AMD submits Linux driver patches for Ryzen tuning
The proposed driver offers power and current controls, but changes require a reboot and inclusion in the mainline Linux kernel is not confirmed.
AMD has submitted patches for review that would introduce an official Ryzen overclocking driver to Linux. The early version supports a limited range of processor adjustments, and its inclusion in the mainline kernel has not been confirmed.
AMD engineer Shyam Sundar S K developed the AMD Overclocking Driver (AOD) to connect Linux with processor firmware. Using the kernel’s sysfs interface, users can change Package Power Tracking (PPT), Thermal Design Current (TDC) and Electrical Design Current (EDC), which govern processor power consumption and current limits. The driver also reads available adjustment ranges and current memory clock speeds.
Another control switches Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT) on or off in firmware. That differs from Linux’s existing “nosmt” option, which stops the operating system from using additional CPU threads rather than changing the firmware setting.
Adjustments to PPT, TDC and EDC take effect only after a reboot. With access to just a limited subset of firmware tuning options, the driver does not yet replace AMD’s Windows utility, Ryzen Master. AMD has announced no plan for a Linux version of that utility, although independent developers could use the driver to build command-line or graphical tuning tools.
