Test Methodology
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X Specification |
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Intel Core Processor Configurations |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Core i9-7980XE |
Core i9-7900X |
Core i7-8700K |
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| CPU Base Clock | 2.6GHz |
3.3GHz |
4.2GHz |
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| CPU Turbo Clock | 4.4GHz |
4.5GHz |
4.5GHz |
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| CPU Cache | 24.75MB |
13.75MB |
8MB |
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| CPU Cores / Threads | 18 / 36 |
10 / 20 |
4 / 8 |
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| CPU TDP | 165W |
140W |
95W |
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| Integrated Graphics | - |
- |
HD 630 |
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| IGP Base Clock | - |
- |
350MHz |
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| IGP Turbo Clock | - |
- |
1,150MHz |
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| Socket | LGA 2066 |
LGA 2066 |
LGA 1151 |
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| Lithography | 14nm |
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| Motherboard | Asus Prime X299-A |
Asus Maximus V Hero |
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| BIOS | 0802 |
0801 |
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| Memory | Corsair Dominator 32GB DDR4 |
Corsair Vengeance 32GB DDR4 |
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| Memory Config | 4x8GB |
2x16GB |
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| Memory Timings | 16-17-17-36-2T |
16-16-16-39-1T |
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| Memory Speed | 2,666MHz |
2,400MHz |
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| Disk Drive | SK hynix Canvas SC300 (512GB) |
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| Power Supply | be quiet Dark Power Pro 11 (1,000W) |
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| Graphics Card | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti FE (391.35) |
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| CPU Cooler | Noctua NH-D15S |
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| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit) |
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AMD Ryzen Processor Configurations |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Threadripper 2990WX |
Threadripper 2950X |
Threadripper 1950X |
Ryzen 7 2700X |
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| CPU Base Clock | 3.0GHz |
3.5GHz |
3.4GHz |
3.7GHz |
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| CPU Turbo Clock | 4.2GHz |
4.4GHz |
4.0GHz |
4.3GHz |
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| CPU L3 Cache | 64MB |
32MB |
32MB |
16MB |
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| CPU Cores / Threads | 32 / 64 |
16 / 32 |
16 / 32 |
8 / 16 |
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| CPU TDP | 250W |
180W |
180W |
105W |
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| Integrated Graphics | - |
- |
- |
- |
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| IGP Base Clock | - |
- |
- |
- |
|||||||
| IGP Turbo Clock | - |
- |
- |
- |
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| Socket | TR4 |
TR4 |
TR4 |
AM4 |
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| Lithography | 12nm |
12nm |
14nm |
12nm |
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| Motherboard | Asus X399 Zenith Extreme |
Asus Crosshair VI Hero |
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| BIOS | 0078 |
5704 |
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| Memory | G.Skill Trident Z RGB 32GB DDR4 |
Corsair Vengeance 32GB DDR4 |
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| Memory Config | 4x8GB |
4x8GB |
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| Memory Timings | 16-17-17-36-1T |
16-17-17-36-1T |
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| Memory Speed | 2,933MHz |
2,666MHz |
2,933MHz |
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| Disk Drive | SK hynix Canvas SC300 (512GB) |
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| Power Supply | be quiet Dark Power Pro 11 (1,000W) |
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| Graphics Card | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti FE (391.35) |
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| CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Wraith Ripper |
Noctua NH-D15S |
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| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit) |
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Benchmark Suite |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU Benchmarks | ||||||||||||
| HEXUS PiFast | Our number-crunching benchmark stresses a single core by calculating Pi to 10m places | |||||||||||
| Blender 2.79c | Using all available cores, we run the BMW CPU_Blend benchmark and Victor benchmark | |||||||||||
| Cinebench | Using Cinebench's multi-CPU render, this cross-platform benchmark stresses all cores | |||||||||||
| Corona 1.3 | Using the high-performance renderer's default benchmark that stresses all cores | |||||||||||
| Keyshot 7.3 | Using ray-tracing and global illumination that scales across all cores. | |||||||||||
| Arnold via Maya 2018 | Using the model village scene rendered via Arnold at 2,616x1,962px. Scales across all cores | |||||||||||
| HandBrake 1.1.0 | Free-to-use video encoder that stresses all CPU cores (64-bit) | |||||||||||
| Memory Benchmarks | ||||||||||||
| AIDA64 | Benchmark that analyses memory bandwidth and latency | |||||||||||
| Gaming Benchmarks (Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti) | ||||||||||||
| 3DMark | Graphics benchmark run using Fire Strike and Time Spy tests | |||||||||||
| VRMark | Virtual reality benchmark run using the Cyan Room test | |||||||||||
| F1 2017 | 1,920x1,080 and 3,840x2,160, ultra settings | |||||||||||
| Far Cry 5 | 1,920x1,080 and 3,840x2,160, ultra settings | |||||||||||
| Middle-earth: Shadow of War | 1,920x1,080 and 3,840x2,160, ultra settings | |||||||||||
| Total War: Warhammer 2 | 1,920x1,080 and 3,840x2,160, ultra settings | |||||||||||
| Miscellaneous Benchmarks | ||||||||||||
| Power Consumption | To emulate real-world usage scenarios, we record system-wide mains power draw when idle, when encoding video via HandBrake and while playing Middle-earth | |||||||||||
Notes
We've tested a number of platforms from each performance group. The Intel Core i9-7980XE is the obvious many-core competitor while the Core i7-8700K is the mainstream champ. We've also got Threadripper 1950X, ostensibly to show the performance uplift from the best of the previous TR generation and, going mainstream again, the Ryzen 7 2700X.
The graphics card has been upgraded to a GeForce GTX 1080 Ti FE and we've also kept to the maximum supported memory frequency on each platform.
Ensuring the comparisons are relevant and useful, we have since rebenchmarked an Intel Core i9-7900X that, as identified on the previous page, is the obvious price-equivalent competitor to 2950X. Also, appreciating this processor is more of a general-purpose chip than 2990WX, the gaming suite has been expanded to include a VR benchmark and Far Cry 5.