After six years of silence, the world of processors moved into motion. The two titans on the market again converged in battle. AMD aggressively changed the structure of the central processor, and the Threadripper platform literally destroyed the premium-level desktop market. Intel has answered the call with the Core X series processors and the X299 platform.
CPU Leaders
Recently, the best processors for PCs are produced by 2 companies. Traditionally, the market leader is the American multinational company Intel. The headquarters of the company is located in Silicon Valley. The company was founded in 1968 by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore.
Intel owns 75-80% of the market. The company supplies processors to computer manufacturers Lenovo, Dell, HP, Apple. In addition to processors, the corporation produces chipsets for motherboards, integrated circuits, network cards. The main area of performance improvement Intel chose to increase the clock frequency.
In second place is another American company AMD, located in California and Texas. The company produces microprocessors, chipsets for motherboards. With the acquisition of ATI in 2006, the company occupied its niche in the GPU market.
AMD owns approximately 20% of the market. Recently, there have been trends to reduce the gap between AMD and Intel. AMD sees performance gains in increased core count and multithreading.
In addition to the clock frequency, the number of cores and threads, there are other characteristics of processors that should be taken into account when comparing: the number of instructions per second, the amount of cache memory, and the bus capacity.
Due to the fact that Intel dominates the market, it is logical to start the review of processors for PCs with this company. This will be one of the latest models - Core i9-7980XE
Intel processor overview
Despite the fact that the market entry was not as smooth as the Blue Giant planned, Intel introduced the world its incredible processor: the 18-core Core i9-7980XE.
Price
The new processor from Intel has 2 cores more than, for example, the 16-core AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X processor and surpasses it in parameters. But the price of the first is 2 times higher ($ 2,000 - about 132,000 rubles against $ 1,000 - about 66,000 rubles).
At first glance, the price of a processor for a home PC may seem absurd, but Intel already did something similar before, checking its customers ’wallets on a 10-core Core i7-6950X, which cost more than $ 1,500 (about 99,000 rubles) last year.
In the light of Threadripper’s popularity, the “blue” team devoted itself entirely to the 18-core processor, which is not much different from the Xeon product line, for example, Intel Xeon Platinum 8168. But unlike Threadripper, Intel’s processor owners don’t have to worry about switching to legacy software support mode provision or in game mode. They get a glamorous desktop component from Intel.
Features and Chipset
In short, a processor with 16 cores and 32 threads crammed into the tiny 14nm Skylake-X architecture looks like a truly stunning product. In addition, the processor has a 24.75 MB Smart Cache cache and supports up to 44 PCIe 3.0 lines and four-channel memory. Power consumption Intel Core i9 7980xe (TDP) - 165 watts.
The processor has a clock frequency of 2.6 GHz, which at full load can be increased to 3.4 GHz for all 18 cores. This processor actually expands the boundaries of the Skylake X architecture. What is especially surprising is that all this fits in a module that is 2 times smaller in width than Ryzen Threadripper.
Characteristics
As one of the main characteristics of processors for PCs, many popular applications consider performance. When evaluating processor performance in multi-threaded mode according to the CineBench test, he scored 3361 points (100 points less than the overclocked Threadripper 1950X). In single-threaded mode, his result was 184 points.
For comparison, the Core i5-7600K, which has high single-core performance, which is especially important for games, scored 179 points (5 points less).
This result was made possible for two reasons. Firstly, due to the use of the Skylake-X Core architecture in the processor. Secondly, due to the introduction of Turbo 3.0 technology, which allows overclocking any, from one to four, the best chip cores up to 4.2 GHz.
CPU overclocking and cooling
Intel does not ship any of its processors with integrated coolers. The inconsistency of this is that, having spent a round sum on the purchase of an expensive processor, no one wants to purchase a cooler in the secondary market.
When using a 280-mm NZXT Kraken X62 air-liquid cooler, the temperature of the Intel Core i9-7980XE under load rarely reaches 55 ˚C. In the accelerated state, its temperature does not exceed 87 ˚C.
Power consumption during a single stress test Prime95 is 258 watts. This is 13 watts less than the Threadripper 1950X.
The true processor potential can only be seen after changing the supply voltage and processor multipliers. In essence, overclocking a processor with a platform based on the X299 chipset is problematic for two reasons.
Firstly, thermal throttling (protecting the processor against overheating) of the voltage stabilization module (VRM) causes the processor to lower the value of the overclocked clock frequency. Secondly, Intel does not solder its central processors to the integrated heat sink (IHS), but uses thermal grease to perform this function. In general, it is difficult to get the most out of these chips.
