I recently switched from Intel CPU to AMD Ryzen 7 2700x CPU. For Intel CPU, under "power options"->"processor power management"->"minimum processor state", the default is 5%. For AMD using the "AMD Ryzen Balanced" power plan, the default is 90%.
I am puzzled why AMD wants to use such a high minimum processor state. Wouldn't this waste power? I set it down to 5%. So far, the PC works fine. There should be some reasons why AMD set 90% as default. However, I am not sure what are the side effects and risks.
I would like to ask what are the side effects and risks of changing from the default 90% to 5%?
I am using Windows 10.
Best Answer
Robert Hallock (AMD's Technical Marketing) commented this on reddit:
"4) Now that Ryzen Balanced and OEM Balanced both disable Core Parking, the need for Ryzen Balanced is diminished. 99% of the time, these plans will offer equal performance.
4a) However, the Ryzen Balanced plan still sets a minimum clockspeed of 90% on a core that is actively under load. This eliminates some small latency penalties that occur when ramping a CPU from low clock to high clock. This will give the Ryzen Balanced plan a small edge in select cases. It's a few percent, and I've only seen it measured in synthetic workloads."
And a benchmark posted on reddit by user Intricate081 shows that Ryzen Balanced with its 90% minimum processor state, has a minimial performance gain compared with the default Windows Balanced (5% minimum), but with increased idle temperatures and power consumption.