Intel Core i9-7900X Review: Meet Skylake-X
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Page 1:Introduction
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Page 2:Weaving The Fabric
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Page 3:Caching Up & IPC, AVX, Cryptographics
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Page 4:The X299 Basin Falls Chipset & Test Setup
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Page 5:VRMark, 3DMark & AotS: Escalation
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Page 6:Civilization VI, Battlefield 1 & Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
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Page 7:Grand Theft Auto V, Hitman & Shadow of Mordor
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Page 8:Project CARS, Rise of the Tomb Raider & The Division
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Page 9:Workstation & HPC
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Page 10:Power Consumption & Overclocking
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Page 11:Temperature & Thermal Problems
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Page 12:Conclusion
The X299 Basin Falls Chipset & Test Setup
The Basin Falls X299 Chipset
The Kaby Lake-X and Skylake-X processors drop into an LGA 2066 interface, supported by Intel's X299 chipset. Curiously, the platform controller hub isn't repurposed from Intel's server portfolio this time around. The 14nm, 6W piece of core logic features a four-lane DMI 3.0 connection, which is similar to a PCIe link between the processor and chipset. That's a nice doubling of throughput compared to X99's 2 GB/s DMI 2.0.
Basin Falls, Intel's code-name for X299, supports 30 HSIO (High Speed I/O) lanes that vendors can carve up into eight SATA 3.0 and 10 USB 3.0 ports, but lacks native Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.1 Gen 2 support. Intel plans to add support in future chipsets, naturally.
X299 supports up to three RST PCIe 3.0 x4 storage devices, though the reduced PCIe lane allocations on many Skylake-X SKUs will limit connectivity options. Intel's I218 Jacksonville LAN PHY and Optane Memory support also make an appearance, but most HEDT systems will likely have an SSD. That’s a better option than Optane Memory, which merely serves as a cache for an HDD.
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Although LGA 2066 incorporates more pins than LGA 2011v3, it shares many of the same dimensions. As a result, it's physically compatible with existing LGA 2011v3 coolers. However, Intel recommends water cooling as a minimum requirement due to Skylake-X's TDP rating. Skylake-X processors also have an integrated voltage regulator (IVR) that is similar to the FIVR implementation on Broadwell-E parts.
Like all of Intel's unlocked SKUs, the Core i9-7900X doesn't come with a bundled cooler. The company does sell its $85-$100 Liquid Cooling TS13X as an option, but as we'll discuss shortly, invest in a beefy custom loop if your plans for Skylake-X include overclocking.
Test Systems
X299-based motherboard firmware is evolving rapidly, right up through Skylake-X's launch. Reports indicate spotty Turbo Boost Max 3.0 support, which could lead to dissimilar test results from one review to the next. We tested our MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC extensively and found that it implements Turbo Boost correctly. We also disabled the all-core Turbo Boost feature to ensure a level playing field.
There were several demonstrations of memory overclocking beyond DDR4-4000 with Skylake-X processors at Computex, but we settled on DDR4-3200 to match the memory data transfer rates of our Ryzen models.
We introduced our new test system and methodology in How We Test Graphics Cards. If you'd like more detail about our general approach, check that piece out.
