AMD has once again shown that its RX 9060 XT is an absolute monster for frequency overclocks, hitting 4.64GHz at Computex in partnership with overclocker Bill “Sampson” Alverson. This isn’t quite the record that AMD and Sampson made earlier this year, but it further highlights that AMD has some fancy internal OC tools that other overclockers would really love to get their hands on.
AMD made headlines in February when it pushed an RX 9060 XT to 4.769GHz on the core using liquid nitrogen, with Sampson and fellow overclocker Allen “Splave” Golibersuch handling the technicals. This latest overclock doesn’t break that, but it gets very close and easily slots into place as the second-highest GPU frequency ever recorded.
X user Madness727 posted some images of the overclocking attempt, hailing the card’s impressive capabilities under liquid nitrogen cooling. However, they also highlighted that the tools AMD used to achieve this overclock (and the previous record from earlier this year) are a big part of why this record was possible.
They also wished these tools could be made more widely available, so other overclockers could take a run at the record.
It’s not entirely clear what those tools do, though deeper, more granular control over GPU frequencies, voltages, and memory timings may be part of it. If AMD doesn’t make these tools more widely available, it could set a worrying precedent that only manufacturers themselves can achieve peak performance on their hardware, even with pro-overclocker assistance.
That would give AMD, Intel, and Nvidia much greater control over how their hardware was used and presented to the world, something they may well see as desirable. Equally, it ruins the spirit of competition and the plucky vibe that overclocking used to have, where end users could expect to get a lot more from their hardware—even if they aren’t chasing records.
