200S Boost: Intel releases overclocking profile with warranty
A profile in the BIOS should improve the performance of the Core Ultra 200K. To do this, Intel adjusts the internal CPU clock frequencies, among other things.
(Image: heise online / mma)
Intel is launching the 200S Boost together with motherboard manufacturers. This is a profile for overclocking the K models from the Core Ultra 200 (Arrow Lake-S) processor series on Z890 mainboards. The highlight: The Core Ultra 9 285K, Core Ultra 7 265K, Core Ultra 5 245K and the corresponding F versions retain their manufacturer's warranty with this overclocking profile.
Three clock frequencies increase per 200S Boost:
- the fabric clock for the interconnect within the SoC tile, where the memory controller is located, among other things
- the die-to-die clock for faster connection primarily of the compute tile with the CPU cores
- the memory clock
The fabric clock increases from 2.6 to 3.2 GHz; the die-to-die connection from 2.1 to 3.2 GHz. In the case of memory, Intel has so far released classic UDIMMs up to DDR5-5600 and new CUDIMMs up to DDR5-6400. With the 200S Boost, UDIMMs and CUDIMMs up to 4000 MHz (DDR5-8000) are possible. The clock frequencies of the CPU cores and power limits remain untouched.
All clock increases reduce the memory latency or increase the transfer rate. This potentially improves the frame rate in CPU-limited scenarios – such as strategy games –. Intel does not provide any concrete figures as to how much this will achieve.
(Image:Â Intel)
Limits set
To prevent misuse, Intel restricts motherboard manufacturers and users. For example, there are voltage limits for memory (1.4 volts) and for the so-called uncore area (VccSA, 1.2 volts). The 200S Boost works together with the Extreme Memory Profiles (XMP), but only up to a RAM voltage of 1.4 volts. If a memory manufacturer specifies its modules for 1.45 volts, for example, they will still only run at 1.4 volts. Separate voltage changes are not possible with the 200S Boost.
In addition, all components must be able to cope with the higher clock frequencies. While Intel is confident about its processors, the memory clock frequencies also depend largely on the kit used. The 200S Boost allows slower memory clock frequencies, including DDR5-6400 as before. In principle, the overclocking profile is designed for a single RAM module per memory channel, i.e., a total of two.
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Intel gives no guarantee that the 200S Boost will run stably. Anyone who uses it and experiences problems should switch it off again. RAM towards DDR5-8000 in particular can be problematic.
The three-year manufacturer's warranty applies to defects and only covers individually purchased boxed processors. In the case of complete PCs, the PC manufacturers and dealers are responsible.
BIOS updates available
Asrock, Gigabyte and MSI already offer BIOS updates with the 200S Boost for all their Z890 mainboards. Interested parties can find the downloads on the respective product pages in the support section. Asus is providing the updates for some of its Z890 mainboards –, the remaining downloads are to follow in the following days.
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(mma)
