The AMD 3rd Gen Ryzen Deep Dive Review: 3700X and 3900X Raising The Bar
by Andrei Frumusanu & Gavin Bonshor on July 7, 2019 9:00 AM ESTTest Bed and Setup
As per our processor testing policy, we take a premium category motherboard suitable for the socket, and equip the system with a suitable amount of memory running at the manufacturer's maximum supported frequency. This is also typically run at JEDEC subtimings where possible.
It is noted that some users are not keen on this policy, stating that sometimes the maximum supported frequency is quite low, or faster memory is available at a similar price, or that the JEDEC speeds can be prohibitive for performance. While these comments make sense, ultimately very few users apply memory profiles (either XMP or other) as they require interaction with the BIOS, and most users will fall back on JEDEC supported speeds - this includes home users as well as industry who might want to shave off a cent or two from the cost or stay within the margins set by the manufacturer. Where possible, we will extend out testing to include faster memory modules either at the same time as the review or a later date.
Test Setup | |||||
AMD 3000*1 | R9 3900X R7 3700X |
MSI MEG X570 Ace |
7C35v12 7C35v11*2 |
Wraith Prism | G.Skill TridentZ 4x8 GB DDR4-3200 CL16 16-16-16-36 |
AMD 2000 | R7 2700X R5 2600X R5 2500X |
ASRock X370 Gaming K4 |
P4.80 | Wraith Max* | G.Skill SniperX 2x8 GB DDR4-2933 |
AMD 1000 | R7 1800X | ASRock X370 Gaming K4 |
P4.80 | Wraith Max* | G.Skill SniperX 2x8 GB DDR4-2666 |
AMD TR4 | TR 1920X | ASUS ROG X399 Zenith |
0078 | Enermax Liqtech TR4 |
G.Skill FlareX 4x8GB DDR4-2666 |
Intel 9th Gen | i9-9900K i7-9700K i5-9600K |
ASRock Z370 Gaming i7** |
P1.70 | TRUE Copper |
Crucial Ballistix 4x8GB DDR4-2666 |
Intel 8th Gen | i7-8086K i7-8700K i5-8600K |
ASRock Z370 Gaming i7 |
P1.70 | TRUE Copper |
Crucial Ballistix 4x8GB DDR4-2666 |
Intel 7th Gen | i7-7700K i5-7600K |
GIGABYTE X170 ECC Extreme |
F21e | Silverstone AR10-115XS |
G.Skill RipjawsV 2x16GB DDR4-2400 |
Intel 6th Gen | i7-6700K i5-6600K |
GIGABYTE X170 ECC Extreme |
F21e | Silverstone AR10-115XS |
G.Skill RipjawsV 2x16GB DDR4-2133 |
Intel HEDT | i9-7900X i7-7820X i7-7800X |
ASRock X299 OC Formula |
P1.40 | TRUE Copper |
Crucial Ballistix 4x8GB DDR4-2666 |
GPU | Sapphire RX 460 2GB (CPU Tests) MSI GTX 1080 Gaming 8G (Gaming Tests) |
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PSU | Corsair AX860i Corsair AX1200i |
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SSD | Crucial MX200 1TB **Crucial MX300 1TB |
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OS | Windows 10 x64 RS3 1709 Spectre and Meltdown Patched **Windows 10 x64 1903 Spectre and Meltdown Patched |
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*1 Ryzen 3000 series has been tested in a different environment. *2 Initial Review BIOS - Graphs results are marked with ** |
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We must thank the following companies for kindly providing hardware for our multiple test beds. Some of this hardware is not in this test bed specifically, but is used in other testing.
Security Mitigrations
The systems have applied the latest Spectre and Meltdown mitigation patches where applicable. Meanwhile we should note that while the ZombieLoad exploit was announced earlier this year as well, the patches for that have not been released yet. We'll be looking at those later on once they hit.
Article Testing Methodology Update (July 8th):
We ran our original review numbers with the latest available firmware for the MSI MEG X570 ACE motherboard last week (Version 7C35v11). On Saturday the 6th MSI had shared with us a notice about a new version coming out, which became available to download to us on Sunday the 7th, the launch day and date of publication of the review.
