Hardware

AMD 2019 CPUs and GPUs Line-up Walkthrough – Coming back with a bang!

We tested the Ryzen 3900X and the 3700X, the Radeon RX5700 and the 5700XT

Since the first generation Ryzen launch, AMD fought to bounce back into the battle against its arch rival, Intel. Now we are witnessing an historic release, in the form of the third generation of Ryzen CPUs and a new generation of Radeon GPUs. Not only we see AMD facing Intel with no problems, but they attempt to steal the GPU market crown too, fighting on two fronts and tackling the green giant, Nvidia. If they will succeed or not, it’s another question, but for the moment, let’s take a look at AMD’s 2019 offerings.

Third Generation of Ryzen – Bigger and better

First things we need to discuss about the newest Ryzen CPUs are the fabrication technology of 7nm and PCI-Express 4.0 support. Two terms which represent the future for the IT industry and make this launch a truly historic one. Also, AMD is keen to provide better single-tread performance, while increasing the multi-thread power too.

“Zen 2” Briefing

The new architecture continues what the older Zen and Zen+ started, which is a refreshing of the AMD brand. After a weak generation, which was the FX series, Ryzen came and conquered the market placing itself as a strong contender for Intel’s market leader spot. Zen 2 brings various improvements like higher chip bandwidth, better security protocols and the most important of all, an increase of up to 15% in the IPC (Instructions per cycle). In comparison with the top tier model of last year (AMD Ryzen 7 2700X) we’ll see up to 34% gaming performance gains.

Let’s meet the new processors

AMD Ryzen 9 3900X – This CPU, alongside it’s more powerful partner, the Ryzen 9 3950X are the AMD’s answer for the Intel Core i9 series and offers a very efficient choice for content creators and for those who need raw processing power. Ryzen 9 3900X is a beastly CPU starring 12 cores and the SMT technology that offers 24 threads. That combined with a base clock of 3.8Ghz and Boost up to 4.6Ghz and 6+64MB Cache (L2+L3) make this CPU the perfect contender for i9 9900k at a similar price tag. You also have to keep in mind the 105W TDP and the included AMD Wraith Spire RGB cooler that keeps the CPU in leash with no big trouble.

AMD Ryzen 7 3700X – If the 9 series is tailored for productivity, Ryzen 7 is AMD’s go to solution for gaming. Ryzen 7 3700X is 2700X’s successor and sports 8 cores and 16 threads, 4+32MB Cache and a base clock of 3.6Ghz that goes up to 4.4Ghz while in Boost. This combination make it stand out from the crown, but for me, the main selling point is the 65W TDP and also the price, because you will spend no more than $329 on this CPU.

Test Platform

The platform used in testing those CPUs is as follows:

  • AMD Ryzen 9 3900X / AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
  • ROG Crosshair VIII Hero Wi-Fi
  • G.Skill Trident Z Royal Gold 16GB 3600Mhz Dual-Channel
  • AMD Radeon RX 5700XT
  • AORUS NVMe Gen4 2TB SSD
  • Seasonic Prime 850 Ultra Titanium 850W

Performance

For getting the best out of those CPUs, I used a selection of benchmarks and games. For comparison I used the Intel Core i9 9900k, the biggest threat from Intel and the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, the titan of the last gen Ryzen. I didn’t overclock any of the CPUs and for the AMD ones I used the Wraith Prism RGB cooler.

Benchmarks

 

As you can see from the benchmark results, Ryzen 9 3900X is a beast of a CPU putting the Core i9 9900k in its place. Also, the Ryzen 7 3700X is a very unexpected surprise, keeping a very little distance from the 9900k while having a much lower price tag.

Gaming

Well, this is where the biggest surprise of them all occurred. We all knew what the Core i9 9900k is a great choice for a gaming machine, no doubt about that, but nobody prepared me for the results of the Ryzen 7 3700X, which managed to get the better out of the Intel CPU while beating the 3900X in this category.

Closing Thoughts

Temperatures were fine, maybe a tad too high on the Ryzen 9  3900X using the stock cooler, but this is not a very big problem as in full load the CPU never got over 90 degrees Celsius with a room temperature well over 20 degrees. Not the biggest issue here as nobody in its right mind will rock the stock cooler on this beast while using 100% of it’s power. On the other side, the Ryzen 7 3700X was better suited for this cooling solution as it never went over 60 degrees Celsius while gaming.

