Review of AORUS X570 XTREME with AMD Ryzen 9 3900X, Ryzen 7 3700X and Ryzen 5 3600X processors
7 Jul 2019

Introduction

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Today marks the launch of the 3rd generation AM4 processors with the new AMD X570 motherboards with PCIe 4.0 support. The new processors Ryzen 3000 series are now based on AMD’s high-performance x86 Core “Zen 2” architecture enables 3rd Gen Ryzen™ Processors to deliver the highest single-thread and multi-thread performance of any mainstream desktop processor.

The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X has 12 cores, 24 threads and clock at 3.8 GHz with Turbo at 4.6 GHz. It has 6 MB L2 cache and 64 MB of L3 cache. It has a TDP of 105W.

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X has 8 cores, 16 threads and clocks at 3.6 GHz with Turbo at 4.4 GHz. It has 4 MB L2 cache and 32 MB L3 cache. It has a TDP of 65W.

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600X has 6 cores, 12 threads and clocks at 3.8 GHz with Turbo at 4.4 GHz. It has 3 MB L2 cache and 32 MB L3 cache. It has a TDP of 95W.

All support system memory of DDR4-3200 MHz. All supports PCIe 4.0 with X570 motherboard.

Next, we take a look at the motherboard, the AORUS X570 XTREME.

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The motherboard supports 3rd Generation AMD Ryzen™ processors with memory overclockable up to 4400 MHz. It is also backward compatible with older Ryzen processors.

The board incorporates a direct 16 Phases Infineon Digital VRM Solution with 70A Power Stage
Thermal Reactive Armor Design with Fins-Array Heatsink, Direct Touch Heatpipe and NanoCarbon Baseplate.

It has a Triple Ultra-Fast NVMe PCIe 4.0/3.0 x4 M.2 with Triple Thermal Guards. In terms of connectivity, it has an onboard Intel® WiFi 6 802.11ax 2T2R & BT 5 with 2X AORUS Antenna. As ethernet, it has a AQUANTIA® 10GbE BASE-T LAN + Intel® Gigabit LAN with cFosSpeed

Audio wise it has a rear 130dB SNR AMP-UP Audio with ALC1220-VB & ESS SABRE 9218 DAC with WIMA Audio Capacitors.

The package also comes with an exclusive RGB FAN COMMANDER for Professional Casemoders.

Other features include USB TurboCharger for Mobile Device Fast Charge Support, RGB FUSION with Multi-Zone Addressable LED Light Show Design, Support Addressable LED & RGB LED Stripsm Smart Fan 5 Features Multiple Temperature Sensors , Hybrid Fan Headers with FAN STOP and Noise Detection, Front & Rear USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C™ Headers, Q-Flash Plus Update BIOS Without Installing CPU, Memory and Graphics Card

The processors will be paired up with the Gigabyte AORUS X570 XTREME motherboard to benchmark the new processors performance against the 2nd generation and some Intel processors.

[nextpage title=”Motherboard Layout”]Motherboard Layout

1. Support for DDR4 4400(O.C.) / 4300(O.C.) / 4266(O.C.) / 4133(O.C.) / 4000(O.C.) / 3866(O.C.) / 3800(O.C.) / 3733(O.C.) / 3600(O.C.) / 3466(O.C.) / 3400(O.C.) / 3333(O.C.) / 3300(O.C.) / 3200 / 2933 / 2667 / 2400 / 2133 MHz memory modules
2. 2nd Generation AMD Ryzen™ processors/2nd Generation AMD Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics processors/AMD Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics processors:
   Support for DDR4 3600(O.C.) / 3400(O.C.) / 3333(O.C.) / 3200(O.C.) / 2933 / 2667 / 2400 / 2133 MHz memory modules
3. 4 x DDR4 DIMM sockets supporting up to 128 GB (32 GB single DIMM capacity) of system memory
4. Dual channel memory architecture

Integrated in the CPU (PCIEX16/PCIEX8):

1. 3rd Generation AMD Ryzen™ processors:
   1 x PCI Express x16 slot, supporting PCIe 4.0 and running at x16 (PCIEX16)
   1 x PCI Express x16 slot, supporting PCIe 4.0 and running at x8 (PCIEX8)
2. 2nd Generation AMD Ryzen™ processors:
   1 x PCI Express x16 slot, supporting PCIe 3.0 and running at x16 (PCIEX16)
   1 x PCI Express x16 slot, supporting PCIe 3.0 and running at x8 (PCIEX8)
   * For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot.
   * The PCIEX8 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16 slot. When using the 3rd Generation AMD Ryzen™ processors/2nd Generation AMD Ryzen™ processors, the PCIEX16 slot operates at up to x8 mode.
3. 2nd Generation AMD Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics processors/AMD Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics processors:
   1 x PCI Express x16 slot, supporting PCIe 3.0 and running at x8 (PCIEX16)

Integrated in the Chipset (PCIEX4):

1. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, supporting PCIe 4.0*/3.0 and running at x4
   * For 3rd Generation AMD Ryzen™ processors only.

