When I set out to do this initial look at Intels new X99 CPU's I wanted it to be all about how efficient the CPU is and how does it compare to the last gen. I also wanted to know how far it would Overclock on good Air cooling such as the Megahelms with two fans attached and basic custom water cooling XSPC dual rad (240mm) with raystorm cpu block setup.
For once I picked the least overclockable chips I tested from system OEM stock so all my results should be easy to replicate by all customers. Most customers want cool operating hardware so if I had to use voltages where temps go above 80C I backed off.
I ran the memory speed at DDR2400 C10 for all my initial ambient overclocking testing.
For stability testing I used Intel XTU and Prime 95 ( Not normally a choice of mine but guys on here love it!!) I ran both for one hour each.
My motherboard of choice was my ASUS Rampage V Extreme which performed flawlessly throughout with some insane DDR4 overclocking possible.
First I tested the 5960X 8c 16t CPU on Air cooling 3.9-4.0 ghz was possible with 1.1v and uncore at 3.5. For this I used Cache volts at 1.1 vccin 1.9. During loading temps where in the mid to late 70's.
The 5960x definitively benefited from water cooling with 4.2-4.3ghz being possible on water with 3.5 uncore. The volts I could use on water where 1.2 core, 1.2 cache with temps topping out at 78C.
I am sure with a quad rad on CPU even more mhz will be possible. At 4.3 this chip is a true power house.
Next I looked at the 5930K 6C 12T on good air I got this one to 4.0-4.1ghz with 1.15v Uncore was at 3.5ghz with the same volts. Temps on load peaked at 78C.
Like the X the K benefited from water cooling. I managed 4.4ghz with this sample at 1.225v with uncore at 3.5ghz on the same volts. Temps peaked at 79C.
Finally I looked at the cut down 5820K which offers 6C 12T just like the 5930K but has less PCI X lanes 28 to be precise. This means its only really suited to single GPU setups. The 5820K I expected to clock the best of all as it does have these cut down features.
This was not to be on Air the 5820K reached 4ghz at 1.125v with 3.5ghz Uncore temps around 77 C peak and on water it reached 4.2 at 1.215v with 3.5ghz uncore.Temps where again in the late 70's C.
My initial conclusion about how overclockable these chips are is they are very similar to there X79 counterparts volts for volt. But they get warm much quicker which is hardly surprising given there DDR4 onboard memory controller massive on board Cache and extra PCI Ex lanes. End users need the best cooling they can to get the most from this silicon.
After testing what ambient clocking was possible I then tested the 5930K and 5960X clock for clock performance at DDR4 2400 and DDR4 3000 against the 4930K at DDR 2400. For all these tests I used GSKILL highly overclockable and tunable 3000mhz kit. I used several benches including 3D mark, 3D mark 11, Heaven, Aida and Cinebench. Below you can see the results.
I have shown screenshot from aida further down the page so you guys can see detailed scores of how DDR4 compares to DDR3.
AIDA 4930K
AIDA 5930K DDR2400
AIDA 5930K DDR4 3000
AIDA 5960X DDR4 2400
In conclusion X99 has a lot to offer. Its DDR4 bandwidth is top notch and will only improve as DDR4 matures. As is its clock for clock performance. This translates into great speed on rendering tasks such as Cinebench and I am sure all Photo editing / sound editing type applications the same. The 8C 16t 5960X ragging through this stuff faster than any desktop part before.
I also saw excellent physics benching scores so games relying on this type of compute power will gain from X99 even if only using a single GPU.
X99 comes into its own with multi GPU setups with not only massive bandwidth but also many PCI X lanes to use.
Some games will undoubtedly get a boost from X99 but not all. Haswell on Z97 for many will be enough with single GPU but this is enthusiast level so I expect early adopters to be those gamers with multi GPU setups or professional users with a need for high and efficient core count. For these two groups X99 is great and does offer real benefits.