The 3rd gen Ryzen is a big success in my opinion, offering a lot of power at affordable price tags. They come as a real upgrade over the last gen Ryzen CPUs and deliver good performance to match Intel. Productivity wise, the Ryzen 9 3900X was a monster beating the Core i9 9900k by a mile in some apps but for me, the biggest surprise of them all was the Ryzen 7 3700X which delivered similar performance to the 9900k both in gaming and productivity tasks while sporting a very good price. Keep in mind that it also has a reliable cooling solution so this is already becoming an unfair fight.

The Radeon Line-up – The underdog is back into the fight

Ok, enough chit-chat about the CPUs because we were forgetting about the other important part of this launch; the graphics cards. It is fair to say that AMD offered decent GPUs in the recent years with the RX580 and RX590 being good budget offerings. This time around though, AMD is entering the high-end market with the introduction of three new models: Radeon RX 5700, Radeon RX 5700XT and the Radeon RX 5700XT 50th Anniversary Edition. I tested the first two and I want to have a little talk about them.

Specs

The new Radeon GPUs change the rules of the game using the same 7nm fabrication process as the 3rd gen Ryzen CPUs and the new RDNA architecture. They also sport a healthy 8GB GDDR6 memory and the new Navi cores. Alongside those nice specs, AMD is providing some nice software improvements like the Radeon Image Sharpening (RIS) that sharpens the images distorted or blurred out by various in-game filters, the Radeon Anti-Lag technology that is improving eSports titles performance and brings support for up to 4K at 144Hz through DisplayPort 1.4.

Both models require two additional power connectors, a 6-pin and an 8-pin. They both have very high TDPs with the RX 5700 requiring 185W to run and the RX 5700XT sucking a huge 225W from the socket at full load, without taking overclock in consideration. That is no good news from my perspective as they will be a bit hard to cool but we’ll see in the future how the lads at Sapphire, ASUS, MSI or Gigabyte will manage to keep all those degrees down.

Design

I like good looking components and I see the personal computer as any other long-term investment. You get a new car, you like the idea of getting some new rims for it. I see a computer, I think about some fancy fans or some braided cables. This being sad, I am disappointed by AMD. The Radeon RX 5700 is like the 2019 edition of the Radeon HD 5770 and it even has the same turbine cooler. Isn’t that old?! Also, it has  no backplate and that is a big NO-NO from me. A 1mm aluminum plate would’ve been great, even just for the looks if not for cooling. On the other side, the RX 5700XT looks more like a VHS tape and I can’t decide if I like the look of “damaged by the courier”. Also, it’s flimsier than the RX 5700, which is bad, but I can clearly see the direction AMD went, ignoring the looks while focusing on providing the best possible performance.

Performance

So far, I can’t say that I like the new cards with their not so cool design and the high TDP, but let’s see how this translates into performance. And boy, oh boy, it is something. For the tests I used the same platform as for the Ryzen, with the 3900X being the CPU of choice. I tested all games at three resolutions ranging from 1080p to 4K and used the maximum presets. Also, I used a GeForce RTX 2060 Super for comparison, this time around disabling the RTX settings to provide some fair numbers.

Benchmarks

Gaming

As I said earlier, the RX 5700 and the RX 5700XT are some powerhouses offering better performance than they promised in the first place and that can only be for the good of the consumers. I knew that the RX 5700 will be on par with the RTX 2060, but I wasn’t expecting it to be similar or better in some cases than the RTX 2060 Super, while the RX 5700XT is getting results similar to the RTX 2070 while costing less that the RTX 2060 Super.

Conclusion

AMD went all-in with this launch and man, they nailed it! Both the CPUs and the GPUs offer great price-to-performance figures and I think they manage to provide the best combo on the market at this moment with the Ryzen 7 3700X and the Radeon RX 5700XT being the best choices if you want to play the latest and greatest titles without sacrificing a kidney.

I am curious how Intel and NVIDIA will respond to this launch because both are in deep trouble. Probably some price cuts will be benefic for them and also from us. It’s nice to have good prices and a big selection of hardware to choose from.

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