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ATXNG

Bench notes on desktop platform tuning

Guides

5 notes. Each one names its bench, its instruments and the validation runs that must pass before a setting is trusted.

Memory & Fabric

Subtiming work on DDR5, and the lane topology the rest of the platform hangs off.

NoteSectionReadRiskRevised
DDR5 subtiming tuning on AM5 and LGA1700 Hand-tuning DDR5 subtimings, with the refresh window as the largest single lever Memory & Fabric 16 min risk: moderate 2026-08-28
PCIe lane topology, bifurcation and link verification Splitting a x16 root port and proving on Linux that every link trained as intended Memory & Fabric 16 min risk: low 2026-08-28

Power & Thermals

What the regulator actually delivers under load, and how the voltage/frequency curve is shaped.

NoteSectionReadRiskRevised
VRM load line, droop and thermal analysis What the phase count buys, what LLC costs, and how to measure a rail software cannot see Power & Thermals 16 min risk: moderate 2026-08-28
Per-core Curve Optimizer: finding each core's voltage floor Per-core CO counts found by bisection, validated at idle rather than under load Power & Thermals 16 min risk: moderate 2026-08-28

Firmware

Reading, altering and recovering the image the board boots from.

NoteSectionReadRiskRevised
UEFI firmware inspection, modification and recovery Read the SPI chip, write one region back, and recover a board that will not POST Firmware 16 min risk: can brick 2026-08-28