AMD Ryzen 9 3900X & Ryzen 7 3700X ‘Zen 2’ CPU Review

1. Introducing Zen 2: A Dozen Cores for the Mainstream2. Zen 2, the AM4 Platform, and the X570 Chipset3. Overclocking Ryzen 30004. Testing Methodology5. CPU Tests: Cinebench R15 & R20, Blender6. CPU & Memory Tests: 7-Zip, Handbrake x264 & x2657. Memory Tests: Memory Bandwidth and Latency8. Gaming Tests 1: 3DMark, Deus Ex, Far Cry 5, GTA V9. Gaming Tests 2: GRW, Hitman 2, SotTR10. 1440P Gaming Tests: Deus Ex & Far Cry 511. Technical: Power Draw, Efficiency, Temperatures12. Closing Thoughts13. View All Pages

We will be outlining the Ryzen 3000 CPUs' performance while using ASRock X570 Taichi and Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master Socket AM4 X570 motherboards. A 16GB (2x8GB) kit of 3200MHz CL14 DDR4 memory serves our test system.

Today's comparison processors come in the form of:

• Skylake-X i9-7920X (12C24T).
• Coffee Lake i7-9700K (8C8T) and i9-9900K (8C16T).
• Pinnacle Ridge Ryzen 7 2700X (8C16T) and Ryzen 5 2600X (6C12T).
• Summit Ridge Ryzen 7 1800X (8C16T).

Each processor is tested at its default out-of-the-box settings. We also include reasonable overclocking performance data where relevant. For the Intel Coffee Lake CPUs, forced turbo is enabled by default when XMP is enabled and, in most scenarios, cannot be disabled. As such, we test using the forced turbo frequencies with the i9-9900K and i7-9700K. All-core load frequencies for the tested chips are as follows:

• Ryzen 9 3900X = 3.975-4.1GHz.
• Ryzen 7 3700X = 3.95-4.1GHz.
• Core i9-7920X = 3.8GHz (most of the time, with AVX workloads or synthetic stress tests dropping to 3.4GHz and below).
• Core i9-9900K = 4.7GHz.
• Core i7-9700K = 4.6GHz.
• Ryzen 7 2700X = Around 3.95GHz.
• Ryzen 5 2600X = Around 3.975-4.0GHz.
• Ryzen 7 1800X = 3.65GHz.

CPU Test System Common Components:

• Graphics Card: Gigabyte Aorus RTX 2080 Ti Gaming OC 11G (custom fan curve to eliminate thermal throttling).
• Memory: 16GB (2x8GB) G.Skill TridentZ 3200MHz 14-14-14-34 DDR4 @ 1.35V (4x8GB for quad-channel systems).
• CPU Cooler: Corsair H100X.
• Games SSD: Crucial MX300 750GB.
• Power Supply: Seasonic Prime Titanium 1000W.
• Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit 1903 Update.

Ryzen 3000 AM4 System (Ryzen 7 3700X, Ryzen 9 3900X):

• Ryzen 7 3700X CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X ‘Matisse' 8 cores, 16 threads (4.25GHz @ 1.35-1.375V overclocked).
• Ryzen 9 3900X CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X ‘Matisse' 12 cores, 24 threads (4.25GHz @ 1.35-1.4V overclocked).
• Motherboard: ASRock X570 Taichi & Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master (AM4, X570, AGESA Combo-AM4 1.0.0.2).
• System Drive: WD Black SN750 500GB.

Ryzen 1000 & 2000 AM4 System (Ryzen 5 2600X, Ryzen 7 1800X, Ryzen 7 2700X):

• Ryzen 7 1800X CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 1800X ‘Summit Ridge' 8 cores, 16 threads (4.0GHz @ 1.4V overclocked).
• Ryzen 5 2600X CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X ‘Pinnacle Ridge' 6 cores, 12 threads.
• Ryzen 7 2700X CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X ‘Pinnacle Ridge' 8 cores, 16 threads.
• Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair VII Hero (Wi-Fi) (AM4, X470, AGESA Combo-AM4 0.0.7.2).
• System Drive: ADATA SX950 240GB.

Coffee Lake LGA 1151 System (i7-9700K, i9-9900K):

• i7-9700K CPU: Intel Core i7-9700K ‘Coffee Lake' 8 cores, 8 threads (5.0GHz @ 1.3V overclocked).
• i9-9900K CPU: Intel Core i9-9900K ‘Coffee Lake' 8 cores, 16 threads (4.9GHz @ 1.3V overclocked).
• Motherboard: Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Master (LGA 1151 rev. 2, Z390).
• System Drive: Plextor M9Pe 512GB.

Skylake-X LGA 2066 System (i9-7920X):

• i9-7920X CPU: Intel Core i9-7920X ‘Skylake-X' 12 cores, 24 threads.
• Motherboard: ASRock X299 Taichi XE (LGA 2066, X299).
• System Drive: Corsair Neutron XT 480GB.

Software:

• AMD Chipset Drivers v1.07.07.0725 (pre-release).
• GeForce 430.86 VGA drivers.

Tests:

Productivity-related:

• Cinebench R15 – All-core & single-core CPU benchmark (CPU)
• Cinebench R20 – All-core & single-core CPU benchmark (CPU)
• Blender 2.79b – All-core rendering of the BMW benchmark (CPU)
• HandBrake x264 – Convert 1440p60 H264 video to 1080p60 H264 using the YouTube HQ 1080p60 preset (CPU)
• HandBrake x265 – Convert 4K30 100Mbps H264 video to 1080p30 40Mbps H265 using the H.265 MKV 1080p30 preset (CPU)
• 7-Zip – Built-in 7-Zip benchmark test (CPU & Memory)
• SiSoft Sandra – Memory bandwidth (Memory)
• AIDA64 – Memory bandwidth, memory latency, memory & cache latency (Memory)

Gaming-related:

• 3DMark Time Spy – Time Spy (DX12) test (Gaming)
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Built-in benchmark tool, 1920 x 1080, Ultra quality preset, no AA, DX12 version (Gaming)
• Far Cry 5 – Built-in benchmark tool, 1920 x 1080, Ultra quality preset, DX12 (Gaming)
• Ghost Recon: Wildlands – Built-in benchmark tool, 1920 x 1080, Ultra quality preset, DX12 (Gaming)
• Grand Theft Auto V – Built-in benchmark tool, 1920 x 1080, Maximum quality settings, Maximum Advanced Graphics, DX11 (Gaming)
• Hitman 2 – Built-in benchmark tool – Mumbai scene, 1920 x 1080, Ultra quality preset, DX12 (Gaming)
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider – Built-in benchmark tool, 1920 x 1080, Highest quality preset, no AA, DX12 version (Gaming)

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