X299 Ultra-Light: Intel's Kaby Lake-X Core i7-7740X, Core i5-7640X and what to do

We want to precede today's test with a small episode that we experienced at a motherboard manufacturer when it came to Intel's request that kaby Lake-X still have a cheap board with only four memory banks. The Basin Falls X299 chipset The Kaby Lake-X processors sit in an LGA2066 socket (R4), powered by an X299 chipset with 6 watts of power consumption. The 14nm chiset supports an x4 DMI 3.0 connection, which provides a PCIe link between the ... What we noticed during testing We took a little more time to counter some of the anomalies we noticed when benchmarking the new Kaby Lake-X CPUs. To what extent the 3DMark is now really a reliable reference... Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation (DX12) Let's take the bow to the first game, which we have documented in as much detail as always. Purely in terms of computing power, there are no surprises and all CPUs are also fixed in time... Project Cars (DX12) This game demands the CPUs, but you don't actually need more than 4 real cores. Here, only clock counts and thus also the IPC. The Core i7-7740X can be overclocked and not overclocked. In... Introduction During the launch article of AMD's Ryzen 7 CPUs, we had already explained all workstation and HPC benchmarks in great detail and also questioned the background for many results in some cases even down to the last detail. En... Important preliminary remark As with Kaby Lake, Intel has no longer realized the contact between Die and Heatspreader by metallic solder at Kaby Lake-X, but is also available here on cheaper TIM (Thermal Interface material, i.e. neat heater... Cooling with the Chiller crowbar In order to achieve comparable results for the launch article of the Core i7-7900X, we use the Alphacool Ice Age Chiller 2000, as with all articles on AMD's Ryzen, which also has a load-independent, constank... Summary The bottom line is that the performance differences between Kaby Lake and Kaby Lake-X are rather marginal, but we haven't really found the meaning of this whole venture either. While the Vi...

Introduction

During the launch article of AMD's Ryzen 7 CPUs, we had already explained all workstation and HPC benchmarks in great detail and also questioned the background for many results in some cases even down to the last detail. Therefore, as with the two follow-ups to Ryzen, we will simply summarize the countless benchmarks for clarity in a spare way and thus also tighten up a bit.

In addition, of course, the results from our launch review for Skylake-X and the X299 platform are also available, which we would like to refer to again. We also haven't simply copied the older results from the Ryzen tests, but also take into account AMD's efforts to improve performance through improved firmware and drivers, making it more realistic. The resulting power boost of up to 15% is remarkable and must be included in any case.

What also needs to be taken into account is the fact that in the semi-professional sector almost never overclocked systems are used and CPUs like Intel's Core i9-7900X are not so easy to cool anyway in factory condition. That's why all of the processors tested here, which also correspond to the selection of gaming benchmarks, run with the delivery clock ex works.

2D Bechmarks: DirectX and GDI/GDI+

We first added the new CPUs to AutoCAD 2D and our graphics throughput benchmark for the GDI/GDI+ functions and combined them into a common gallery. The two Kaby Lake-X sway exactly where you could have expected it, based on the bar. Surprises? Misrepresentation!

2D benchmarks: Adobe Creative Cloud

In this suite, the result is similarly predictable, which is of course above all a question of the bar. However, with a few exceptions, both Kaby-Lake-X CPUs have to beat the "older" Kaby Lake variant. Very short, but for whatever reason. However, we will be able to observe this more often in the future.

3D benchmarks: DirectX and OpenGL

The graphics performance of the CPUs in the individual programs and suites gives an overall picture, which is hardly different from the previous tests. Sometimes the new CPUs are ahead, sometimes the "older ones". This often still happens in the area of possible measurement tolerances, but the Kaby Lake-X CPUs are mainly at an advantage when in addition to the pure graphic output also various compute tasks have to be solved. So the chipset could still play a certain role here.

CPU Performance: Workstation

Of course, in the production area, not only 3D graphics performance is important in the application, because many things are calculated by the CPU in parallel within these applications (simulations, compute tasks, preview rendering, etc.). In order to get a truly objective impression, you always have to look at both in context. Kaby Lake-X can score here whenever it's more about the beat and not the sheer number of cores and threads.

CPU Performance: Photorealistic Rendering

In final rendering, it is no longer so much universality that matters, but the most efficient and fast, parallelized processing. That's why we're looking at this section now. But that's exactly where all Ryzen CPUs aren't so bad, and the bloated Kaby Lake-X CPUs have to disappear shamefully from the richly covered festive table and sit modestly at the cat table. Even if the Core i7 7740X saves itself from time to time with SMT laboriously over the place, the Core i5 simply no longer belongs to the family. A advertised HEDT membership can hardly be led ad absurdum.

CPU Performance: Encoding and Compression/Decompression

In the rather inconsequential unpacking, the Kaby Lake-X CPUs can still put themselves in the scene quite well due to the high clock, but the rest becomes an almost humiliating show run of the other test objects, especially for the Core i5-7640X.

HPC High Performance Computing

This area of responsibility is actually still such an area where Kaby Lake-X can only lose. But those who cheat themselves into the Fast Lane for VIPs must also be able to withstand such an ordeal without emotion. No matter what the back of the game, it was worth the try for Intel. Even if the Core i7 7740X with its eight threads and high clock can still keep the face, for the Core i5-7640X any help comes too late. This is at most middle class for the consumer market, but has nothing to do with the HEDT sector.

Intermediate conclusion

Intel's new Core i9 CPUs may be quite usable CPU in semi-professional use, but the Core i7 and especially the Core i5 are definitely not. These two consumer CPUs often look like two dwarfs in the wrong body, to whom one has unlovingly placed a far too big pair of shoes. The price certainly does not change this, because the platform, which is far too expensive in proportion, makes it somehow superfluous in almost every respect.

If you compare the Kaby Lake X HEDT versions with the core i7 7700K and core i5-7600K consumer variants, they actually give the more honest idea and don't pretend to be something they can never fulfill in life. In terms of performance, the differences between the platforms are usually more concise, so that many things could almost pass as a measurement tolerance. In any case, there are no advantages in all these tests due to the more expensive substructure.

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