1. 1 x Q-Flash Plus button
2. 1 x Clear CMOS button
3. 2 x SMA antenna connectors (2T2R)
4. 1 x USB Type-C™ port, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 support
5. 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2*/Gen 1 Type-A ports (red)
   * For 3rd Generation AMD Ryzen™ processors only.
6. 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red)
7. 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports
8. 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
9. 2 x RJ-45 ports
10. 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
11. 5 x audio jacks

[nextpage title=”BIOS options”]

BIOS options

[nextpage title=”Overclocking and CPU-Z info”]Overclocking and CPU-Z

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The three processors are of Zen 2 architecture and manufactured using 7nm processor. Just a recap

The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X has 12 cores, 24 threads and clock at 3.8 GHz with Turbo at 4.6 GHz. It has 6 MB L2 cache and 64 MB of L3 cache. It has a TDP of 105W.

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X has 8 cores, 16 threads and clocks at 3.6 GHz with Turbo at 4.4 GHz. It has 4 MB L2 cache and 32 MB L3 cache. It has a TDP of 65W.

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600X has 6 cores, 12 threads and clocks at 3.8 GHz with Turbo at 4.4 GHz. It has 3 MB L2 cache and 32 MB L3 cache. It has a TDP of 95W.

In the past, e.g. the Ryzen 7 2700X hit the wall around 4.2 ~ 4.3 GHz. Will the 3rd generation do better ? We give all the processors a push with Vcore at 1.45v, Vdimm at 1.35v. Multiplier can be set within BIOS. DDR modules are set as XMP Profile 1 which is CAS 16,16-16-16,1T at DDR4-3200.

Overclocking the Ryzen 5 3600X

The Ryzen 5 3600X can be overclocked to 4.2 GHz through BIOS multiplier. 4.3 GHz is bootable but unstable.  Max temperature hit 75 deg C.

Overclocking the Ryzen 7 3700X

It can overclock to 4.3 GHz and is stable to complete the test. Max temp hit 76 deg C.

Overclocking the Ryzezn 9 3900X

Again, it hit the wall at 4.3 GHz. 4.4 GHz is bootable but benchmark test failed. Max temperature hit was 84 deg C.

[nextpage title=”Benchmarks – Cinebench R15 and SiSoft Sandra 2018″]

Benchmarks – Cinebench R15 and SiSoft Sandra 2018

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Benchmark – Cinebench R15 

Cinebench is a popular benchmarking tool that shouldn’t be stranger to our readers. Cinebench CPU test uses all of your system’s processing power to render a photorealistic 3D scene (from the viral “No Keyframes” animation by AixSponza).

This scene makes use of various algorithms to stress all available processor cores. In fact, CINEBENCH can measure systems with up to 256 processor threads.

This test scene contains approximately 2,000 objects which in turn contain more than 300,000 polygons in total, and uses sharp and blurred reflections, area lights, shadows, procedural shaders, antialiasing, and much more. The result is displayed in points (pts). The higher the number, the faster your processor.

Cinebench also tests the single thread performance and the results have improved over the 2nd generation processors. It can easily break the 200 cb mark and is closing up the gap with Intel counterparts e.g. the Intel Core i7-9700k. The Ryzen 7 2700X merely can get around 180 cb. There is ~ a 12 % increase in single core performance compared to the 2nd generation processors.

When it comes to multithreaded performance, the Ryzen 9 3900X is now almost on par with the HEDT processors e.g. ThreadRipper 2950X. In fact, it already surpassed ThreadRipper 1950X and Intel Core i9-7900X.

As for the Ryzen 7 3700X, there is a jump of over 300 points over the Ryzen 7 2700X. There is a 16% difference lead in performance.

Ryzen 5 3600X scores 1580 which is pretty decent for a mid low range 6 core processor. It even outperform the Intel Core i7-9700K when overclocked to 5 GHz.

SiSoft Sandra 2018 Titanium SP2 benchmark

We ran the SiSoft Sandra 2018 Titanium SP2 benchmarks for overall processor score. This test runs tests on cryptography, scientific analysis, image processing etc. Some of the tests like financial analysis are very demanding and could cause system hangs if the system is unstable.

Yes, you are right the AMD Ryzen 5 3600X actually outperformed the Ryzen 7 2700X in Sandra overall processor score. The Ryzen 7 3700X is much faster than the Ryzen 7 2700X. The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X is taking away the limelight from Threadripper 1950X and is closing up the HEDT processors from both AMD and INTEL.

[nextpage title=”Benchmarks Blender 2.79b and PovRay”]

Benchmarks Blender 2.79b and PovRay

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Benchmark – Blender 2.79b 

Blender benchmark 1.0b2 runs the test against the processor to render the image. This tool can be used to analyse the processor performance.

