Core i9-9900KS Ashes of the Singularity and Far Cry 5
Our stock setups for both AMD and Intel processors use the vendor-specified stock memory frequency. We present the 'Core i9-9900K @ 5.0 GHz DDR4-2666' entry so you can compare an overclocked -9900K to the stock KS model at 5.0 GHz with the same memory settings. It's noteworthy that these two configurations should not be used for IPC comparison because the Core i9-9900K is locked to a static configuration, while the -9000KS is running in its native mode and subject to clock fluctuations.
We tested the other overclocked -9900K/S models at DDR4-3600 to highlight the performance advantages of memory tuning.
The stock Core i9-9900KS is marked with "CL" to denote that we used a custom water cooling loop for these tests.
Test results annotated with "PBO" reflect performance with AMD's auto-overclocking Precision Boost Overdrive feature activated. Those configurations also run at DDR4-3600.
| Memory | Chart Entry |
|---|---|
| DDR4-2666 | Core i9-9900KS CL, i9-9900K, 9900K @ 5.0 DDR4-2666, Ryzen 7 3700X, Ryzen 9 3900X |
| DDR4-3600 | Core i9-990KS @ 5.2, Core i9-9900K @ 5.0, Ryzen 9 3900X PBO, Ryzen 7 3700X PBO |
Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation
The stock Core i9-9900KS matches the overclocked -9900K step for step with normalized memory settings, while tuning both the chip's cores and memory allows it to take a decent lead over the fully-overclocked -9900K, not to mention the overclocked Ryzen 9 3900X.
At stock settings, however, the -9900KS's gain over the stock -9900K is slight. That's partly because much of the gain from overclocking with this title stems from increased memory data transfer rates.
Far Cry 5
We see much the same trend with the Far Cry 5 benchmark results. The stock -9900KS outstrips the overclocked -9900K by a slim margin with normalized memory data transfer rates, and tuning to 5.2 GHz affords it an easy lead over its less-expensive counterpart. We also see a larger delta between the stock -9900K and the KS model.
AMD's Ryzen processors aren't as nimble in this benchmark and land at the bottom of the chart.
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