AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT vs. Intel Core i9 10900K Linux Gaming Performance

[vladpetric]

OK, I have to ask... given that the Intel CPU has a ~12% higher boost clock and is ~4% faster on average, where does the argument about Intel having better IPC come from ?

You're right, it doesn't, so scratch that.

Looking at the top of the chart shows some pretty significant differences between between Intel and AMD though.

[bridgman]

Well, when the binary code is the same, it is the microarchitecture of the processor that mostly affects IPC. And in this respect Intel seems to be doing better.

OK, I have to ask... given that the Intel CPU has a ~12% higher boost clock and is ~4% faster on average, where does the argument about Intel having better IPC come from ?

[theriddick]

It would be interesting to see a few results with the latest Proton version, I don't know which games would be best for benchmarking. Proton does have some extra threading work done on it so who knows, it might benefit AMD.

You could even run the proton version of linux port games to see if there is a difference in the way threading is done on Linux for some of these games.

[vladpetric]

Sure it does, similar to like max clock rate for badly parallelized code.

Well, when the binary code is the same, it is the microarchitecture of the processor that mostly affects IPC. And in this respect Intel seems to be doing better.

[oleid]

So let me say it again: IPC matters

Sure it does, similar to like max clock rate for badly parallelized code.

[vladpetric]

Beside the captain-obvious statement, was IPC importance contended?
Or am I missing something?

No. This is not directed at either Michael or you, who understand what it is. More like nm AMD fanboys.

[milkylainen]

IPC Matters

In the simplest form, the time it takes to run a task depends on three things:

1. Instruction count for the task
2. Clock speed
3. Instruction per cycle (instruction throughput), or IPC

There's a lot of numbers that people talk about, but those oftentimes make a lot less impact than IPC. Why don't people talk about IPC? Well, because it changes (sometimes dramatically) between workloads; it is not a spec. A number crunching workload is going to behave quite differently from a game, who in turn will behave quite differently from a database.

Unlike nanometers (which have very little meaning these days) or memory frequency (which matters a lot less than you'd think because processors use a complex cache hierarchy), the IPC is not a spec. It's way easier to bitch about nm than to understand IPC.

So let me say it again: IPC matters

Beside the captain-obvious statement, was IPC importance contended?
Or am I missing something?

[vladpetric]

IPC Matters

In the simplest form, the time it takes to run a task depends on three things:

1. Instruction count for the task
2. Clock speed
3. Instruction per cycle (instruction throughput), or IPC

There's a lot of numbers that people talk about, but those oftentimes make a lot less impact than IPC. Why don't people talk about IPC? Well, because it changes (sometimes dramatically) between workloads; it is not a spec. A number crunching workload is going to behave quite differently from a game, who in turn will behave quite differently from a database.

Unlike nanometers (which have very little meaning these days) or memory frequency (which matters a lot less than you'd think because processors use a complex cache hierarchy), the IPC is not a spec. It's way easier to bitch about nm than to understand IPC.

So let me say it again: IPC matters

[M@GOid]

The Noctua NH-U9S looks like a inadequate cooler for the likes of the 3900XT and 10900K, especially for review purposes. Other reviewers usually apply water cooler, or at least a beefy tower cooler with a 120mm fan at least, on CPU's above 100W of TDP.

[caligula]

They are both $499 CPUs, but what about the motherboard price? That should be counted in.

You should also consider the amortized cost over multiple years. AMD typically produces sockets that are compatible between 3 to 4 CPU generations. Intel usually pairs one CPU gen with a single mobo gen. Even if the parts were be physically compatible, they would cripple the firmware to make them incompatible. After few years of use, a large part of Intel performance is also lost thanks to all the side channel exploit mitigations.