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.
| Hardware Providers | |||
| Sapphire RX 460 Nitro | MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X OC | Crucial MX200 + MX500 SSDs |
Corsair AX860i + AX1200i PSUs |
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| G.Skill RipjawsV, SniperX, FlareX |
Crucial Ballistix DDR4 |
Silverstone Coolers |
Silverstone Fans |
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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.
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Korguz - Monday, July 22, 2019 - link
Maxiking, and HOW LONG till intel gets the SAME treatment?? saying a processor uses x watts, but in reality uses 50 to 100 watts MORE isnt FRAUD ??? hell you confine intels cpus to the watts they state, and their performance goes DOWN THE TOILET !!!. again .. you KEEP saying AMD is a fraud, but you STILL refuse to admit, that intel is a fraud as well..does this guy even acknowlege the issue with intel and the amount of power they " say " their cpus use, and how much power they REALLY use ??
Korguz - Monday, July 22, 2019 - link
further.. intel doesnt do any marketing, cause they DON'T want the general average user to know the cpu they bought, uses MORE power then has been stated, THAT also is false advertising, come on maxiking, go after intel as well, the same same things you are accusing amd of...Maxiking - Tuesday, July 23, 2019 - link
You are uneducated, TDP doesn't mean power consumption but the amount of heat dissipated, it informs you how much of heat the cooler must be able to dissipate in order to keep the cpu cool enough to run.Get it? 1700x TDP was 95W yet there were tasks it managed to consume 120 or even 140w on stock settings. Like do you even watch reviews? It was the same with 2700w.
but mimimimimimi AMD good mimimimimi Intel bad
Korguz - Tuesday, July 23, 2019 - link
sorry dude.. but YOU are uneducated, amd stays A LOT closer to its stated TDP then intel does, AT even did a review on it. power dissipated, also relates to power used. but it also doesnt help, that amd and intel both use the term TDP differently. either way.. intel uses more power then amd does.https://www.anandtech.com/show/13544/why-intel-pro...
Maxiking - Tuesday, July 23, 2019 - link
Again, TDP is not power consumption and it refers to a cooler.You are uneducated and fabricating because you are an amd fanboy. No one really cares about what is more accurate or not, because it does not say anything about power consumption of the chip.
So keep living in your nice little bubble. It is not my fault that you and other sites have been thinking that TDP -> power consumption. I will share something new to you again.. Ever heard about that Frankenstein novel? Frankenstein in not the monster but the doctor, his surname..Shocking I KNOW!!!
mimimimimimi AMD good mimimimimi Intel bad
Korguz - Tuesday, July 23, 2019 - link
again.. TDP, or Thermal Design Power, does relate to power consumption and how much is needed to keep something cool. You are uneducated and fabricating because you are an intel fanboy. i also notice you like to throw personal insults around when someone disagrees with you, or to try to make your opinion valid. so you keep living in your nice little bubble as well, not my fault you dont understand TDP relates to how much power something uses, as the more power a product uses, the more heat it creates, and then, needs to be removed.mimimimimimi intel good mimimimimi amd bad
Maxiking - Thursday, July 25, 2019 - link
What you just did it is just sad. it shows you are little kid.TDP is not power consumption, if TDP - 100% power consumption, it would mean that 100% of the electrical energy is converted into thermal energy so yeah which is impossible it would mean perpetuum mobile you twat, actually the cpu would be net positive, it would convert 100% of electrical energy into thermal whilst managing to perform another task at no energy cost.
Breaking the laws of physics just because of your AMD fanboyism
Korguz - Thursday, July 25, 2019 - link
i said it RELATES to power consumption, what, you cant read ?? cant see passed your intel bias ?? the more power something uses, the more heat it generates, and there for, the more needs to be dissipated, and i also never said anything about 100% power consumption, pulling words and making things up to try to make your self sound right ? And you are calling me names on top of that, who's the kid here ???Maxiking - Tuesday, July 23, 2019 - link
You are uneducated, TDP doesn't mean power consumption but the amount of heat dissipated, it informs you how much of heat the cooler must be able to dissipate in order to keep the cpu cool enough to run.Get it? 1700x TDP was 95W yet there were tasks it managed to consume 120 or even 140w on stock settings. Like do you even watch reviews? It was the same with 2700w.
but mimimimimimi AMD good mimimimimi Intel bad
Qasar - Tuesday, July 23, 2019 - link
hmmm doest really say amd is being fraudulent, just doesnt like the idea the chips might not boost, or run at what AMD says, but didnt mention fraud...and Korguz has a point.. WHY arent you commenting about the power intels cpus use, vs what intel says they use ?