The Intel 9th Gen Review: Core i9-9900K, Core i7-9700K and Core i5-9600K Tested
by Ian Cutress on October 19, 2018 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
- Intel
- Coffee Lake
- 14++
- Core 9th Gen
- Core-S
- i9-9900K
- i7-9700K
- i5-9600K
Hardware and Software Security Fixes
The Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities made quite a splash earlier this year, forcing makers of hardware and software to release updates in order to tackle them. There are several ways to fix the issues, including software, firmware, and hardware updates. Each generation of product is slowly implementing fixes, including some of the new 9th Generation processors.
At this point Intel has split the list down into 5/6 wide variants of different types of vulnerabilities. For all processors beyond mid-2018, here is what the fix table looks like:
Spectre and Meltdown on Intel | |||||||
AnandTech | SKX-R 3175X |
CFL-R | Cascade Lake | Whiskey Lake |
Amber Lake |
||
Spectre | Variant 1 | Bounds Check Bypass | OS/VMM | OS/VMM | OS/VMM | OS/VMM | OS/VMM |
Spectre | Variant 2 | Branch Target Injection | Firmware + OS | Firmware + OS | Hardware + OS | Firmware + OS | Firmware + OS |
Meltdown | Variant 3 | Rogue Data Cache Load | Firmware | Hardware | Hardware | Hardware | Firmware |
Meltdown | Variant 3a | Rogue System Register Read | Firmware | Firmware | Firmware | Firmware | Firmware |
Variant 4 | Speculative Store Bypass | Firmware + OS | Firmware + OS | Firmware + OS | Firmware + OS | Firmware + OS | |
Variant 5 | L1 Terminal Fault | Firmware | Hardware | Hardware | Hardware | Firmware |
The new 9th Generation processors, listed as CFL-R (Coffee Lake Refresh), has implemented hardware fixes for variant 3, Rogue Data Cache Load, and variant 5, L1 Terminal Fault.
Because the new chips have required new masks for manufacturing, Intel has been able to make these changes. The goal of moving the changes into hardware means that the hardware is always protected, regardless of OS or environment, and with the hope that any additional overhead created by a software fix can be lessened if done in hardware.
(S)TIM: Soldered Down Processors
With the desktop processors we use today, they are built from a silicon die (the smart bit), a package substrate (the green bit), a heatspreader (the silver bit), and a material that helps transfer heat from the silicon die to the heatspreader. The quality of the binding between the silicon die and the heatspreader using this thermal interface material is a key component in the processors ability to remove the heat generated from using it.
Traditionally there are two different types of thermal material: a heat conductive paste, or a bonded metal. Both have positives and negatives.
The heat conductive paste is a universal tool – it can be applied to practically any manufactured processor, and is able to deal with a wide range of changing conditions. Because metals expand under temperature, when a processor is used and gets hot, it expands – so does the heatspreader. The paste can easily deal with this. This allows paste-based processors to live longer and in more environments. Using a bonded metal typically reduces the level of thermal cycling possible, as the metal also expands and contracts in a non-fluid way. This might mean the processors has a rated lifespan of several years, rather than a dozen years. However, the bonded metal solution performs a lot, lot better – metal conducts heat better than the silicon-based pastes – but it is slightly more expensive (a dollar or two per unit, at most, when the materials and manufacturing are taken into account).
