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Test Configuration and Article Specifics
For the most part, our X399 test bench programs haven’t changed over the past year. We still have instances where applications are broken due to software incompatibilities with high core counts. We are, though, happy see that the introduction of even more cores with our second-generations Threadripper 2990WX doesn’t break more test programs.
Test System Configuration
| Sound | Integrated HD audio |
| Network | Integrated gigabit networking |
| Graphics Driver | GeForce 399.24 |
Comparison Products
Benchmark Settings
| Synthetic Benchmarks & Settings | |
| PCMark 8 | Version 2.7.613Home, Work, Storage, Applications (Adobe & Microsoft) |
| 3DMark 13 | Version 4.47.597.0Test Set 1: Skydiver, 1920x1080, Default PresetTest Set 2: Firestrike, 1920x1080, Default PresetTest Set 3: Firestrike Extreme, 2560x1440 Default Preset |
| SiSoftware Sandra | Version 2016.03.22.21CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth |
| DiskSPD | 4K Random Read, 4K Random Write128K Sequential Read, 128K Sequential Write |
| Cinebench R15 | Build RC83328DEMOOpenGL Benchmark |
| CompuBench | Version 1.5.8Face Detection, Optical Flow, Ocean Surface, Ray Tracing |
| Application Tests & Settings | |
| LAME MP3 | Version 3.98.3Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160Kb/s) |
| HandBrake CLI | Version: 0.9.9Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19GB 4K mkv to x265 mp4 |
| Blender | Version 2.68aBMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark, BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark |
| 7-Zip | Version 16.02THG-Workload (7.6GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9" |
| Adobe After Effects CC | Release 2015.3.0, Version 13.8.0.144PCMark-driven routine |
| Adobe Photoshop CC | Release 2015.5.0, 20160603.r.88 x64PCMark-driven routine (light and heavy) |
| Adobe InDesign CC | Release 2015.4, Build 11.4.0.90 x64PCMark-driven routine |
| Adobe Illustrator | Release 2015.3.0, Version 20.0.0 (64-bit)PCMark-driven routine |
| Game Tests & Settings | |
| Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation | Version 2.50.28527High Preset - 1920x1080, Mid Shadow Quality, 1x MSAACrazy Preset - 1920x1080, High Shadow Quality, 2x MSAAHigh Preset - 3840x2160, Mid Shadow Quality, 1x MSAACrazy Preset -3840x2160, High Shadow Quality, 2x MSAA |
| F1 2015 | 2015 Season, Abu Dhabi track, Rain1920x1080 - UltraHigh Preset, 16x AF3840x2160 - UltraHigh Preset, 16x AF |
| Metro: Last Light Redux | Version 3.00 x64High Quality, 1920x1080, High TesselationVery High Quality, 1920x1080, Very High TesselationHigh Quality, 3840x2160, High TesselationVery High Quality, 3840x2160, Very High Tesselation |
| The Talos Principle | Version 2672521920x1080 - Medium Preset, High Quality, High Tesselation, 4x AF1920x1080 - Ultra Preset, VeryHigh Quality, VeryHigh Tesselation, 16x AF3840x2160 - Medium Preset, High Quality, High Tesselation, 4x AF3840x2160 - Ultra Preset, VeryHigh Quality, VeryHigh Tesselation, 16x AF |
With the introduction of the 32-core 2990WX and other 2000 series Threadrippers, existing X399 motherboards technically support the power limitations of these latest processors with limited boosting abilities. To test that specification against this tiny board’s stature, we've introduced the 2990WX into our testing regimen and will also be featuring it and this board in an upcoming Micro-ATX Monster build feature. Our goal today though is to see how this motherboard handles our standard test suite as well as this worst-case power scenario with AMD's latest 32-core monster chip.
Our pristine tempered-glass Corsair 570X case has fallen prey to the dangerous combination of pre-adolescent hands and permanent markers. It still works, so leave us tips on how to remove markers in the comments! On a more serious note, the Antec 1200W is a necessary inclusion to our test rig, since overclocking a 2990WX can bring system load numbers into the 800W range. Tacking on the GPU might even bring even this power supply to its knees. Our Flare X kit still provides DDR4-3200 speeds and overclocks fairly well in the right system. System storage is satisfied with the Toshiba RD400 256GB NVMe drive. Cooling our processor today is the Fractal Design S36 Celcius, so we’ll be testing its capability of cooling these processor configurations. We’re still using the GTX 1080 card because RTX cards are still hard to come by--as are games that currently support ray tracing.
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