Intel's Pentium Gold G5600 processor features HyperThreading, which turns its two cores into four threads. The result is one of the most affordable entry-level CPUs that is fit for gaming. Tough competition comes in form of the AMD Ryzen 2200G, which is similarly priced, but offers four real cores.
The Intel Core i3-8300 was released recently as part of Intel's second wave of Coffee Lake processors. Compared to the i3-8100, it adds 100 MHz to the CPU clock and 2 MB of cache. It lacks the unlocked multiplier of Ryzen, and its integrated graphics are not nearly as fast as those of Ryzen G models. Is it still a good option in the $150 CPU market?
The Ryzen 5 2600 is AMD's most affordable 12 nm processor you can buy, and fills the shoes of the popular Ryzen 5 1600. Thanks to its twelve threads, it will breeze through multi-threaded workloads, and its gaming performance has been improved a lot too, beating last generation's Ryzen 7 1800X flagship.
Intel's $200 Core i5-8500 is part of the second wave of Coffee Lake CPUs, released earlier this year. The processor comes with six cores and six threads and will boost up to 4.1 GHz. Our testing shows that even at higher thread counts, it won't ever go below 3.9 GHz, which will make life difficult for the Ryzen 5 2600 - its main competitor.
The Ryzen 7 2700 is the cheaper, sub-$300 sibling of the flagship 2700X, and has nothing disabled on-die. It even comes with an unlocked multiplier and nearly half the TDP rating, which makes it the most energy-efficient processor we ever tested in multi-threaded workloads.
Intel's recently-released Core i5-8600 comes with an identical boost frequency as the i5-8600K, for a lesser price that happens to match that of the Ryzen 5 2600X. While base frequency might look low with 3.1 GHz, in reality, out of the box, the processor runs above 4 GHz all the time.
AMD's new second-generation Ryzen processors are here. We run the Ryzen 7 2700X flagship through our completely revamped test suite, which features the latest BIOS, OS, and software updates, as well as new tests and games. Results are very impressive and considerably reduce the gap to Intel's offerings.
Priced at an affordable $230, AMD's Ryzen 5 2600X is targeted at a larger market than the Ryzen 7 2700X. The processor still comes with 6 cores and 12 threads, matching the best Intel has to offer. In our testing, we see the new processor neck-to-neck with the Ryzen 7 1700X and beating the Intel Core i5-8600K.
AMD's Ryzen 3 2200G is the cheapest true quad-core CPU ever released. It also integrates Radeon Vega graphics with 512 shader cores and a modern video decoding acceleration engine. Given its price, this has the potential to be the CPU for system builders on a budget who also want their system to be able to handle light gaming.
Today, AMD released their new Ryzen G processors, which feature integrated graphics with the Vega architecture. These new processors use the AM4 socket, which means all motherboards that support Ryzen will support Ryzen G, too. With a price of $170, the Ryzen 5 2400G is also priced reasonably when looking at platform cost because you don't have to buy a separate graphics card at inflated prices.
The Core i9-7900X is where Intel's new HEDT processor lineup truly begins, delivering on all the platform's three main goals - more cores, more memory channels, and more PCIe lanes. We pit it against the Ryzen Threadripper 1950X for what will be the pitched battle of the $1000 giants.
We take a close look at memory speeds, latencies, and command rate on Intel's latest Core i7-8700K with Z370. Scenarios tested include fail-safe 2133 MHz, the platform default of 2666 MHz, and overclocked memory speeds ranging from 3000 MHz to 4000 MHz - at various timings.
The Core i3-8350K is the first quad-core CPU in Intel's i3 arsenal, priced at $180 and clocked at 4 GHz, even when all four cores are active. Overclocking is extremely easy due to the "K" suffix and has the potential to turn this processor into a budget overclocker's dream.
Intel strikes back! The Core i7-8700K comes with six processor cores, plus HyperThreading, for a total of twelve threads. Overclocking potential is excellent, reaching 5 GHz on all cores, with ease, on just air cooling. Pricing is also extremely reasonable, with just a small increase over the previous quad-core 7700K.
Intel's Core i5-8600K is priced $120 below the i7-8700K, making it an interesting option for the more value-oriented buyer. It features the same six-core design, but lacks HyperThreading and loses 3 MB of cache. Our testing shows that it still is a great CPU, especially when overclocked to almost 5 GHz.
The Core i5-8400 is Intel's most affordable option to go beyond a quad-core setup on the desktop. With a price point of $190, it is only half the price of Core i7-8700K, but delivers nearly the same performance in games and can also compete with the Ryzen 6c12t processors thanks to its good single-threaded performance and high boost clock.
The Intel Core i5-7640X provides an entry into the world of HEDT for below $300. However, Intel cut several corners in carving out the Core i5-7640X, among which are the lack of HT, fewer PCIe lanes, and no quad-channel memory. Are there redeeming qualities to this chip after all?
The AMD Ryzen 3 1300X, which is priced at $129, comes with a 3.4 GHz base clock and 3.7 GHz Boost. It offers four real cores that manage to beat the dual-core Intel Core i3-7300 with HyperThreading, which is significantly more expensive at the same time.
AMD's Ryzen 3 1200 is aggressively priced at $110, which makes it the most affordable Ryzen available. With clock frequencies ranging from 3.1 GHz Base to 3.4 GHz Boost, it is clocked not much different than the Ryzen 5 1400, which also has four physical cores, but includes the SMT technology on top.
Today, AMD took the wraps off their new EPYC server processors, which feature up to 64 threads and can support one or two CPUs per motherboard. Our article details the technical and architectural changes and also explains how AMD's Infinity Fabric interconnect works.
The most affordable Ryzen part at the moment, the $170 Ryzen 5 1400 quad-core processor, is endowed with features you find only on Intel processors twice its price. We're interested to see where that leaves competing Intel parts within its price range.
AMD's Ryzen 5 1600, a six-core processor with twelve logical cores, turns out to be a cost-effective alternative to the only marginally faster Ryzen 5 1600X. The Ryzen 5 1600 even offers good overclocking potential, going beyond the clock limits of AMD Precision Boost and XFR.
Intel mainstream CPUs have had a bottleneck in cooling due to poor heat transfer from the CPU die to the integrated heat spreader. Thanks to new de-lidding friendly tools released recently, it is now easier than ever before to handle this yourself and get a cooler running CPU. We examine two such solutions from Rockit Cool and Aqua Computer today, both of which promise fool-proof de-lidding and re-lidding.
The Ryzen 5 1600X is AMD's flagship Ryzen 5 processor model. It comes at an affordable $250, with a base clock of 3.6 GHz. Thanks to AMD XFR, it will boost up to 4.1 GHz, which helps gain single-threaded performance over Intel's offerings. It looks like Core i5-7600K is in trouble.
Today, AMD launched their Ryzen 5 processors. We review the $190 Ryzen 5 1500X, which promises to be a cost-effective alternative to sub-$200 Intel models. Thanks to integrated SMT-multithreading and various Boost technologies, overall performance is quite good.
