Intel Core i9-7900X Review: Meet Skylake-X
Why you can trust Tom's Hardware
Civilization VI, Battlefield 1 & Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Civilization VI AI Test
The stock Core i9-7900X benefits from its dual-core 4.5 GHz Turbo Boost Max 3.0 setting to score well in Civilization VI's AI test. An overclock buys us very little in this situation.
This benchmark typically favors clock rate and IPC throughput over core count, and the Core i7-6950X scales well with increased frequency. Intel's stock Core i7-7700K falls into the middle of the pack, though a bit of tuning would likely propel it into a lead.
Civilization VI Graphics Test
The Core i9-7900X at stock settings tumbles to the bottom of our chart, which runs counter to our expectations. Even 10 cores, 20 threads, lots of L2 cache, and Turbo Boost Max 3.0 can't break past the six-core Ryzen 5 1600X at 4 GHz. Overclocking to 4.5 GHz does little to help. It's clear that the mesh-imposed performance penalty will have a profound effect on some titles.
Battlefield 1 (DX11)
On the other hand, Core i9-7900X wields its Turbo Boost frequencies and adjusted cache hierarchy well in other workloads. The stock Skylake-X CPU leads the test pool, even surpassing an overclocked Core i7-6950X.
Looks like Core i9-7650X is shaping up to have a split personality, right? It'll be interesting to see which one dominates in our application testing.
The Ryzen 7 1800X and Core i7-7700K contribute most to the somewhat messy frame time chart.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
The Dues EX: Mankind Divided benchmark results filter into two distinct camps. The Ryzen processors land up top, while Core i9-7900X joins its IA-based counterparts at the bottom.
MORE: Best CPUs
MORE: Intel & AMD Processor Hierarchy
MORE: All CPU Content
Current page: Civilization VI, Battlefield 1 & Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Prev Page VRMark, 3DMark & AotS: Escalation Next Page Grand Theft Auto V, Hitman & Shadow of MordorStay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Paul Alcorn is the Managing Editor: News and Emerging Tech for Tom's Hardware US. He also writes news and reviews on CPUs, storage, and enterprise hardware.
U.S. ordered TSMC to halt shipments of advanced AI processors to China: Report
8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard gets full size 108 key version — numpad devotees can also choose between NES and Famicom colorways
LG's new stretchable display can grow by 50%, bendy panels can be deformed into new form factors
-
Pros: 10/20 cost now $999Reply
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! -
rantoc Doubt many who purchase such high end cpu for gaming runs at a low full hd 1080p resolution, i know its more cpu taxing to run lower res at higher fps but that's for the sake of benchmarking the cpu itself.Reply
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! -
James Mason So it seems like de-lidding the x299 processors is gonna be a standard thing now to replace the TIM?Reply -
elbert Meet netburst 2.0 that not only can hit 100c at only (4.7Ghz)1.2v on good water cooler but only barely beats a 7700k not overclocked in games. All this is yours for the low low price of 3X. Its slower than the old 6950x in a few tests with was odd.Reply -
James Mason
The differences would be less noticeable at higher res than 1080p, so.... you'd just see less dissimilar numbers.19835717 said:Doubt many who purchase such high end cpu for gaming runs at a low full hd 1080p resolution, i know its more cpu taxing to run lower res at higher fps but that's for the sake of benchmarking the cpu itself.
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! -
Dawg__Cester Hmmmmm. I bought a Ryzen 1700, a water cooler, Asrock B350 MB, 16gb ram 3200Mhz for $590 plus tax. I live in New Jersey. I was very nervous about making the purchase as I knew this was coming out this week but the sale prices got me. Unless you all think I got ripped off, (DON'T TELL ME). But in all honesty I have not regretted the purchase one bit!! I even managed to save enough to get a GTX 1080 FE GPU. I did have a few bumps in the road getting the system stable (about 3 hours configuring after assembly) but I am VERY happy. I used Intel primarily and never really considered AMD other than for Video adapters and SSDs.Reply
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!! -
James Mason 19835862 said:Hmmmmm. I bought a Ryzen 1700, a water cooler, Asrock B350 MB, 16gb ram 3200Mhz for $590 plus tax. I live in New Jersey. I was very nervous about making the purchase as I knew this was coming out this week but the sale prices got me. Unless you all think I got ripped off, (DON'T TELL ME). But in all honesty I have not regretted the purchase one bit!! I even managed to save enough to get a GTX 1080 FE GPU. I did have a few bumps in the road getting the system stable (about 3 hours configuring after assembly) but I am VERY happy. I used Intel primarily and never really considered AMD other than for Video adapters and SSDs.
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 availableGenerated by PCPartPicker 2017-06-19 10:47 EDT-0400
Depends on which watercooler and which ram, but not really. -
Jakko_ Wow, compared to the Ryzen 1800X, the Intel Core i9-7900X:Reply
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. -
HardwareExtreme Too little, too late. Does Intel really think that just because it has "Intel" written on it that it must be worth $200-$300 than AMD?Reply