Intel has just released a new update to its XTU monitoring and overclocking software, bringing it to version 7.5.0. This new release adds enhanced support for Alder Lake and fully supports all of the chip's most important features, including the hybrid core architecture and DDR5 memory. As covered at Intel’s Architecture Day, the company will release the Alder Lake CPUs soon, so they'll vie for a spot on our best CPUs list in the future.
The new Alder Lake architecture features a hybrid core layout with high-performance Golden Cove cores and efficiency-focused Gracemount cores built on the Intel 7 process node. The new high-performance cores promise a 19% IPC improvement over Rocket Lake, and the Gracemount cores are expected to outperform Skylake cores while consuming much less power.
Due to the many changes Alder Lake brings to the table, the number of new XTU features is extensive. The biggest additions are support for Alder's performance and efficiency cores, meaning XTU can now monitor the CPU usage of both sets of cores and identify which cores are high performance and which cores are optimized for power savings.
Intel also added support for Speed Optimizer technology, giving you a fully automated overclock with a single click. Speed Optimizer could apply to both performance and efficiency cores, but we’re not sure at this time. It all depends on whether Intel decides to keep its power-efficient cores unlocked for overclocking or not.
XTU now has support for real-time memory timings, meaning you can now adjust memory timings within the utility, and DDR5 memory is now officially supported.
Turbo Velocity Boost has also been added to Alder Lake’s support list in XTU for both per-core and package overclocks. Turbo Velocity Boost -- or TVB, is a relatively new technology that allows one or two cores to boost beyond Intel’s Turbo Boost specifications if temperatures are below a certain threshold. This is done via binning at the factory, so TVB knows which cores have the highest silicon quality for maximum boosting potential.
With per-core TVB boosting, you can overclock the TVB profile beyond its rated specifications within Intel’s XTU utility for very high single and dual-core overclocks. This type of overclocking can be very beneficial for single-threaded applications and games.
Alder Lake also supports a new type of TVB manipulation called package TVB overclocking. Unfortunately, Intel hasn’t provided any details about package TVB overclocking, but we suspect that the modifier encompasses all cores, including power saver cores and the integrated graphics.
If true, then we can expect both Intel’s power saver cores and high-performance cores to be fully unlocked, which could be a whole lot of fun for overclocking enthusiasts that want to push the limit on all their cores.
