AMD's Ryzen 9 X3D CPUs could offer a nifty trick for better performance

AMD's incoming Ryzen 9 7950X3D and 7900X3D processors will come with the ability to manually modify the CCD priority via the BIOS, according to fresh details unearthed on Twitter.

HXL, a regular hardware leaker, tweeted to flag up the new ASUS X670 beta BIOS, which allows the user to tweak what workloads are assigned to which CCD.

And that's an important feature because of the way these Ryzen 9 chips are configured.

AMD's Ryzen 9 7950X3D and 7900X3D CPUs have two CCDs - separate chiplets containing the processor cores - but only one has the 3D V-Cache memory on top. However, the other CCD can have its top boost clock speed pushed a bit higher due to not having the 3D V-Cache, as already confirmed by AMD.

So, the key point here is that some workloads - like games - greatly benefit from the cache, whereas other software may not feel such an impact, and could benefit more from the CCD with the higher clock frequencies. Even some games might do better with the faster boost clocks.

In theory, what app or game should use which CCD should be worked out seamlessly in the background between Windows and AMD's drivers, but there's a possibility that things could go wrong.

What this BIOS tweak is all about, then, is allowing the user to manually prioritize a CCD to get better performance, overriding the driver and OS if an incorrect decision has been made.

That's a neat touch, and with the ability already in beta, hopefully this will be rolling out to motherboards soon enough. Ryzen 7000 X3D chips aren't available yet, but are set to go on sale in just under a week (February 28th).

What we still need to know is which motherboards will support this functionality, and whether outside of X670 boards, the feature will be present in cheaper models. Although to be fair, if you're springing for a Ryzen 9 X3D processor, odds are you'll have your sights set similarly high on the mobo front.