Because of the Microarchitectural Data Sampling (MDS)^[1] vulnerabilities in 2018, computers have a huge performance impact after mitigation. Apple suggests disabling hyper-threading (HT) for full mitigation.^[2] My i3-370 (ThinkPad T410i), i5-6200u (ThinkPad L460), and i5-3210M (Mac Mini Late 2012) are all using HT. Maybe that’s why they slowdown considerably since 2019.

On the other hand, J3455 is a quad-core processor. It’s more responsive than the dual-core and the dual-core-quad-thread processors. I decided to build the next primary desktop with an AMD quad-core processor without simultaneous multithreading (SMT)^[3].

Computer Parts
Implementation
Temperature and Power Consumption
Concerns

Computer Parts

A summarized table of all the parts used to build the computer. More about the case, case fan, and power supply are in another post^[4].

Name	Pro	Cons	Notes
Ryzen 2200g^[5]	A quad-core with build-in 8EU (Execution Units) GPU processor that saves space and power.	The 14nm Zen architecture is not as good as the 12nm Zen+ and 7nm Zen2.	Configure BIOS settings to lower the processor power for less heat.
AMD Wraith STEALTH Cooler (no LED)^[6]	A stock fan comes with 2200g for free.	The heatsink is shorter than Wraith SPIRE.^[7]	The 7-bladed fan is made by AVC: DASH0925R2M^[8] with hydraulic bearing.^[9]
msi A320M-A PRO^[10]	A small Micro-ATX motherboard which can be fit into Jonsbo C2^[11].	The JUSB3 (USB 3.2 Gen1 Connector) connector is too close to the bottom fan.	I don’t understand the MOSFET design^[12] and cannot confirm if it is capable of 6-core processors.
Jonsbo C2	Small to put on my working table.	Heat circulation issue.	Upgrade the stock rubber feet stands to increase airflow by the bottom intake fan.
Metallic Gear SKIRON 140MM FAN^[13]	Huge 85 CFM airflow.
SilverStone ST30SF V2.0^[14]	Good power efficiency, power protection, quiet, and smaller than standard ATX power.	More expansive than standard ATX power.	It comes with an SFX to ATX bracket for free.
Transcend DDR4-2666 Unbuffered Long-DIMM JM2666HLB-16G^[15] x 2	Stable and limited lifetime warranty.	It’s not the fastest 2933MHz memory which 2200g supports.
Micron MX500 500GB SSD^[16]	Fast, reliable, and 5-year limited warranty.	Runs hot with high I/O.

Implementation

Assemble

Because Jonsbo C2 is a small Micro-ATX case, I use an SFX PSU to leave more room to others. Although there is an extra 1cm for the CPU fan to breathe, it’s still very close to the SFX PSU.

A Perspective View of the Internal — Use an APU and an SFX PSU could help both to breathe cool air from the bottom intake fan.

Both of the AMD fusion controller hubs (FCH)^[17] A320 and the MX500 run hot without air circulation. Fortunately, they are closed to the intake fan.

Both FCH and SSD are just Around the Case Fan — The bottom case fan also improves airflow around FCH and SSD.

The original feet stand is 0.5cm height. I add another 1.6cm rubber feet stand to lift it off the table a little higher. The bottom intake fan may breathe easier now.

Improve Computer Case Feet — Combine with another rubber feet stand to lift the case further off the table.

Unfortunately, the self-drilling screws are too big. It huts the frame of the side panel. I have to cut down or replace it with others.

The Self-Drilling Screw is Too Tall — The self-drilling screw hits the frame of the side panel.

Ryzen Power Tech Terminology

CPB: Core Performance Boost a.k.a. Turbo Core

Automatically increase processor frequency in 25 MHz steps to improve performance when the average CPU power (ACP) is lower than the thermal design power (TDP). Similar to Intel’s Turbo Boost which changes in 100 MHz steps. ^[18][19]

It’s not governed by temperature.

XFR: eXtended Frequency Range

When the CPU cooling is better than the minimum spec, XFR uses the extra thermal headroom to push the average frequency higher and allow it to be sustained for longer for Ryzen X-series using FCH B450/X470^[20].

Ready to overdrive Ryzen X-series when CPB is enabled on supported FCH.

PBO: Precision Boost Overdrive

Redefine new Package Power Tracking (PPT: socket power in watts) / Electrical Design Current (EDC: VRM current in amps when VRMs are limited by electrical capacity) / Thermal Design Current (TDC: VRM current in amps when VRMs are limited by temperature) values to replace the default for Ryzen X-series using FCH B450/X470.^[21]

It doesn’t change the frequency.^[22]

Ready to overdrive Ryzen X-series when CPB is enabled on supported FCH.

cTDP: Configurable Thermal Design Power

Specify the power level of the processor.^[23]

AMD Cool’n’Quiet

For desktop processors to decrease frequency and voltage to save power.^[24] AMD PowerNow!^[25] is for laptop processors.