The only updated components in our German lab are the CPU, system memory, motherboard, and new cooling solution, so we'll just provide a quick overview in the following table:
| Test Equipment and Environment | |
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| System | Germany Intel LGA 2066 Intel Core i9-7900X MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC 4x 4GB G.Skill Ripjaws 4 DDR4-2600 AMD Socket AM4 Workstation AMD Ryzen 7 1800X, 1700X, 1600X Asus X370 Crosshair Hero VI 2x 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4-3200 Intel LGA 2011v3 Intel Core i7-6900K, Core i7-6950X MSI X99S XPower Gaming Titanium 4x 4GB Crucial Ballistix DDR4-2400 Intel LGA 1151 Intel Core i7-7700K MSI Z270 Gaming 7 2x 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4-3200 @2400 MT/s All Systems GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition Nvidia Quadro P6000 (Workstation) 1x 1TB Toshiba OCZ RD400 (M.2, System) 2x 960GB Toshiba OCZ TR150 (Storage, Images) Be Quiet Dark Power Pro 11, 850W Power Supply Unit (PSU) Windows 10 Pro (All Updates) Be Quiet Dark Power Pro 11, 850W Power Supply Unit (PSU) Windows 10 Pro (Creators Update) US Intel LGA 2066 Intel Core i9-7900X Intel LGA 2011v3 AMD Socket AM4 Workstation Intel LGA 1151 EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 FE 1TB Samsung PM863 SilverStone ST1500, 1500W Windows 10 Creators Update Version 1703 |
| Cooling | Germany Alphacool Eiszeit 2000 Chiller Alphacool Eisblock XPX Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut (For Cooler Switch) US Corsair H115i Corsair H100i v2 Arctic MX4 |
| Power Consumption Measurement | Contact-free DC Measurement at PCIe Slot (Using a Riser Card) Contact-free DC Measurement at External Auxiliary Power Supply Cable Direct Voltage Measurement at Power Supply 2x Rohde & Schwarz HMO 3054, 500MHz Digital Multi-Channel Oscilloscope with Storage Function 4x Rohde & Schwarz HZO50 Current Probe (1mA - 30A, 100kHz, DC) 4x Rohde & Schwarz HZ355 (10:1 Probes, 500MHz) 1x Rohde & Schwarz HMC 8012 Digital Multimeter with Storage Function |
| Thermal Measurement | 1x Optris PI640 80Hz Infrared Camera + PI Connect Real-Time Infrared Monitoring and Recording |
MORE: Best CPUs
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- Introduction
- Weaving The Fabric
- Caching Up & IPC, AVX, Cryptographics
- The X299 Basin Falls Chipset & Test Setup
- VRMark, 3DMark & AotS: Escalation
- Civilization VI, Battlefield 1 & Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
- Grand Theft Auto V, Hitman & Shadow of Mordor
- Project CARS, Rise of the Tomb Raider & The Division
- Workstation & HPC
- Power Consumption & Overclocking
- Temperature & Thermal Problems
- Conclusion
Cons: Everything else
My biggest problem with this Intel lineup is that if you want 44 PCIe you have to pay $999. No, thanks. My money goes to AMD ThreadRipper.
Good review!
is about 25-30% faster
costs 105% more
uses 35-40% more power
Ryzen looks really good here, and together with the temperature problems, Intel seems to be in some deep shit.
Cons: Everything else
My biggest problem with this Intel lineup is that if you want 44 PCIe you have to pay $999. No, thanks. My money goes to AMD ThreadRipper.
Good review!
I would like to see 1440p + 2160p resolutions on a suitable high end card (1080ti or equalent) benchmarked with the cpu as well as it would represent real scenarios for the peeps considering such cpu.
Thanks for a good review!
The differences would be less noticeable at higher res than 1080p, so.... you'd just see less dissimilar numbers.
After reading this along with other articles and YT videos, I have no regerts as I enjoy my Milky Way and play my games among other things.
Just my experience. I am not seeking positive reinforcement nor advice.
I just feel very satisfied that I did not wait and cough up 3oo more fore something I could have for less. I know, I know it makes no sense.
But come on fellas, its the computer game!!
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($299.39 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($65.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $490.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-06-19 10:47 EDT-0400
Depends on which watercooler and which ram, but not really.
is about 25-30% faster
costs 105% more
uses 35-40% more power
Ryzen looks really good here, and together with the temperature problems, Intel seems to be in some deep shit.
Thank goodness for competition.
The thermal paste has me worried that they won't be able to deliver significant gains over last year's models in that department.
Lower resolutions put more of a load on the CPU.
Like I said, I wasn't looking for positive reinforcement or validation as I am more than happy with my set up. But thank you for checking.
imagine the potential of the obviously unplanned and hastily shoehorned in 12-18core models once they come out in 2018 ... your rig will go nova ^^
I agree. Imagine if you ran Grand Theft Auto 5 in 640x480 mode. Your graphics card would barely have any work to do. All that's left is whatever the game asks from the CPU. That's when you see which CPU shines brightest.
Regarding the 7900x, I'm glad to see that Intel responded so quickly to Ryzen. It's too late in the development cycle to make Skylake-X a Ryzen killer, so what we get to see is what Intel had planned for us before AMD made it's comeback.
The article isn't very flattering toward Skylake-X but it's a much better deal than Broadwell was a year ago. Mostly higher performance at a lower price point. Good for Intel! Good for competition. Still, if I were building a PC right now I might go Ryzen.
You're wrong. I don't even think you understand how processors are made. No company just says "they released that?! Quick make a 10 core processor".
If 30% increase in performance isn't enough to justify the price tag -- than the processor was never for you to begin with. Neither is Threadripper. These processors are not for budget builds or for feeling the need to justify your decisions to save money. They are for a specific market that is very little of Intel's bottom line.