If you do not limit the operation of the VRM module during testing, you can easily control the 4 GHz frequency in all 18 cores at a core voltage of 1.0 V. After some additional configuration, when you turn off the energy-saving Intel Speedstep technology and change the processor power phases, you can achieve final overclock to 4, 4 GHz in all 18 cores, supplying 1.115 V to the core
Increasing productivity at this level borders on insanity. The CineBench R15 processor performance app shows 195 points for the kernel. The same value for a single core has a Core i7-7700k. Multi-core performance is neither more nor less, 4284 points.
This is a significant increase in clock speed (29%). The temperature fluctuates around 84 C. It is hard not to be impressed by this result. Comparison with processors for PCs of other models shows that there is practically no competition for this parameter.
And even this does not mean that this is the full potential of this processor. The only thing that prevented achieving a higher result was the throttling of VRM, due to which the chip did not allow the temperature to rise above 107 ˚C.
It is possible that using a motherboard with higher specifications and better cooling solutions, VRM could get closer to 4.8 GHz, or maybe even higher.
It should be noted that the power consumption under this load reached 450 watts. This value does not take into account the power consumed by the GPU and other components.
conclusions
The price of $ 2,000 (about 132,000) per processor is nothing more than insanity. Intel should take this into account and understand that it will be lower in the ranking of processors for PCs in comparison with energy-efficient Threadripper. In addition, the owner of this processor loses in the number of PCIe lines, there are 20 lines less.
Perhaps Intel’s performance is doing its job and attracting customers. However, not everyone is ready to spend huge amounts of money on 2 additional cores and a 25% increase in productivity. In addition, we must not lose sight of the fact that the company refuses to use IHS for heat removal, preferring thermal paste.
But still, this processor is not like any other. Any application with it will work smoothly, whether it be a game with 4K resolution or visualization of a 5-hour video in Premiere Pro.
AMD Processor Overview
AMD is paving its way in the world of high-performance processors, providing the attention of its potential customers with one of the highest rates in terms of number of cores and multi-threading. AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX with 24 cores and 48 threads continues this trend, ahead of the top and more expensive models of Intel Skylake-X processors, which support up to 18 cores.
It is possible that this success of AMD is temporary, and with the release of new processors Intel will seize the palm.
Price and Availability
The start of sales of the Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX came at a price of $ 1,300 (about 86,000 rubles). Of course, you can ask yourself the question: “Why not buy a finished computer or its individual components for this money and assemble it yourself?”
However, as practice shows, it could be much worse. Competitors Core i9-7960X and Core i9-7980XE entered the market with higher prices ($ 1,700 - about 112,000 rubles, and $ 2,000 - about 132,000 rubles, respectively).
The most real competitor in this indicator for Ryzen in the ranking of processors for PCs may be Intel Core i9-9900K worth $ 580 (about 39,000 rubles). At a half price, it has the best characteristics.
Features and Chipset
Like other 2nd generation Ryzen Threadripper processors, this chip is built on a 12-nm Zen + architecture, which allows for higher clock speeds and the number of cores.
You can focus on Precision Boost 2 performance enhancement technology or the Extended Frequency Range 2. But the new Dynamic Local Mode is of most interest.
Before this mode appeared, switching between Creative and Game modes was carried out manually. In Creative mode, you can use all cores and access memory for all cores. This allows you to increase multi-threaded performance to perform intensive tasks such as image editing, video processing and the formation of video streams. In Game mode, the number of cores used is limited to eight, and the focus is on direct access to memory.
When testing and using the Threadripper system, switching between these two modes was one of the main problems. But with the advent of Dynamic Local Mode, it became possible to automatically select the correct mode to perform the corresponding task.
Compare Threadripper 2970WX with competitors
The processor in question has 8 cores less than its older brother Threadripper 2990WX. Nevertheless, in two tests, he surpassed him: Geekbench and HandBrake.
If we compare the Threadripper 2970WX with the processors of the main competitor, then its performance can be compared with the Core i9-7980XE or Core i9-7960X. At the same time, an AMD processor costs $ 400-700 (about 27,000 - 47,000 rubles) cheaper.
On the other hand, in the ranking of processors for PCs, the Threadripper 2970WX loses in all respects to the Core i9-9900K processor, despite the fact that it has fewer cores and threads (8 and 16, respectively). This Intel processor has the best performance for a single core and for multiple cores, faster encodes video and has a higher frame rate during games.
conclusions
Threadripper 2970WX appeared on the market just when the period of superiority of AMD processors began to come to an end. If you compare it with the Core i9-7980XE or Core i9-7960X in the ranking of processors for PCs, then it is quite possible to recommend for purchase. But with it with the Core i9-9900K it does not withstand any competition. Moreover, the new Core X series processors are just around the corner.