Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsThe little engine that could, AMD does!
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2018
I changed my PC after ten years! I went with AMD as it was so much cheaper and better, looking at the data below. The i7-8700K, the Intel equivalent, is $380.00 verses $200.00 for the AMD 2600X. I used the same power supply, case, mouse, keyboard ETC as it all was newer. You can see the set-up I did this time. The GPU is in the middle slot to give the CPU cooler a tunnel of air straight through the system. The NVMe drive sits under the CPU cooler and gets air pulled across it. The GPU is AIO hybrid type so no hot air in the case. Yes, I oriented the cooler to shoot straight up as this seems best to send hot air UP out the top of the case and not into the GPU radiator. Temps so far support the set-up. Real neat and clean this time around.
I have a pretty good CPU and NOCTUA DH-15S cooler, so it auto dynamic clocks (what AMD calls XFR2) to 4.9 GHz on all cores! I don't do a thing, as it is all stock. Even the fans are cool-and-quiet and ramp based on temps. This is a great PC! The ASRock X470 is great, too, with that 1 GB ADATA NVMe SSD drive blazing along with W10 pro. The memory XMP profiled to the right timings and speed straight away with the Taichi MB...dead stable.
The Heaven 4.0 scores are 15 FPS faster than the i7-870 in the old system with the same 1070ti clocks (see attached). That AMD CPU kicks butt for the price. If you are thinking of a PC, the 2600X allows you to afford the a NVMe drive and/or a faster graphics card. I game at 1440P so the fastest CPU is a waste of money.
Ran Wolfenstein - The New Order all day today and not a single hick-up. The system exceeded my expectations, that's for sure.
AMD SYSTEM
BRAND PRICE
MB ASRock X470 Taichi AM4 AMD $199.99
CPU AMD Ryzen 7 2600X 3.6GHz $209.99
DDR4 MEMORY* G.Skill Flare-X 16GB 2 x 8GB DDR4-3200 - F4-3200C14D-16GFX $224.98
1GB ADATA SX8200 3D NAND NVMe Gen3x4 M.2 SSD $208.99
OS W10 Professsional OEM 64 bit $149.50
GPU EVGA 1070ti hybrid $550.00
I kept my case and PS;
Phantek ENTHOO PRO Glass
Corsair HX-750
Here is the data on XFR2 actual function.
Look at the dynamic OC difference! ~4.3 GHz on one and ~4.9 GHz on the other! VCPU core adjust from less than a volt to 1.48 volts.
Remember that the numbers are "max" at any time, not at one point in time. So ALL cores aren't likely ever at those frequencies at the same time, just the ones that are needing the boost. Unlike a manual over clock, you aren't stuck revving the CPU engine in neutral wasting power on cores that don't have work, and, generating HEAT that slows down the thread you DO want to be running hardest!
This is why the AMD set-up is so compelling now, It allows every last bit of performance to be reached with minimal HEAT generation as ONLY the cores / clocks that NEED the boost get it. Eventually, they all seem to see a set peak GHz value (I don't think my 2600X can run 4.93 GHz on all cores simultaneously) running randomly at full tilt.
If you look at the CPU and GPU utilization scores you'll see dramatic differences between games. One runs the CPU hard, the other the GPU.
The CPU processor adjust to fit the requirements. And, it adjusts a LOT more than I ever though it would. With fixed over clock you really match ONE type of game and spin your wheels on the other. XFR2 senses the wheel spin on the CPU and backs it off if it can't drive performance forward on everything you do. And yes, it backs off the CPU voltage on that core, you can watch it dynamically change on each core. This lowers overall heats to the minimum at any point in time for the work being done.
I sound like an add for AMD's XFR2, but I'm just the opposite, I was real nervous about the expense on a seemingly too good to be true dynamic OC program. But, it really does work and the data supports it 100% using real games and actual use situations. This CPU is 3.6 GHz base clock, but dynamically OC to near 5 GHz! And, this was gaming for 12 hours straight on Wolfenstein with ZERO crashes. Someone has to do this test, may as well be me. This PC is dead stable hitting those numbers. If you don't believe the AMD propaganda, it is true this time around.
Let's add the second important variable, cooling. The AMD Cool and Quiet was panned in the beginning. Now, it supercharges the XFR2 capability as it cools ONLY when needed. The old way was top blow the house down 24/7. Now? I hear the fans spin up in game and then spin down again. The cooling is DYNAMIC as well, so less noise most of the time. The X470 Taichi MB chip set tested my fans min speeds at initialization so it knows their limits and away it went after that. Both systems work seamlessly on my PC. Seldom does this ever happen. I didn't mess with a thing, no CPU overclocks, no fan profiles, nothing. I see completely reasonable heats, too.
The 2600X is definitely the little engine that could, and DOES! Or should I say, AMD DOES!
HEAVEN WOLFENSTEIN
CPU LOWER HIGHER
GPU 100% 40%
CPU TEMP 57 C 67 C
GPU TEMP 56 C 40 C
CPU CLOCK 4.3 GHz 4.9 GHz
