Civilization VI AI & Graphics Test, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, GTA V
Civilization VI AI Test
Civilization VI's AI benchmark measures the amount of computational horsepower available to the game engine during the workload.
The Core i5-7600K takes a minor lead over the i7-7700K, though that outcome is really too close to call definitively. Perhaps Hyper-Threading is hurting the Core i7 in this case, which wouldn't bode well for AMD's implementation of SMT. Sure enough, the Ryzen processors show behind Intel's hardware, neatly falling in order of 1800X, 1700X, and 1700.
We also recorded frame rate through the AI test's first 60 seconds, yielding another look at how the faster CPUs drive this turn-based metric at a quicker pace.
Civilization VI Graphics Test
Shifting over to Civilization VI's graphics test shows the Core i7-6900K taking a lead with its eight cores, though it's trailed closely by the higher-clocked Core i7-7700K. The Core i5-7600K's four physical cores don't hold up as well to the 8C/16T Ryzen chips, so it lands just under AMD's two fastest models. We also notice more variation between the 1700 and 1700X than we recorded in other tests.
Bumping the resolution up a notch doesn't change the finishing order. However, we see the Core i7-6900K average a slightly higher frame rate. The game is obviously CPU bound, so 2560x1440 doesn't give us anything new to report.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided responds well to the Ryzen family; all three models manage to beat Intel's fastest contenders. You'd better believe we're looking for a plausible technical explanation.
There's a distinct drop-off between AMD's Ryzen CPUs and the Intel chips. The Core i7-6900K trails Ryzen 7 1800X by 7.2 FPS on average, which is a comparatively large win. Our "frame rate over benchmark run" chart shows how both processor vendors segment out into tight groupings.
The same pattern emerges at 2560x1440, though with lower frame rates across the board. Ryzen 7 1800X leads the Core i7-6900K by 3.7 FPS, shrinking the gap (this time to Intel's benefit) as resolution goes up.
Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto V flips the performance story around again. We dialed the graphics settings up as high as they'd go in an effort to mimic a real-world experience on a GeForce GTX 1080.
The Core i7-7700K lands in first place by averaging 91.1 FPS, while Ryzen 7 1800X achieves 75.0 FPS (a 17% difference). Separately, the Ryzen processors scale better in GTA than they do in our other game tests. A 7% delta exists in moving from Ryzen 7 1700 to 1800X.
Intel's Core i5-7600K beats the Ryzen line-up at 2560x1440 as well, boasting a surprisingly good 58 FPS minimum frame rate. But it's the Core i7-7700K that outperforms everything else.
