Test Bed Setup and Hardware

As always, defining a regular test bed is key to these tests. At a CPU launch, with a new chipset, new socket, and almost new everything, that can be difficult. It’s also worth noting that our testing suite is currently in a state of flux as well, as we migrate testing to Windows 10. For the most part, our test beds use off-the-shelf components, sometimes supplied by vendors for the purpose of being in our test bed. For the Ryzen review, our AMD Test bed is as follows:

Of course, many thanks to all our partners who supplied equipment for our test beds.

Benchmarking Suite 2017 Benchmarking Performance: CPU System Tests
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  • theuglyman0war - Saturday, March 4, 2017 - link

    I'd like to see a lot more older i7 extreme editions covered all the way to westmere so I can sell clients on new builds with such a comparison.
  • mapesdhs - Sunday, March 5, 2017 - link

    Which older i7s interest you specifically?
  • theuglyman0war - Saturday, March 4, 2017 - link

    Checking what I paid last month for i7-7700k at Microcenter...
    Although I did get the motherboard combo price sale they "usually" offer...
    The supposed $60 off for $319 is the cheapest price I found with a quick survey of new egg, amazon etc... And only $20 less then what I paid! Hardly A slashed priced answer shot across the bow by Intel! Not by a long shot!
    I thought I was going to recommend the new cheap price to all my customer's new builds but I am pushing RYZEN and AM4 for a real combined price that makes a difference. ( the cheap price for enthusiast Am4 is enticing but the loss of PCI lanes is of concern for extreme cpu comparison anyway. Not so much compared to i7-7700k though which brings the comparison back to 16 lane parity! )
  • theuglyman0war - Saturday, March 4, 2017 - link

    Could anyone actually point me to the amazing slashed deals that "BEAT" what I couldn't get last month by a long shot?

    ( which was $349 BEFORE rebate. In other words it's not like there were not sales last month as well. And I see nothing now that really amounts to AMAZING compared to last month? )

    Pretty dam insulting from somewhere in the pipe? Not sure if it's Intel. Or it's resellers clinging on to greedy margins not reflecting the savings to save their own ass's and bottom line due to stock considerations? Which iz no excuse considering the writing was on the wall. Someone needs to do a lot better. A heck of a lot better. Particularly considering I was thinking I could jes laff off AMD with an Intel savings and now have egg on my face! :)
  • rpns - Saturday, March 4, 2017 - link

    The 'Test Bed Setup' section could do with some more details. E.g. what BIOS version? Windows 10 build version? Any notable driver versions?

    These details aren't useful just now, but also when looking back at the review a few months down the line.
  • jorkevyn - Saturday, March 4, 2017 - link

    why they don't get 4 channel for DDR4 memory? I think, if you get that you will may be the real I7 6950K Killer
  • sedra - Saturday, March 4, 2017 - link

    have a look at this:
    "Many software programmers consider Intel's compiler the best optimizing compiler on the market, and it is often the preferred compiler for the most critical applications. Likewise, Intel is supplying a lot of highly optimized function libraries for many different technical and scientific applications. In many cases, there are no good alternatives to Intel's function libraries.

    Unfortunately, software compiled with the Intel compiler or the Intel function libraries has inferior performance on AMD and VIA processors. The reason is that the compiler or library can make multiple versions of a piece of code, each optimized for a certain processor and instruction set, for example SSE2, SSE3, etc. The system includes a function that detects which type of CPU it is running on and chooses the optimal code path for that CPU. This is called a CPU dispatcher. However, the Intel CPU dispatcher does not only check which instruction set is supported by the CPU, it also checks the vendor ID string. If the vendor string says "GenuineIntel" then it uses the optimal code path. If the CPU is not from Intel then, in most cases, it will run the slowest possible version of the code, even if the CPU is fully compatible with a better version."

    http://www.agner.org/optimize/blog/read.php?i=49&a...
  • HomeworldFound - Saturday, March 4, 2017 - link

    Everyone here already knew that ten years ago.
  • Notmyusualid - Sunday, March 5, 2017 - link

    Indeed it was.
  • sedra - Sunday, March 5, 2017 - link

    it is worth to bring it up now.

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