AMD EPYC CPU hacked onto B650 motherboard, hits 6.6 GHz with liquid nitrogen — $159 EPYC 4124P shows immense overclocking potential

AMD's EPYC processors and overclocking typically don't go together in a sentence. However, overclocker Sergmann has demonstrated that you can overclock EPYC chips if you're doing it with the correct SKU. However, even more interesting is that the overclocker got the EPYC 4124P to work on an AM5 motherboard that doesn't officially support it.

The EPYC 4124P is part of AMD's entry-level EPYC 4004 processors for the AM5 platform. However, many consider these chips a rebrand of the mainstream Ryzen 7000 chips with enterprise features, such as support for ECC memory. At its core, the EPYC 4004 series shares the same specifications as the Ryzen 7000, with a core count that tops out at 16 Zen 4 execution cores, boost clock speeds up to 5.7 GHz, and a maximum TDP of 170W.

While the EPYC 4004-series processors reside on the AM5 platform, they don't work on any AM5 motherboard. Although the B650E Aorus Tachyon used in Sergmann's feat is an overclocking-oriented motherboard, it doesn't officially support the EPYC 4004 series. Moreover, processors don't support overclocking. Therefore, it's safe to assume that the overclocker used special firmware to enable support and to overclock the EPYC 4004 parts. It's not surprising since enthusiasts have been able to get unsupported processors to work on supported motherboards with modified firmware for some time now.

The EPYC 4124P hit 6.6 GHz with liquid nitrogen, close to 30% higher than the chip's rated 5.1 GHz boost clock speed. The quad-core chip was paired with a pair of overclocked DDR5-8000 memory modules, which didn't surprise us since the B650E Aorus Tachyon supports up to DDR5-8400 as long as the Ryzen chip has a capable IMC (integrated memory controller).

These results demonstrate the EPYC 4004's overclocking potential and further substantiate that these are just rebranded Ryzen 7000 chips for the enterprise market. You probably aren't hitting 6 GHz on your EPYC 4004 chips unless you have some seriously impressive overclocking credentials. Moreover, enterprise consumers run hardware at stock since stability is the number one concern priority, so it's unlikely that any EPYC 4004 part would undergo any overclocking.

Of course, most consumers will still be better served with AMD's Ryzen 9000 processors or Intel's upcoming Core Ultra 200 (codenamed Arrow Lake) processors. However, if you need server-grade features at a lower price (for servers) without sacrificing single-core performance, the EPYC 4004 series seems like a good balance. And if you're the adventurous type, overclocking is still possible, assuming you find the modded firmware for your motherboard. You should be able to achieve reasonable at-home, or at-work overclocks with more standard coolers and equipment.