In this render test, the benchmark time required to complete the render. The faster (shorter time taken) the better.

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600X takes almost the same time as the Core i7-9700K to complete the render. We can see the Ryzen 7 3700X is almost 40 seconds faster than the Ryzen 7 2700X.

The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X took 2 mins 34 secs and it outperformed the Intel i9-7900X. It looks like the timing is getting close to the HEDT processors.

PovRay

PovRay is another test we used for testing the processor capabilities. In this test, we check out the single and multi thread performance.

The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X scores 6221.08 which outperformed the Threadripper 1950X and Intel Core i9-7900X. Again we see that the Ryzen 7 3700X is way ahead of the Ryzen 7 2700X and Core i7-9700K.

[nextpage title=”Benchmarks PCMark10 and 3DMark FireStrike”]

Benchmarks PCMark10 and 3DMark FireStrike

Benchmarks – PCMark10 

PCMark 10 test the 3 different groups of applications that are commonly used on desktop PCs. Essentials, Productivity and Digital Content Creation.

A look at the chart, we can see that how the 3rd generation Ryzen 7 3700X outperforms Ryzen 7 2700X with Ryzen 9 3900X beating the rest of the processors in the shoot out.

3DMark Firestrike

Futuremark Firestrike Custom Physics test takes the processor test to see how fast it runs.

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600X is almost on par with the Ryzen 7 2700X. The Ryzen 7 3700X is slightly behind the Threadripper with the Ryzen 9 3900X beating the HEDT ThreadRipper 2990WX (16 cores).

From the look of it, the AMD HEDT needs a revamp as the Desktop processors are catching up very fast.

[nextpage title=”PCIe 3.0 vs PCIe 4.0 performance with NVme”]Performance of NVMe under PCIe 3.0 vs PCIe 4.0

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One of the major selling point of the AMD 3rd Generation processor and X570 is it’s support of PCIe 4.0. To get the best out of PCIe 4.l0 bandwidth, it is best to pair up the board with a PCIe 4.0 graphics card. Alternatively, a NVME which supports PCIe 4.0 should benefit from the extra bandwidth.

You can read more at this link -> Review of AORUS NVME GEN 4 2TB SSD

[nextpage title=”Conclusion”]Conclusion

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The performance of the new AMD processors are really an eye opener. In the past, AMD has always been losing on single core performance make an impressive improvement and brought even better performance to the multicore processors. This is especially in the case of AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and AMD Ryzen 9 3900X. The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X deserves a mention as it is really HEDT contender, performing almost on par to the Threadrippers.

The Gigabyte AORUS X570 XTREME motherboard is a high end motherboard with so many features. For stability, it has a  direct 16 Phases Infineon Digital VRM Solution with 70A Power Stage. It also has a Thermal Reactive Armor Design with Fins-Array Heatsink, Direct Touch Heatpipe and NanoCarbon Baseplate. The Triple Ultra-Fast NVMe PCIe 4.0/3.0 x4 M.2 with Triple Thermal Guards, Onboard Intel® WiFi 6 802.11ax 2T2R & BT 5 with 2X AORUS Antenna
Rear 130dB SNR AMP-UP Audio with ALC1220-VB & ESS SABRE 9218 DAC with WIMA Audio Capacitors for HIFI sound. For GbE connections, it comes with AQUANTIA® 10GbE BASE-T LAN + Intel® Gigabit LAN with cFosSpeed. There is also an exclusive RGB FAN COMMANDER for Professional Casemoders. Light up your board with RGB FUSION.

Installation is easy. Just plug everything, power up, go into BIOS and load optimized default. I like the Clear CMOS button is a blessing for testers. Even if it is housed in a box, it is easy for users to overclock and clear the CMOS without needing to open up the box, find and short the CMOS jumpers.

Overclocking wise, the processors all can do a 4.3 GHz on air. Anything beyond really depends on luck and tuning. The multiplier options are readily available in the BIOS for you to choose from. Voltage levels etc. you can even fine tune other parameters.

Documentation is very concise but Gigabyte could have included the ranges of the options available e.g. frequency rage, voltage range. A USB drive would be more suitable as DVD drives are being phased out.

In conclusion, if you need a new PC with PCIe 4.0, you will have to purchase this board with new AMD Ryzen 3000 series processors and PCIe 4.0 cards to take full advantage of the extra bandwidth. I would recommend the AMD Ryzen 3000 series and  X570 motherboard.

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Pricing of AMD Processors

Pricing of Gigabyte motherboards

Pros

• PCIe 4.0
• HiFi Sound from ESS SABRE 9218 DAC

Cons

• Documentation
• RGB Fan commander may be made optional

Ratings

Here are my ratings out of 10 stars.

Gold Award for AMD Ryzen 3000 series processors – Ryzen 9 3900X and Ryzen 7 3700X