U58: cTDP adjustment and gen4 NVMe compatibility

[Steve Kootstra]

I have upgraded to the 12/7 BIOS that you created for Andrea, but I cannot see how to tweak up the cTDP.
I am running a background mining task and my unit runs well for a few minutes (System Power ~30w, CPU temp ~60C) but then throttles down (System Power ~19w, CPU temp 48C). Any help here would be appreciated.

Also, I have tried to upgrade my unit to 1tb of NVMe. I've tried multiple gen4 NVMe sticks but they aren't recognized by the BIOS (old or new). Is this a known issue? Is there something I can do in the BIOS?

Thanks in advance,
Steve

 

[Alliwava]

1. This BIOS only opens up the power, and for the sake of system security, we do not provide a fully unlocked BIOS.
2. AMD Ryzen 7 5800U does not support PCIE4.0, it is recommended to use PCI3.0 SSD.

 

[Steve Kootstra]

1. Yes, the BIOS allows the manufacturer to set the point where the processor throttles (cTDP). For the 5800u, cTDP can be set to between 10 and 25 watts:

https://www.amd.com/en/products/apu/amd-ryzen-7-5800u

Looks to me like you left cTDP at the default, 15w. I say this because, throttled back, I measure 19w for the entire unit (so the processor is likely sitting at about 15w?, a guess).
The power supply (65 watts) and cooling system (copper fins and all) are certainly capable of a higher setting. I measure 60C for the processor with my application (before it throttles back) which is far, far below the 105C maximum.

Why are you choosing to unnecessarily limit performance? Will your competition also make this choice? How will you fare in product reviews?
And you can fix this in the BIOS? Interesting choice.

2. Yes, I'll try a gen3 NVMe. If it works, that solves my immediate problem. But....
The 5800u may not support gen4 NVMe speeds, but it should FUNCTION with gen4 devices, just at the reduced speed:

Is M.2 SSD Backwards & Forwards Compatible (For PCIE3 & PCIE4)? - Tech Overwrite

There’s no better feeling than finally upgrading your PC to the latest tech, but what happens when you put a PCIE4 drive into a PCIE3 slot? How does this

www.techoverwrite.com

Unless there is something I don't know, this is again a choice on your part. Pretty iffy choice too--the industry is moving on to gen4 because they are specified to be backwards compatible. Maybe this is a chipset or motherboard thing, but if it is BIOS, you really should fix it. If not, at least call it out plainly.

Happy to work with you on both of these issues. I'm a member, so you have my email.

-Steve

 

[Alliwava]

THIS CPU DOES NOT SUPPORT PCIE 4.0, AND THE NVME COMPATIBILITY PROBLEM CAN ONLY BE BACKWARD COMPATIBLE BUT NOT UPWARDLY COMPATIBLE, SUCH AS THE CPU CAN ONLY BE COMPATIBLE WITH UP TO 3.0 AND CANNOT BE COMPATIBLE WITH 4.0, IF IT CAN BE COMPATIBLE WITH 4.0, IT CAN BE COMPATIBLE WITH 3.0

Regarding the BIOS power consumption problem, all MINI PCs are locked power consumption, because it can't be solved by letting go of heat dissipation, and the 105 degrees written in the CPU specification refers to the highest temperature that the patch is subjected to, not the temperature when the device is running.

Your software is power-hungry and needs to be completely open. If it is fully released, the full speed of the U58's heatsink and fan cannot be satisfied, and it will crash or restart due to high temperature for a while. The CPU is also easy to be damaged at high temperatures for a long time, and the current U58 heatsink and fan support up to 30W.

 

[Tarry]

THIS CPU DOES NOT SUPPORT PCIE 4.0, AND THE NVME COMPATIBILITY PROBLEM CAN ONLY BE BACKWARD COMPATIBLE BUT NOT UPWARDLY COMPATIBLE, SUCH AS THE CPU CAN ONLY BE COMPATIBLE WITH UP TO 3.0 AND CANNOT BE COMPATIBLE WITH 4.0, IF IT CAN BE COMPATIBLE WITH 4.0, IT CAN BE COMPATIBLE WITH 3.0

Regarding the BIOS power consumption problem, all MINI PCs are locked power consumption, because it can't be solved by letting go of heat dissipation, and the 105 degrees written in the CPU specification refers to the highest temperature that the patch is subjected to, not the temperature when the device is running.

Your software is power-hungry and needs to be completely open. If it is fully released, the full speed of the U58's heatsink and fan cannot be satisfied, and it will crash or restart due to high temperature for a while. The CPU is also easy to be damaged at high temperatures for a long time, and the current U58 heatsink and fan support up to 30W.

Hello. Thank you for comprehensive answer about TDP adjustment. I fully understand situation with power increasing, but I am interesting in power decreasing to 10W due to power saving during operating under backup power condition (power bank). Is it possible to decrease power in BIOS or power adjustment option is turned off at all ? Thank you.

 

[Alliwava]

Hello. Thank you for comprehensive answer about TDP adjustment. I fully understand situation with power increasing, but I am interesting in power decreasing to 10W due to power saving during operating under backup power condition (power bank). Is it possible to decrease power in BIOS or power adjustment option is turned off at all ? Thank you.

Not at the moment.