Intel Core i9-9990XE Sacrifices Cores For Higher Frequencies, Benchmarks Inside

NEWS
The Core i9-9990XE is an interesting processor given that the name would have one expecting it to have the same core count as the Core i9-9980XE while being a step ahead in terms of clock speed. That is not the case, however.
Instead we see a 14-core part with a hike in clock speeds. The Core i9-9900XE has a base clock speed of 4.0 GHz, an all-core Turbo clock speed of 5.0 GHz, and a single core Turbo of 5.1 GHz. These are peak speeds higher than even the Core i9-9900K, meaning that similar single threaded performance can be expected as you’d get from the Core i9-9900K while offering almost twice as many cores.
The Core i9-9990XE, like its brethren, is based on Skylake-X HCC (high core count), but instead of thermal paste it features a soldered integrated heatspreader. Aside from the fourteen cores, the processor sports 1 MB of L2 cache per core and 19.25 MB of shared L3 cache. The TPD is through the roof, however, at a colossal 255 watts.
Model | Price | Cores / Threads | Base Frequency | Maximum Turbo Frequency | L3 Cache | L3 Cache per Core | TDP | PCI-E Lanes | Socket |
Core i9-9990XE | Not for Retail | 14 / 28 | 4.0 GHz | 5.0 GHz | 19.25 MB | 1.375 MB | 255w | 44 | LGA 2066 |
Core i9-9980XE | US$ 1,979 | 18 / 36 | 3.0 GHz | 4.5 GHz | 24.75 MB | 1.375 MB | 165w | 44 | LGA 2066 |
Core i9-9960X | US$ 1,684 | 16 / 32 | 3.1 GHz | 4.5 GHz | 22.00 MB | 1.375 MB | 165w | 44 | LGA 2066 |
Core i9-9940X | US$ 1,.387 | 14 / 28 | 3.3 GHz | 4.5 GHz | 19.25 MB | 1.375 MB | 165w | 44 | LGA 2066 |
Core i9-9920X | US$ 1,189 | 12 / 24 | 3.5 GHz | 4.5 GHz | 19.25 MB | 1.604 MB | 165w | 44 | LGA 2066 |
Core i9-9900X | US$ 989 | 10 / 20 | 3.5 GHz | 4.5 GHz | 19.25 MB | 1.925 MB | 165w | 44 | LGA 2066 |
Core i9-9820X | US$ 889 | 10 / 20 | 3.3 GHz | 4.2 GHz | 16.50 MB | 1.650 MB | 165w | 44 | LGA 2066 |
Core i9-9800X | US$ 589 | 8 / 16 | 3.8 GHz | 4.5 GHz | 16.50 MB | 2.031 MB | 165w | 44 | LGA 2066 |
Core i9-9900K | US$ 499 | 8 / 16 | 3.6 GHz | 5.0 GHz | 16.00 MB | 2.000 MB | 95w | 16 | LGA 1151 |
Puget Systems, a workstation integrator based in the USA, has managed to get their hands on a sample of the CPU and put it through its paces in a handful of creativity benchmarks. The results speak for themselves, with the Core 9-9990XE beating out the higher core count Core i9-9980XE in almost every benchmark.
The above images are just the overviews for each application. For full benchmarking results, please see the following pages:
Intel has not released pricing for the CPU as it is not intended for retail availability, but rather for the financial services industry. Something worth noting is that Intel provides absolutely no warranty for the CPU, leaving it up to system integrators to absorb the costs of dead silicon.
Source: Anandtech
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