Thermal Interface | |||||||
Intel | Celeron | Pentium | Core i3 | Core i5 | Core i7 Core i9 |
HEDT | |
Sandy Bridge | LGA1155 | Paste | Paste | Paste | Bonded | Bonded | Bonded |
Ivy Bridge | LGA1155 | Paste | Paste | Paste | Paste | Paste | Bonded |
Haswell / DK | LGA1150 | Paste | Paste | Paste | Paste | Paste | Bonded |
Broadwell | LGA1150 | Paste | Paste | Paste | Paste | Paste | Bonded |
Skylake | LGA1151 | Paste | Paste | Paste | Paste | Paste | Paste |
Kaby Lake | LGA1151 | Paste | Paste | Paste | Paste | Paste | - |
Coffee Lake | 1151 v2 | Paste | Paste | Paste | Paste | Paste | - |
CFL-R | 1151 v2 | ? | ? | ? | K = Bonded | - | |
AMD | |||||||
Zambezi | AM3+ | Bonded | Carrizo | AM4 | Bonded | ||
Vishera | AM3+ | Bonded | Bristol R | AM4 | Bonded | ||
Llano | FM1 | Paste | Summit R | AM4 | Bonded | ||
Trinity | FM2 | Paste | Raven R | AM4 | Paste | ||
Richland | FM2 | Paste | Pinnacle | AM4 | Bonded | ||
Kaveri | FM2+ | Paste / Bonded* | TR | TR4 | Bonded | ||
Carrizo | FM2+ | Paste | TR2 | TR4 | Bonded | ||
Kabini | AM1 | Paste | |||||
*Some Kaveri Refresh were bonded |
In our Ryzen APU delidding article, we went through the process of removing the heatspreader and conductive paste from a popular low cost product, and we showed that replacing that paste with a bonded liquid metal improved temperatures, overclocking, and performance in mid-range overclocks. If any company wants to make enthusiasts happy, using a bonded metal is the way to go.
For several years, Intel has always stated that they are there for enthusiasts. In the distant past, as the table above shows, Intel provided processors with a soldered bonded metal interface and was happy to do so. In recent times however, the whole product line was pushed into the heat conductive paste for a number of reasons.
As Intel was continually saying that they still cared about enthusiasts, a number of users were concerned that Intel was getting itself confused. Some believed that Intel had ‘enthusiasts’ and ‘overclockers’ in two distinct non-overlapping categories. It is what it is, but now Intel has returned to using applying STIM and wants to court overclockers again.
Intel has officially confirmed that new 9th generation processors will feature a layer of solder making up the TIM between the die and the IHS. The new processors with solder include the Core i9-9900K, the Core i7-9700K and Core i5-9600K.
As we’ll show in this review, the combination of STIM plus other features are of great assistance when pushing the new processors to the overclocking limits. Intel’s own overclocking team at the launch event hit 6.9 GHz temporarily using exotic sub-zero coolants such as liquid nitrogen.
Motherboards and the Z390 Chipset
One of the worst kept secrets this year has been Intel’s Z390 chipset. If you believe everything the motherboard manufacturers have told me, most of them had been ready for this release for several months, hence why seeing around 55 new motherboards hit the market this month and into next.
The Z390 chipset is an update to Z370, and both types of motherboards will support 8000-series and 9000-series processors (Z370 will need a BIOS update). The updates are similar to the updates seen with B360: native USB 3.1 10 Gbps ports, and integrated Wi-Fi on the chipset.
Intel Z390, Z370 and Z270 Chipset Comparison | |||
Feature | Z390 | Z370 | Z270 |
Max PCH PCIe 3.0 Lanes | 24 | 24 | 24 |
Max USB 3.1 (Gen2/Gen1) | 6/10 | 0/10 | 0/10 |
Total USB | 14 | 14 | 14 |
Max SATA Ports | 6 | 6 | 6 |
PCIe Config | x16 x8/x8 x8/x4/x4 |
x16 x8/x8 x8/x4/x4 |
x16 x8/x8 x8/x4/x4 |
Memory Channels | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Intel Optane Memory Support | Y | Y | Y |
Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST) | Y | Y | Y |
Max Rapid Storage Technology Ports | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Integrated 802.11ac WiFi MAC | Y | N | N |
Intel Smart Sound | Y | Y | Y |
Integrated SDXC (SDA 3.0) Support | Y | N | N |
DMI | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
Overclocking Support | Y | Y | Y |
Intel vPro | N | N | N |
Max HSIO Lanes | 30 | 30 | 30 |
Intel Smart Sound | Y | Y | Y |
ME Firmware | 12 | 11 | 11 |
The integrated Wi-Fi uses CNVi, which allows the motherboard manufacturer to use one of Intel’s three companion RF modules as a PHY, rather than using a potentially more expensive MAC+PHY combo from a different vendor (such as Broadcom). I have been told that the cost of implementing a CRF adds about $15 to the retail price of the board, so we are likely to see some vendors experiment with mid-price models with-and-without Wi-Fi using this method.
ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ac
For the USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports, Type-A ports are supported natively and motherboard manufacturers will have to use re-driver chips to support Type-C reversibility. These come at extra cost, as one might expect. It will be interesting to see how manufacturers mix and match the Gen 2, Gen 1, and USB 2.0 ports on the rear panels, now they have a choice. I suspect it will come down to signal integrity on the traces on the motherboard.
For the Z390 chipset and motherboards, we have our usual every-board-overview post, covering every model the manufacturers would tell us about. Interestingly there is going to be a mini-ITX with Thunderbolt 3, and one board with a PLX chip! There are also some motherboards with Realtek’s 2.5G Ethernet controller – now if only we also had consumer grade switches.
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0ldman79 - Friday, October 19, 2018 - link
There are certainly occasions where more cores are better than clock speed.Just look at certain mining apps. You can drop the power usage by half and only lose a little processing speed, but drop them to 2 cores at full power instead of 4 and it is a *huge* drop. Been playing with the CPU max speed in Windows power management on my various laptops. The Skylake i5 6300HQ can go down to some seriously low power levels if you play with it a bit. The recent Windows updates have lost a lot of the Intel Dynamic Thermal control though. That's a shame.
Makaveli - Friday, October 19, 2018 - link
Power consumption rules on mobiles parts why would they release an 8 core model?notashill - Friday, October 19, 2018 - link
Because you get more performance at the same power level using more cores at lower clocks. The additional cores are power gated when not in use.evernessince - Saturday, October 20, 2018 - link
Not judging by the power consumption and heat output displayed here.mkaibear - Friday, October 19, 2018 - link
9700K is definitely the way to go on the non-HEDT. 9900K is technically impressive but the heat? Gosh.It's definitely made me consider waiting for the 9800X though - if the 7820X full load power is 145W ("TDP" 140W) at 3.6/4.3, then the 9800X isn't likely to be too much higher than that at 3.8/4.5.
Hrm.
Cooe - Friday, October 19, 2018 - link
"9700K is definitely the way to go on the non-HEDT."I think you meant to say "Ryzen 5 2600 unless your GPU's so fast, it'll HEAVILY CPU-bind you in gaming" but spelt it wrong ;). The 9700K is a vey good CPU, no doubt, but to claim it the undisputed mainstream champ at it's currently mediocre bang/$ value (so important for the mainstream market) doesn't make any sense, or accurately represent what people in the mainstream are ACTUALLY buying (lots of Ryzen 5 2600's & i5-8400's; both with a MUCH saner claim to the "best overall mainstream CPU" title).
mkaibear - Saturday, October 20, 2018 - link
No, I meant to say "9700K is definitely the way to go on the non-HEDT".Don't put words in people's mouth. I don't just game. The video encoding tests in particular are telling - I can get almost a third better performance with the 9700K than I can the r5 2600x.
>"best overall mainstream CPU" title
Please don't straw man either. Nowhere did I say that it was the best overall mainstream CPU (that's the R7 2700X in my opinion), but for my particular use case the 9700K or the 9800X are better suited at present.
koaschten - Friday, October 19, 2018 - link
Uhm yeah... so where are the 9900k overclocking results the article claims are currently being uploaded? :)watzupken - Friday, October 19, 2018 - link
The i9 processor is expected to be quite impressive in performance. However this review also reveals that Intel is struggling to pull more tricks out of their current 14nm and Skylake architect. The lack of IPC improvement over the last few generations is just forcing them to up the clockspeed to continue to cling on to their edge. Considering that they are launching the new series this late in the year, they are at risk of AMD springing a surprise with their 7nm Zen 2 slated to launch next year.SquarePeg - Friday, October 19, 2018 - link
If the rumored 13% IPC and minimum 500mhz uplift are for real with Zen 2 then AMD would take the performance crown. I'm not expecting very high clocks from Intel's relaxed 10nm process so it remains to be seen what kind of IPC gain they can pull with Ice Lake. It wouldn't surprise me if they had a mild performance regression because of how long they had to optimize 14nm for clock speed. Either way I'm all in on a new Ryzen 3 build next year.