Custom PC - UK (2020-05)

LABS TEST / PROCESSORS

A

s much as AMD fans might have

liked to preach the virtues of the

Ryzen 7 2700X over the Core

i9-9900K, Intel’s ability to hit super-high

frequencies, as well as its low inter-core

latencies, meant that the latter Core

i9-9900K was supremely quick in games.

If you wanted to hit extremely high fame

rates, perhaps on high refresh rate monitors,

it was the go-to CPU, and any game with a

modicum of CPU-limited frame rates saw

AMD lag behind. AMD has since clawed back

an awful lot of ground with Zen 2, though, so

is Intel’s Hyper-Threaded 8-core CPU still a

monster for gaming?

The latest price cuts to both AMD’s

Ryzen chips and Intel’s Cascade Lake-X

CPUs mean that Intel’s former mainstream

INTEL CORE i9-9900KF /£448 inc VAT

SUPPLIER laptopsdirect.co.uk

flagship now costs under

£480, but there’s now a

lot more choice out

there. For starters, the

Core i9-9900K has

since been outdone by

the 5GHz all-core boosting

Core i9-9900KS, and there are

also other options available that

didn’t exist a year ago.

First and foremost is the CPU we’re

reviewing here. The Core i9-9900KF is simply

a Core i9-9900K without on-board graphics

that shaves a few tenners off the price.

Admittedly, you lose the ability for your PC to

work without a discrete graphics card, which

can be useful for troubleshooting, but AMD’s

non-APU Ryzen CPUs lack this feature too.

You also save a lot more money compared

with the Core i9-10900X, and while previous-

generation HEDT CPUs such as the Core

i9-9820X go for similar amounts of cash,

they offer far lower frequencies. Out of the

box, the Core i9-9900KF can hit 5GHz on up

to two cores and happily sits at 4.7GHz across

all cores in multi-threaded applications during

our tests. You get 16MB of L3 cache and 2MB

of L2 cache, giving it slightly more cache than

the Core i7-9700K, in addition to twice the

number of threads, thanks to the inclusion

of Hyper-Threading support.

In terms of performance, the Core

i9-9900KF was in the same ballpark as

AMD’s CPUs in the image editing test and

had the measure of the Ryzen 7 3800X in

our heavily multi-threaded Handbrake video

encoding test too, although it was outgunned

by the similarly priced Ryzen 9 3900X. It was

fairly even overall, with a system score of

243,615 compared to 241,240 for the AMD

Ryzen 7 3800X. Comparatively, the Core

i9-10920X scored 245,615, while the Ryzen 9

3900X managed a much higher 306,884.

It was an identical story in Cinebench too,

where our all-core 5GHz overclock only added

a couple of hundred points. It was reasonably

quick in Premiere Pro as well, but not much faster

than the Ryzen 7 3800X at stock speed and a

little slower once both chips were overclocked.

Far Cry New Dawn, though, gave Intel the

advantage, with a massive lead over the Ryzen 9

3950X, but a slimmer one in Metro Exodus.

Conclusion

While it’s no match for AMD’s 3rd-gen Ryzen

CPUs in multi-threaded tasks, the Core

i9-9900KF is a heck of a lot better than Intel’s

non-Hyper-Threaded options, and its gaming

prowess in many titles means that the Core

i9-9900KS isn’t a hopeless all-rounder. Games

are certainly where it’s strongest, but if you

dabble in the odd bit of content creation too,

it’s a decent option if you have the money for it.

Outside of dabbling, though, AMD’s CPUs quickly

start to offer much better value for money.

VERDICT

Worth considering for a high-end gaming

PC, but it can’t compete with AMD’s 3rd-gen

Ryzen CPUs on value for money.

HYPER-

THREADING

+^ Excellent in games

+^ Reasonable multi-

threaded performance

+^ Huge range of

motherboards

HYPER KIDS

-^ Slower than AMD in
content creation
-^ Still expensive
-^ AMD is more
power-efficient

PERFORMANCE

40 / 50

FEATURES

14 / 15

OVERALL SCORE

80 %%

VALUE

26 / 35

SPEC

Base frequency 3.6GHz

Turbo frequency 5GHz

Core Coffee Lake refresh

Manufacturing process 14nm++

Number of cores 8 x physical (16 threads)