P-States: Performance State

The power-performance states of a processor. It’s similar to SpeedStep, PowerNow!, and Cool’n’Quiet. P0 means maximum power and frequency. Pn is less voltage and frequency than P(n–1).^[26]

Power Supply Idle Control

For older or cheaper power supply to work with a modern motherboard. The later draws less power than the former’s turn-off level. Enable this feature to prevent the PSU to turn off itself when the motherboard goes to sleep.^[27]

BIOS Configuration

The requirement is to allow working within the standard specification frequency. There is no need to overclock to prevent generating extra heat.

The location is for A320M-A PRO with BIOS version E7C51AMS.130 on 2019/11/8. It might change in the future update.

BIOS Option	Location	Notes
Core Performance Boost [Disabled]	[Overclocking]→[Advanced CPU Configuration]	In some case^[28], there are [Auto] and [Disabled]. [Auto] is [Enabled]. In others^[29], [Auto] and [Enabled]. [Auto] is [Disabled].
cTDP limit control [35W]	[Overclocking]→[Advanced CPU Configuration]	2200g is designed for 65W. Set to the lowest 35W would leave less room for CPB. In this video^[30], lower cTDP runs slower at 5:23 and draws less power at the wall at 5:45.
Downcore control [Auto]	[Overclocking]→[Advanced CPU Configuration]	Keep all cores run.
AMD Cool’n’Quiet [Enabled]	[Overclocking]→[CPU Features]	Enable dynamically adjust the frequency according to workload.
PPC Adjustment [PState 2]	[Overclocking]→[CPU Features]	Set performance state to 2 to use less power during idle.
Power Supply Idle Control [Auto]	[Overclocking]→[CPU Features]	Not necessary with SilverStone ST30SF V2.0. Because I am not sure the difference between [Low…] and [Typical…], I decided to leave it [Auto]

* To read more about this topic, “1usmus Custom Power Plan”^[31]^[32] is a useful Windows resource to manage Ryzen.

Temperature and Power Consumption

My Real-World Experience

I use the Psensor monitoring Tdie, Tctl^[33], and GPU in Ubuntu 20.04LTS and a power meter plug for power consumption. The room temperature is 26.5°C.

32°C/23W after login and Psensor has been launched.
Up to 52°C/59W while Chrome is loading 102 tabs.
37°C/25W after loading.
37 ~ 38°C/30 ~ 38W while checking emails and reading static pages.
37 ~ 38°C/31 ~ 36W while watching a YouTube video at 720p.
34°C/25W after closing Chrome for a while.

Here is the performance and power consumption summarize table comparing to others.

Computer	CPU	Core/Thread	Single Thread	Avg CPU Mark	Power Consumption
Ryzen 2200g on msi A320M-A PRO	Ryzen 2200g	4C4T	2119	6862	23 ~ 59W with SilverStone ST30SF
Celeron G3900 on msi H110M PRO-VH	Celeron G3900	2C2T	1672	2645	19 ~ 45W with SilverStone ST30SF 31 ~ 50W with CWT SF300W
mac mini late 2012	i5-3210M	2C4T	1492	2458	27 ~ 35W
AsRock J3455B-ITX	J3455	4C4T	777	2038	12 ~ 23W

Reports from Others

“AMD Ryzen 3 2200G review – Power Consumption”^[34] shows about 43 ~ 92W for benchmarking. Up to 101W for gaming.

Concerns

Temperature

I choose to manage the system temperature within 50°C. It is because Seagate suggests the operating temperature range for a hard drive is between 5 ~ 50°C.^[35]
I use Ryzen on coding, testing, VirtualBox, web surfing, and graphics. The processor won’t be busy continuously for long.

Processor

A Python and PHP benchmark report shows that Pentium G4400 (the 6th generation SkyLake architecture) is faster than Ryzen 3 2200G.^[36] Wondering if the G4400 has the latest firmware mitigation.
AMD Ryzen has a better security design and fewer incidents.^[37] The Intel processor got a 16% performance hit while AMD Ryzen is 3% after the default mitigation for Spectre/Meltdown/L1TF/MDS.^[38]

Case Fan

I have tested two different fans: Arctic P14 and Metallic Gear SKIRON 140MM. P14 is optimized for air-pressure while Skiron is a hybrid design. Cool Master explains the difference and recommends air flow fans for bottom intake.^[39]

Another problem between Arctic fans and Jonsbo C2 is that it would hit the case without washers. Skiron’s frame design doesn’t have this issue.

Style Guide

Style	Description
^{[reference number]}	source links are managed in the reference section
[icon, button, and menu item name]	clickable or selectable items
“field and label name, messages”	fixed text strings
‘input string, command parameters, and url’	user-editable text strings
command, script name, application, file name, and folder name	user commands, options, and named items
highlight	key items and conclusion
<?php echo'';>	PHP color coding with line numbers
$ls -la	bash in colors

Moving to Ryzen 3 2200G and Improve Jonsbo C2’s Airflow

Computer Parts

Implementation

Assemble

Ryzen Power Tech Terminology