AMD could have a plan to make Zen 6 CPUs run games much more smoothly, taking the pain out of jerky frame rates and 1% lows

AMD's next-gen Ryzen processors could come with a few new tricks to make your gaming smoother, if the rumor mill is right.

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Zen 6 consumer CPUs are expected to arrive next year, and VideoCardz reports that according to the creator of the Hydra overclocking tool (Yuri Bubliy, known as '1usmus'), they will offer performance priority controls.

We're told that AMD is implementing a new feature called CPPC Performance Priority. (CPPC stands for Collaborative Processor Performance Control - which is a bit of a mouthful). The basic idea is simple enough: CPPC allows for higher clock speeds to be maintained on threads which are running processes that are important to the game currently being played.

We're told that it's a system that intelligently slows down other cores engaged in keeping background (non-gaming) tasks going, freeing up power to go to those important cores currently driving the game. This means you'll get a more sustained boost on those cores, and better performance in games without Zen 6 actually upping the clock speeds of the CPU itself.

Another feature Zen 6 could get is per-core EPP boost, which would ensure active cores (running the game) don't end up dipping in performance when waiting for the GPU (or another thread). This should help to ensure that 1% lows don't witness such large drops, and VideoCardz observes that an experiment with this capability on the Steam Deck improved those 1% lows by 31%.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Question #1

What is CPPC Performance Priority and how will it affect gaming thread scheduling on Zen 6 CPUs?

CPPC Performance Priority is a new Collaborative Processor Performance Control feature that flags game-critical threads so the CPU keeps higher clock speeds on the cores running those processes. It does this by intelligently slowing other cores handling background tasks to free power and sustained boosting for the important game threads, which should smooth frame pacing and improve 1% lows without raising overall CPU clock limits.

Question #2

How does CPPC Performance Priority shift power and clock headroom between gaming and background threads?

CPPC Performance Priority keeps higher clock speeds on threads driving the game by intelligently slowing down other cores handling background (non-gaming) tasks. By reducing clocks and power on those background cores, it frees up power and clock headroom to sustain higher performance on the game-important cores, yielding a more sustained boost without raising the CPU's overall clock targets.

Question #3

Are the CPPC and per-core EPP features expected to raise overall CPU clocks on Zen 6?

No. According to the article, CPPC Performance Priority and per-core EPP are intended to maintain higher clock speeds on threads important to games and sustain boosts by reallocating power from less-important cores, improving 1% lows and gaming smoothness, but they do this "without Zen 6 actually upping the clock speeds of the CPU itself."

Question #4

Will enabling CPPC Performance Priority require BIOS/OS support or driver updates?

This story does not say whether enabling CPPC Performance Priority will require BIOS, OS, or driver updates. Related article "AMD's new CPPC 'Highest Frequency' feature could improve CPU scheduling and boost behavior in Windows 11" similarly does not specify any required BIOS, OS, or driver changes.

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Obviously, treat all this with a lot of caution, and we don't know how any of this would pan out with Zen 6 CPUs even if it does happen (and it may not). However, it seems AMD is at least thinking hard about how to squeeze extra performance out of its next-gen Ryzen chips, even if these features aren't realized.