For me its the best benching platform so far such fun tuning GSKILL DDR4 and the potential for massive scoring. 80K plus Vantage CPU test yes please
!!! if your a bencher X99 is also a must.
For once I picked the least overclockable chips I tested from system OEM stock so all my results should be easy to replicate by all customers. Most customers want cool operating hardware so if I had to use voltages where temps go above 80C I backed off.
I ran the memory speed at DDR2400 C10 for all my initial ambient overclocking testing.
For stability testing I used Intel XTU and Prime 95 ( Not normally a choice of mine but guys on here love it!!) I ran both for one hour each.
My motherboard of choice was my ASUS Rampage V Extreme which performed flawlessly throughout with some insane DDR4 overclocking possible.
First I tested the 5960X 8c 16t CPU on Air cooling 3.9-4.0 ghz was possible with 1.1v and uncore at 3.5. For this I used Cache volts at 1.1 vccin 1.9. During loading temps where in the mid to late 70's.
The 5960x definitively benefited from water cooling with 4.2-4.3ghz being possible on water with 3.5 uncore. The volts I could use on water where 1.2 core, 1.2 cache with temps topping out at 78C.
I am sure with a quad rad on CPU even more mhz will be possible. At 4.3 this chip is a true power house.
Next I looked at the 5930K 6C 12T on good air I got this one to 4.0-4.1ghz with 1.15v Uncore was at 3.5ghz with the same volts. Temps on load peaked at 78C.
Like the X the K benefited from water cooling. I managed 4.4ghz with this sample at 1.225v with uncore at 3.5ghz on the same volts. Temps peaked at 79C.
Finally I looked at the cut down 5820K which offers 6C 12T just like the 5930K but has less PCI X lanes 28 to be precise. This means its only really suited to single GPU setups. The 5820K I expected to clock the best of all as it does have these cut down features.
This was not to be on Air the 5820K reached 4ghz at 1.125v with 3.5ghz Uncore temps around 77 C peak and on water it reached 4.2 at 1.215v with 3.5ghz uncore.Temps where again in the late 70's C.
My initial conclusion about how overclockable these chips are is they are very similar to there X79 counterparts volts for volt. But they get warm much quicker which is hardly surprising given there DDR4 onboard memory controller massive on board Cache and extra PCI Ex lanes. End users need the best cooling they can to get the most from this silicon.
After testing what ambient clocking was possible I then tested the 5930K and 5960X clock for clock performance at DDR4 2400 and DDR4 3000 against the 4930K at DDR 2400. For all these tests I used GSKILL highly overclockable and tunable 3000mhz kit. I used several benches including 3D mark, 3D mark 11, Heaven, Aida and Cinebench. Below you can see the results.
I have shown screenshot from aida further down the page so you guys can see detailed scores of how DDR4 compares to DDR3.
AIDA 4930K
AIDA 5930K DDR2400
AIDA 5930K DDR4 3000
AIDA 5960X DDR4 2400
In conclusion X99 has a lot to offer. Its DDR4 bandwidth is top notch and will only improve as DDR4 matures. As is its clock for clock performance. This translates into great speed on rendering tasks such as Cinebench and I am sure all Photo editing / sound editing type applications the same. The 8C 16t 5960X ragging through this stuff faster than any desktop part before.
I also saw excellent physics benching scores so games relying on this type of compute power will gain from X99 even if only using a single GPU.
X99 comes into its own with multi GPU setups with not only massive bandwidth but also many PCI X lanes to use.
Some games will undoubtedly get a boost from X99 but not all. Haswell on Z97 for many will be enough with single GPU but this is enthusiast level so I expect early adopters to be those gamers with multi GPU setups or professional users with a need for high and efficient core count. For these two groups X99 is great and does offer real benefits.
For me its the best benching platform so far such fun tuning GSKILL DDR4 and the potential for massive scoring. 80K plus Vantage CPU test yes please
!!! if your a bencher X99 is also a must.
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