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
Overclocking
With the upgraded thermal interface between the processor and the heatspreader, from paste to solder, Intel is leaning on the fact that these overclockable processors should be more overclockable than previous generations. We’ve only had time to test the Core i9-9900K and i7-9700K on this, so we took them for a spin.
Our overclocking methodology is simple. We set the Load Line Calibration to static (or level 1 for this ASRock Z370 motherboard), set the frequency to 4.5 GHz, the voltage to 1.000 volts, and run our tests. If successfully stable, we record the power and performance, and then increase the CPU multiplier. If the system fails, we increase the voltage by +0.025 volts. The overclocking ends when the temperatures get too high (85C+).
For our new test suite comes new overclocking features. As mentioned in the previous page, our software loading for power measurement is POV-Ray, which can thrash a processor quite harshly. POV-Ray also does a good job on stability, but is not a substantial enough test – for that we use our Blender workload, which pushes the cores and the memory, and lasts about 5 minutes on an 8 core processor.
Results as follows:
For the Core i7-9700K, we hit 5.3 GHz very easily, for a small bump in power and temperature. For 5.4 GHz, we could boot into the operating system but it was in no way stable – we were ultimately voltage/temperature limited at this case. But an eight core, eight thread 5.3 GHz CPU at 180W for $374? Almost unimaginable a year ago.
Overclocking the Core i9-9900K was not as fruitful. The best bit about this overclock is the 4.7 GHz value: by using our own voltage settings, we reduced power consumption by 41W, almost 25% of the total power, and also reduced temperatures by 24ºC. That's a safe idea. Even 4.8 GHz and 4.9 GHz was reasonable, but the temperatures at 5.0 GHz might not be for everyone. When all cores and threads are loaded, this is one warm chip.
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deil - Friday, October 19, 2018 - link
Very nice. All I wanted to know. 220 W on 95 TDP LOL.AutomaticTaco - Friday, October 19, 2018 - link
Note the revised table. The need for the revision was due to the first motherboard they tested with being severely over-voltage. Not only is it lower the better news, to me at least, is the Overclock at 4.7GHz and 4.8GHz actual reduce the power consumption and operating temperature.Spunjji - Monday, October 22, 2018 - link
Good to see it's "only" 166W on a 95W TDP instead :DCellar Door - Friday, October 19, 2018 - link
Ryan what is your opinion on the 9700k vs 8700k?Icehawk - Saturday, October 20, 2018 - link
I was “worried” I would be bummed that I bought an 8700 but the price:perf and delta between them ileaves me feeling just fine.I too would like to see the 9900 run w/o HT - it *should* perform like a 9700 but would be interesting to see if there are any oddities.
SaturnusDK - Friday, October 19, 2018 - link
Good review. Too bad the subject is pretty lackluster.To sum up the 9900K in one word: Meh!
eva02langley - Friday, October 19, 2018 - link
The CPU is going for 540$+ and the motherboard Toms used is a 600$ motherboard.Performance are awesome, handown, but this is not a 2700x competitor. The only these thing are having in common are the number of cores/threads and their platform.
At this price, I would get a 2950x, hand downs.
eva02langley - Friday, October 19, 2018 - link
Performance are awesome, hand down, but this is not a 2700x competitor. The only things these two are having in common, are the number of cores/threads and their mainstream platform... however the Z390 is more expensive than the X499 which offer way better specs.mapesdhs - Sunday, October 21, 2018 - link
In the UK is 9900K is closer to the equivalent of $800. Outside the US the absolute cost levels are often a lot worse. Where I am, the 2700X is half the price of a 9900K, the saving being more than enough to afford a much better GPU.Total Meltdowner - Sunday, October 21, 2018 - link
Good, F U foreigners wanted out superior tech.