Conclusion
Just after one year, AMD released it’s 2nd generation Ryzen processors. For those who already. We have seen the improvement in performance over the first generation Ryzen 7 1800X. The performance can also compete head to head with the Intel Core i7-8770K.
Thanks to XFR2 and better single core performance, lower latency and a better heatsink, the performance of the Ryzen 7 2700X can be seen as an improvement over the first generation not by leaps but has created a formidable challenge to the Intel high end desktop chips.
We like AMD Ryzen for it’s socket compatibility with older generation X370 and lower end chipsets with a flash bios update. This is something that helps to minimise the cost of ownership. Existing X370 chipset motherboard users do not need to sell away their boards and they will be able to drop in the Ryzen 7 2700X, the 2nd generation Ryzen processors and it will work just like before.
Ryzen 2 series has improve it’s memory support raising it to support DDR4-2933. We have been using XMP that works at DDR4-3400. In fact, we are able to run the board at DDR4-3600 with a slight voltage bump. The Ryzen first generation had issued above DDR4-2933 dual channel.
From the benchmarks, we can see that the 8c 16t has improve performance especially in multicore/multithread application. e.g. in Veracrypt the performance difference against the Core i7-8770K is as high as 20%. Games on the other hand are more GPU bound and should perform quite similarly.
In terms of overclocking, we managed to get it stable at vCore 1.475v and 41.5x multiplier. Although the system can boot up to 42.5x with 8 cores running, it is unstable. Graphics based benchmarks passed the test but Cinebench fails. The sweet spot is still 41.5x multiplier. The 6 core Ryzen 2600X might have more leeway for overclocking as TDP is lower than that of the Ryzen 7 2700X.
In terms of price, Intel core i7-8770K sells for $347.06 at Amazon. The AMD Ryzen 7 2700X retails at $329.99 and you get a free colourful WRAITH PRISM heatsink/fan which is quite decent in performance.
A GIGABYTE Z370 AORUS Gaming 7 sells for $229.99 while the GIGABYTE X470 AORUS Gaming 7 WIFI $239.99
Pricing of Other AMD Ryzen processors and Motherboards
If you do not wish to change your motherboard, the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X can fit in older Ryzen 1st generation boards with chipsets 300 series chipset motherboards e.g. X370, B350, A320. You can’t do the same for Intel Core i7-8770K as you will need to pair it up with a new motherboard.
The X470 boards also comes with a StoreMI which allows you to extend the your existing volumes with a SSD to increase speed or with a HDD to extend the volume space for more applications. This is something free that will come handy for those who need larger file space to keep storage of games but need faster access but couldn’t afford terabytes of SSD. If you don’t intend to upgrade your motherboard, you can purchase StoreMI software to run it on X370 motherboard.
In Conclusion, the AMD solution is definitely worth considering if you intend to upgrade. You do not need to buy one whole system but upgrade it part by part. That is the beauty of the AM4 socket. It is also help to reduce electronic waste which is good for the environment.
OCWorkbench gives it a Gold Award for the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X and Ryzen 5 2600X and Gigabyte X470 AORUS Gaming 7 motherboard
Well that’s interesting.. I donno what I can really say about it though.
I didn’t realize I wasn’t the only one interested in this. IM NOT ALONE!