We’ve had more time to investigate the new firmware, and have discovered extremely large changes in the behaviour of the frequency boosting algorithm. The new firmware (Version 7C35v12) for the motherboard contains AMD’s new ComboPI1.0.0.3.a (AGESA) firmware.
We discovered the following direct measurable effects between the two firmware versions:
(Note: This is a custom test that uses a fine-grained looping timed fixed instruction chain to derive frequency; it showcases single-core frequency)
We notice a significant change in the CPU’s boosting behaviour, now boosting to higher frequencies, and particularly at a faster rate from idle, more correctly matching AMD’s described intended boost behaviour and latency.
We’re currently in the process of re-running all our suite numbers and updating the article where necessary to reflect the new frequency behaviour.
Article Testing Methodology Update (July 9th):
We've updated the article benchmark numbers on the Ryzen 9 3900X. We've seen 3-9% improvements in exclusive ST workloads. MT workloads have remained unchanged, Gaming had both benefits and negatives. We continue to work on getting updated 3700X numbers and filling out the missing pieces.
Original BIOS results are as of first publication are marked with ** in the graphs.
Article Testing Methodology Update (July 10th):
We've also updated our Ryzen 7 3700X results now. Ultimately our conclusions haven't changed, but AMD does narrow the gap a bit more. For a full summary of our findings, please check out this article.
447 Comments
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Tkan215 - Monday, July 8, 2019 - link
true the future is more cores. People and customers should feel awake that single core aint the future its just a stopping rock. more cores !Tkan215 - Monday, July 8, 2019 - link
yes i called it a tie because of the margin of error and patches were not taken into account. also, Intel get enormouse game support so really many factors as they are not equal playing groundwatzupken - Sunday, July 7, 2019 - link
Intel's bad moment just started. Clearly while there are some areas where Intel chips are still doing well, however the victories are significantly lesser now. Looking at the power metrics, they lost the fab advantage, so they are now in the disadvantage. To top it off, Intel is still charging monopolistic prices on their existing chips. Have not really seen the rumored price cuts, which may be too little and too late.StrangerGuy - Sunday, July 7, 2019 - link
IMO the $200 CPU landscape is now buy 3600 non-X, or get ripped off by Intel anything even if the latter for cheaper by $50.mikato - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
Yeah I really wish a 3600 was tested.Maxiking - Sunday, July 7, 2019 - link
Intel is waiting for 10nm, considering the fact AMD didn't even match Skylake prepatches performance... IF Intel fixes the 10nm, AMD will be be smashed to the ground. If it is a big if, but it is a fact.Mahigan - Sunday, July 7, 2019 - link
AMD actually beat Intel on a clock for clock basis now. What you're seeing is Intel's higher boost clocks saving the day (somewhat).If Intel can't go past 5GHz with their 10nm, due to the new core design, and only are able to get say 10-15% more performance per clock then Gen3 Ryzen will most likely end up, with its 7nm+ and improvements AMD aren't done making, in tough competition.
just4U - Sunday, July 7, 2019 - link
Intel won't be doing any smashing anytime soon there Max.. I was damn pleased with the overall value/performance of my 2700x in comparison to my highly overclocked 8700K (4.9Ghz) and basically shrugged of the 9 series intel. The addition of a 12core.. with great performance levels really changes the game.Even if Intel brings something out it's not going to destroy anything. All we've seen over the past 5 years is small bumps upwards in performance.
Korguz - Sunday, July 7, 2019 - link
Maxiking intel has been waiting for 10nm for 204 years now.. and they are still kind of waiting for it. skylake prepatch ? as in specture and meltdown ? um.. kind of need those fixes/patches in place, even if it means a performance hit.. but by all means.. get skylake, dont fix/patch it, and worry about that.. and spend more.. its up to you... either way.. zen2.. looks very good....Targon - Monday, July 8, 2019 - link
What RAM was used in the Intel system? The Ryzen system used DDR4-3200, but it's CL16, not CL14 RAM. That CAS latency difference would be enough for Ryzen to at least tie the 9900k if not beat it in the gaming tests.