Intel Core i9-9980XE Extreme Edition Review

[FrgMstr]

As usual, we try to take a bit of a different tack when reviewing CPUs. In our Intel Core i9-9980XE vs AMD Ryzen Threadripper review we do what you might think, and compare the newest Intel HEDT processor against every HEDT processor that AMD currently produces. Where does the 9980XE sit in the stack?

 

[Nasty_Savage]

Sheesh, after I dump the triple 780 blowers that heated up my office, along comes Intel to reheat it!

 

[RussianJ]

$2500 street price and comes up short vs the 2990WX that costs less? Interesting to see the market flip back to AMD's favor after years of the other way.

 

[zkostik]

$2500 street price and comes up short vs the 2990WX that costs less? Interesting to see the market flip back to AMD's favor after years of the other way.

Yeah, price is totally asinine but regarding coming up short of AMD, maybe only if you don't take into account 250W TDP on that 2990WX. However the fact that i9 doesn't support ECC while 2990WX does, yet carries a price tag like a Xeon definitely sucks (I know that comparable Xeon costs substantially more but it doesn't change the fact that given the market for this, it's pretty damn expensive). It also has much fewer PCIe lanes as well, 44 vs 60. The way things are going I'm not sure Intel is going to be my next platform and after all the years I may indeed be coming back to AMD (last one was original Athlon 64 and for video card Radeon X850XT).

 

[Cantroy]

Well, it does look like there are a few options for us with 2600K processors finally maybe however, but it still runs WoW fine, so maybe I'll wait just a bit more...

 

[TurboGLH]

Yeah, price is totally asinine but regarding coming up short of AMD, maybe only if you don't take into account 250W TDP on that 2990WX. <snip>

I don't see why that would matter, all of the threadrippers stay within their TDP envelope, but it's clear from the review that the 9980 uses almost as much power, but is still only slotted in between the two middle TR cpus.

 

[zkostik]

Well, if i9 is getting close to 250W with it being rated at 165W then 2990WX is probably way higher unless it does stick to its TDP. What I was saying is that it just doesn't seem to deliver in most areas other than a few games where single core performance is most important. Why anyone would be building a machine with either of these processors as primarily gaming, is surely a big question. For primarily workstation and secondary gaming, it now seems that 2990WX is a much better option. Both processors are very fast and likely any FPS difference in games is not going to be noticeable and most will bottleneck at video card.

 

[Nobu]

Well, if i9 is getting close to 250W with it being rated at 165W then 2990WX is probably way higher unless it does stick to its TDP. What I was saying is that it just doesn't seem to deliver in most areas other than a few games where single core performance is most important. Why anyone would be building a machine with either of these processors as primarily gaming, is surely a big question. For primarily workstation and secondary gaming, it now seems that 2990WX is a much better option. Both processors are very fast and likely any FPS difference in games is not going to be noticeable and most will bottleneck at video card.

It does. Unless you use PBO it stays under 180/250w (depending on whether you have a 2950 or 2990). PB2 does work under the specified TDP.

 

[piscian18]

There's something heartwarming to me about Lost Planet still showing up in reviews even if it's just because it's CPU driven. I loved every moment of that game.

 

[Nytegard]

Yeah, price is totally asinine but regarding coming up short of AMD, maybe only if you don't take into account 250W TDP on that 2990WX. However the fact that i9 doesn't support ECC while 2990WX does, yet carries a price tag like a Xeon definitely sucks (I know that comparable Xeon costs substantially more but it doesn't change the fact that given the market for this, it's pretty damn expensive). It also has much fewer PCIe lanes as well, 44 vs 60. The way things are going I'm not sure Intel is going to be my next platform and after all the years I may indeed be coming back to AMD (last one was original Athlon 64 and for video card Radeon X850XT).

I went the AMD route this year, mainly because of the lanes. One thing though, certain games are much more Intel friendly (e.g. anything by Blizzard). For most things though, AMD is good enough and far cheaper.

I can't wait for PCIE 4.0 to arrive, so I can finally rid myself of SATA.

 

[FrgMstr]

Well, if i9 is getting close to 250W with it being rated at 165W then 2990WX is probably way higher unless it does stick to its TDP. What I was saying is that it just doesn't seem to deliver in most areas other than a few games where single core performance is most important. Why anyone would be building a machine with either of these processors as primarily gaming, is surely a big question. For primarily workstation and secondary gaming, it now seems that 2990WX is a much better option. Both processors are very fast and likely any FPS difference in games is not going to be noticeable and most will bottleneck at video card.

It does. Unless you use PBO it stays under 180/250w (depending on whether you have a 2950 or 2990). PB2 does work under the specified TDP.

Gotta go to Toms Hardware for that? Wow. Here is what we cited in our review multiple times.

Below you see the 2990WX and 2950X using Precision Boost 2 and all sorts of cooling solutions, both air and high end water, keep inside stated TDP specifications.

That said, the way that Precision Boost 2 works is totally different from the way that Intel handles their Turbo Boost.

 

[FrgMstr]

It almost always surprises me when Kyle comes out and responds meaningfully. Somehow I envision this mad scientist doing something like putting phase change on his yet-to-be-broken 2080ti - a guy that doesn't have time to respond to the mere rank-and-file. All that to say, the engagement is pretty impressive. Or maybe he's got a crew of dopplegangers....hm. Perhaps.

All me, baby!