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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John_M - Sunday, July 7, 2019 - link
Yes. The integrated memory controller is on the IO die, which is part of the Ryzen SoC, not the chipset.BushLin - Monday, July 8, 2019 - link
Right now, there's no indication what CL / timings are applied to all the other systems. CL16 is indeed bottom of the barrel for DDR-3200, you would hope there's no shenanigans with Intel getting CL12 DDR-2666. Why not just run all the systems with the same DDR-3200, it's not like they can't do it.profiaudi - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
Not to be too rude, but the IMC is on the io chipLet, not the chipSet. The chipset actually has an important role for the memory speed, in that a chipset defines a platform and a platform imposes requirements on the power supply and trace routing. While the IMC in 3rd gen can handle 3200MT/s+ completely fine, it is guaranteed to do so only one X570. Anything older is a dice roll as the boards were not designed for such speeds (not a requirement for the older platform).waja - Tuesday, July 23, 2019 - link
Do you know george stevenson story?He earn 3657$ every month at home just working few hours on internet see more by open this connection and click home button.FOR MORE INFORMATION COPY THIS SITE.......... www.online-3.comAndrei Frumusanu - Sunday, July 7, 2019 - link
Just as note for those who haven’t been following: This review wasn’t written by our usual resident CPU editor, Dr Ian Cutress as he unfortunately the timing didn’t work out. We only had a few days time with the new Ryzen CPUs, as such, you might noticed a few bits and pieces missing in our article that we’ll try to address in the next hours and days. We’ll be trying to update the piece with more information and data as soon as we can. Thanks.Also huge thanks to Gavin Bonshor who actually did all the testing and collected all the data for this review, thumb up to him.
plonk420 - Sunday, July 7, 2019 - link
hoping a speedy recovery for him! loved his video with Wendell!loving the article, too. don't suppose you could test cross-CCX latency?
plonk420 - Sunday, July 7, 2019 - link
e.g. pcper.com/2017/06/the-intel-core-i9-7900x-10-core-skylake-x-processor-review/3/main interest is if it is low enough to be harnessed by RPCS3 (PS3 emulator)
ballsystemlord - Sunday, July 7, 2019 - link
CCX benchmarks would be nice.IF power benchmarks were also done last time and probably in the works.
shakazulu667 - Sunday, July 7, 2019 - link
Are Intel results with or without spectre et al mitigations?Ryan Smith - Sunday, July 7, 2019 - link
They are with Spectre and Meltdown mitigations. They are not new enough results to include anything for Fallout/ZombieLoad.