanedge? Inthiscase,bothinperformance,andasaconvenientspace-heater. Reply It'sausefulutility,butitneedsthis,butitonlysupportsthat,butyouhavetoremovethisotherthing.TypicalforIntel. Reply WellIguessthisfreeutilitymakesthe9900KSobsolete--hasn'tevenlaunchedyet!lol! MaybetheyfiguredthesuckersthatwouldbuytheinsurancefortheIPMwouldoffsetthemarkuponthe9900ks?Intelmakesnosenseatall...literallynone...Ican'twaitforthe3900xtolaunchsoIcangiveAMDmoremoney. Reply King_Vsaid:Iwonderifthisissmackingalittleofdesperation.TheseCPUsarealreadyblowingpasttheirTDPnowthatIntelhasdecidedthatbase-speedTDPismoreconvenientforthemthatmaximumpower. Maybetheycan'treallyclaimahugegamingleadanymore,andaretryingtopushthroughwhateverboosttheycan,totryandkeepanedge? Inthiscase,bothinperformance,andasaconvenientspace-heater. MassivepowerdrawsareonlyamajorconcernwhenAMDhasit.WhenIntelhasit,itjustmeanscauseitsbetter.Don'tyouknowthelogic?;) Reply ViewAll16Comments Showmorecomments BeIntheKnow Getinstantaccesstobreakingnews,in-depthreviewsandhelpfultips. ContactmewithnewsandoffersfromotherFuturebrands Receiveemailfromusonbehalfofourtrustedpartnersorsponsors ThankyouforsigninguptoTom'sHardware.Youwillreceiveaverificationemailshortly. Therewasaproblem.Pleaserefreshthepageandtryagain. MOSTPOPULARMOSTSHARED1AMDZen4Ryzen7000Specs,ReleaseDate,Benchmarks,PriceListings2MicronSecures$320MillioninJapaneseSubsidies,MightBringEUVtoJapan3U.S.RetailerGivesFree32GBDDR5-5600KitwithRyzen7000CPU4ASRockDDR5InstallationStickersBlamedforMotherboardRMAs5Acer’sFirstGPUisanIntelArcA770WithTwoDifferentTypesofFans 1AMDZen4Ryzen7000Specs,ReleaseDate,Benchmarks,PriceListings2MicronSecures$320MillioninJapaneseSubsidies,MightBringEUVtoJapan3U.S.RetailerGivesFree32GBDDR5-5600KitwithRyzen7000CPU4ASRockDDR5InstallationStickersBlamedforMotherboardRMAs5Acer’sFirstGPUisanIntelArcA770WithTwoDifferentTypesofFans