IGP None

Hyper-Threading Ye s

Cache 16MB L3 cache, 8 x 256KB L2 cache

Memory controller Dual-channel

DDR4, up to 2666MHz

Packaging LGA1151-v2

Thermal design power (TDP) 95W

Features Turbo Boost 2, FMA3, F16C, SHA,

BMI / BMI1 + BMI2, AVX-512, AVX2, AVX,

AES, SSE4a, SSE4, SSE3, SSE2, SSE, MMX

LABS TEST / PROCESSORS

A

s muchasAMDfansmighthave
likedtopreachthevirtuesofthe
Ryzen7 2700XovertheCore
i9-9900K,Intel’sabilitytohitsuper-high
frequencies,aswellasitslowinter-core
latencies,meantthatthelatterCore
i9-9900Kwassupremelyquickingames.
If youwantedtohitextremelyhighfame
rates,perhapsonhighrefreshratemonitors,
it wasthego-toCPU,andanygamewitha
modicumofCPU-limitedframeratessaw
AMDlagbehind.AMDhassinceclawedback
anawfullotofgroundwithZen2,though,so
isIntel’sHyper-Threaded8-coreCPUstilla
monsterforgaming?
ThelatestpricecutstobothAMD’s
RyzenchipsandIntel’sCascadeLake-X
CPUsmeanthatIntel’sformermainstream

INTELCOREi9-9900KF/£448inc VAT

SUPPLIER laptopsdirect.co.uk

flagship now costs under

£480, but there’s now a

lot more choice out

there. For starters, the

Core i9-9900K has

since been outdone by

the 5GHz all-core boosting

Core i9-9900KS, and there are

also other options available that

didn’t exist a year ago.

First and foremost is the CPU we’re

reviewing here. The Core i9-9900KF is simply

a Core i9-9900K without on-board graphics

that shaves a few tenners off the price.

Admittedly,youlosetheabilityforyourPCto

workwithouta discretegraphicscard,which

canbeusefulfortroubleshooting,butAMD’s

non-APURyzenCPUslackthisfeaturetoo.

Youalsosavea lotmoremoneycompared

withtheCorei9-10900X,andwhileprevious-

generationHEDTCPUssuchastheCore

i9-9820Xgoforsimilaramountsofcash,

theyofferfarlowerfrequencies.Outofthe

box,theCorei9-9900KFcanhit5GHzonup

totwocoresandhappilysitsat4.7GHzacross

allcoresinmulti-threadedapplicationsduring

ourtests.Youget16MBofL3cacheand2MB

ofL2cache,givingit slightlymorecachethan

theCorei7-9700K,inadditiontotwicethe

numberofthreads,thankstotheinclusion

ofHyper-Threading support.

In terms of performance, the Core

i9-9900KF was in the same ballpark as

AMD’s CPUs in the image editing test and

had the measure of the Ryzen 7 3800X in

our heavily multi-threaded Handbrake video

encoding test too, although it was outgunned

by the similarly priced Ryzen 9 3900X. It was

fairly even overall, with a system score of

243,615 compared to 241,240 for the AMD

Ryzen 7 3800X. Comparatively, the Core

i9-10920X scored 245,615, while the Ryzen 9

3900X managed a much higher 306,884.

It was an identical story in Cinebench too,

where our all-core 5GHz overclock only added

a couple of hundred points. It was reasonably

quick in Premiere Pro as well, but not much faster

than the Ryzen 7 3800X at stock speed and a

little slower once both chips were overclocked.

Far Cry New Dawn, though, gave Intel the

advantage, with a massive lead over the Ryzen 9

3950X, but a slimmer one in Metro Exodus.

Conclusion

While it’s no match for AMD’s 3rd-gen Ryzen

CPUs in multi-threaded tasks, the Core

i9-9900KF is a heck of a lot better than Intel’s

non-Hyper-Threaded options, and its gaming

prowess in many titles means that the Core

i9-9900KS isn’t a hopeless all-rounder. Games

are certainly where it’s strongest, but if you

dabble in the odd bit of content creation too,

it’s a decent option if you have the money for it.

Outside of dabbling, though, AMD’s CPUs quickly

start to offer much better value for money.

VERDICT

Worth considering for a high-end gaming

PC, but it can’t compete with AMD’s 3rd-gen

RyzenCPUsonvalueformoney.

HYPER-
THREADING
+Excellentingames

+Reasonablemulti-
threadedperformance

+Huge range of
motherboards

HYPERKIDS

• Slower than AMD in
  contentcreation


• Stillexpensive


• AMD is more
  power-efficient

PERFORMANCE

40 / 50

FEATURES

14 / 15

OVERALLSCORE

80 %%

VALUE

26 / 35

SPEC

Base frequency 3.6GHz

Turbo frequency 5GHz

Core Coffee Lake refresh

Manufacturing process 14nm++

Number of cores 8 x physical (16 threads)

IGP None

Hyper-Threading Ye s

Cache 16MB L3 cache, 8 x 256KB L2 cache

Memory controller Dual-channel

DDR4, up to 2666MHz

Packaging LGA1151-v2

Thermal design power (TDP) 95W

Features Turbo Boost 2, FMA3, F16C, SHA,

BMI / BMI1 + BMI2, AVX-512, AVX2, AVX,

AES, SSE4a, SSE4, SSE3, SSE2, SSE, MMX