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The refreshed Dragon Platform also comprises a software upgrade: AMD OverDrive gets updated to version 3. For those who do not know OverDrive, it is an application for monitoring and tuning a system from the Windows environment.

Most if not all BIOS settings about overclocking can be controlled via OverDrive. The ones in red require a reboot to be applied whereas all the other ones can be adjusted on the go.

Something new in AMD OverDrive 3 is the Smart Profiles system. This allows selecting a different profile automatically when a specific application is launched. For example, there is no use of having the processor overclocked and overvolted when you are only surfing on the internet, apart from potentially reducing its life, if the overclock is too aggressive. Instead, these overclocked settings could apply only when your favorite game runs! Furthermore, different frequencies can be applied to different processor cores if the application does not use all of the threads. In this example, I created a profile for Far Cry 2, but there are already presets available for many games including Company of Heroes, Crysis, Call of duty: World at War, 3DMark06 and many more.

Also, these profiles are saved in a .XML file so anyone can consult them:

The other major upgrade of version 3 is the support for DDR3-1600 using the B.E.M.P., for Black Edition Memory Profiles. The user can check online for a preset memory profile that will depend on the memory he has, obviously. For now, there are only a few models supported but AMD is currently working with memory manufacturers so the list will grow. To check for a B.E.M.P., one simply has to click on 'Check' in the 'Online Update' tab. Then, it can be applied with a few clicks and a reboot.

Overall, AMD OverDrive 3 appears to be a nice addition to the Dragon Platform. I particularly like the Smart Profiles function. Even if I prefer clocking directly from the BIOS, OverDrive can apply the settings on-the-go depending on the application that is launched. That is a great way of exploiting your system to the maximum of its capacity!