A Look At Intel’s Core i9-7900X X-Series 10-core Processor

(All of our tests are explained in detail on page 2.)

To wrap-up our performance results, we have a slew of Linux test results to pore over, which include two identical tests from the Windows suite (HandBrake and Blender).

The OS used in testing is Ubuntu 17.04, which is as out-of-the-box as we can make it. That means that the Nouveau driver is used for graphics (not that it should matter for CPU tests), and no unneeded software or services are installed. All CPUs were tested with the 4.10 kernel, with the exception of 4.12 for the i9-7900X.

Most of our Linux testing is performed with the Phoronix Test Suite, which makes it ridiculously easy to benchmark a huge number of tests in one go, to let us, as Ronco famously said, “set it, and forget it!” Well, “forget it” until the next test needs to be run, anyway.

In addition to PTS, Blender and HandBrake are used for real-world testing.

Blender & HandBrake

We’re seeing the huge number of threads continue showing off in Linux, with both Blender and HandBrake showing similar scaling as the Windows tests. Speaking of, how do these Linux versions compare to their Windows counterparts?

“Hit or miss” is the answer to that question. Overall, there’s no sense worrying about where either of these tools will perform better, unless, maybe, your Blender project could take advantage of the GPU.

Phoronix Test Suite

Helping to wrap up this performance is further proof that the i9-7900X is the fastest desktop CPU available. There are still some oddities to be seen, though, such as the Smallpt test, which was fell behind the i7-6950X, even after follow-up testing.

On the Sandra page, the Cryptography test shone a bright light on the 7900X, and Jack the Ripper backs it up. At present, the 7900X is unbeatable for cryptography – but that doesn’t mean it’s the most cost-efficient choice.