Test Methodology
| Comparison Systems | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| System Name | HEXUS 2018 Test Platform | HEXUS 2020 Test Platform | ||
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 3900 | Intel Core i7-9700KF | Intel Core i7-8700K | AMD Ryzen 9 3950X | 
| Overclocked | No | No | Yes | No | 
| Max Turbo Frequency | 4.3GHz | 4.9GHz | 4.8GHz | 4.7GHz | 
| CPU Cores / Threads | 12 / 24 | 8 / 8 | 6 / 12 | 16 / 32 | 
| CPU TDP | 65W | 95W | 95W | 105W | 
| CPU Cooler | Corsair H100i RGB Pro XT | Corsair iCue H115i RGB Pro XT | Fractal Design Celsius S24 | Corsair Hydro Series H150i Pro RGB | 
| Motherboard | Asus ROG Strix B450-F Gaming | Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro WiFi | Asus ROG Maximus X Hero | Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Formula | 
| Memory | Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16GB DDR4 (2x8GB) | Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16GB DDR4 (2x8GB) | G.Skill Trident Z 32GB DDR4 (2x16GB)  | G.Skill Trident Z Neo 32GB DDR4 (2x16GB) | 
| Memory Speed | 18-22-20-42-1T @ 3,600MHz | 16-18-18-36-2T @ 3,200MHz | 14-14-14-34-2T @ 3,200MHz | 14-14-14-34-1T @ 3,200MHz | 
| Graphics | Asus Dual GeForce RTX 2080 Super Evo V2 (8GB) | Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 Super WindForce OC (8GB) | MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X Trio (11GB) | Sapphire Nitro+ RX 5700 XT SE (8GB) | 
| Graphics Driver | GeForce Game Ready 442.50 | GeForce Game Ready 442.74 | GeForce Game Ready 442.50 | Adrenalin 20.4.1 | 
| Primary Storage Device | 500GB Seagate FireCuda 520 M.2 SSD | 1TB Adata XPG SX8200 Pro M.2 SSD | 256GB WD Black M.2 SSD | 2TB Corsair MP600 M.2 SSD | 
| Secondary Storage Device | - | - | 1TB Crucial MX300 SATA SSD | - | 
| PSU | Corsair RM750X (750W) | Corsair RM750X (750W) | be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 (1,000W) | be quiet! Straight Power 11 Platinum (1,000W) | 
| Chassis | Corsair iCue 465X RGB | Corsair iCue 465X RGB | be quiet! Dark Base 700 | Fractal Design Define 7 Clear TG | 
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 Home | Microsoft Windows 10 Home | Microsoft Windows 10 Pro | Microsoft Windows 10 Pro | 
| Warranty | 3 Years | 3 Years | N/A | N/A | 
| Date Reviewed | March 2020 | March 2020 | N/A | N/A | 
| Cost As Reviewed | £1,990 | £1,790 | N/A | N/A | 
| Comparison Systems | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| System Name | ||||
| CPU | Intel Core i9-9900K | Intel Core i9-10900K | AMD Ryzen 9 3950X | Intel Core i9-10900K | 
| Overclocked | No | No | No | Yes | 
| Max Turbo Frequency | 5.0GHz | 5.3GHz | 4.7GHz | 5.0GHz | 
| CPU Cores / Threads | 8 / 16 | 10 / 20 | 16 / 32 | 10 / 20 | 
| CPU TDP | 95W | 125W | 105W | 125W | 
| CPU Cooler | MSI Custom | PCS Frostflow 240 | PCS Frostflow 240 | NZXT Kraken Z73 | 
| Motherboard | MSI MPG Z390i Gaming Edge AC | Asus ROG Strix Z490-F Gaming | Asus ROG Strix B450-F Gaming | Asus ROG Strix Z490-F Gaming | 
| Memory | Samsung  64GB DDR4 (2x32GB) | 16GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 (2x8GB) | Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR4 (2x8GB) | 32GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 (2x16GB) | 
| Memory Speed | 19-19-19-43-2T @ 2,666MHz | 16-18-18-36-2T @ 3,200MHz | 16-20-20-38-1T @ 3,000MHz | 15-17-17-35-2T @ 3,000MHz | 
| Graphics | MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Ventus (11GB) | Zotac GeForce RTX 2080 Super (8GB) | Palit GeForce RTX 2080 Super X (8GB) | EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Black (11GB) | 
| Graphics Driver | GeForce Game Ready 441.66 | GeForce Game Ready 446.14 | GeForce Game Ready 441.41 | GeForce Game Ready 445.87 | 
| Primary Storage Device | 1TB Samsung PM981a M.2 SSD | 1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD | 500GB Samsung 970 Evo Plus M.2 SSD | 2TB Samsung 970 Evo Plus M.2 SSD | 
| Secondary Storage Device | 2x 2TB Seagate BarraCuda Compute | - | Seagate Barracuda 2TB | - | 
| PSU | FSP650-57SAB (650W) | Corsair 650TXM (650W) | Corsair 650TXM (650W) | Corsair RM850X (850W) | 
| Chassis | MSI Prestige P100 | NZXT H511 | Lian Li Lancool II | NZXT H710 | 
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 Pro | Microsoft Windows 10 Home (1909) | Microsoft Windows 10 Home | Microsoft Windows 10 Home | 
| Warranty | 2 Years | 3 Years | 3 Years | 3 Years | 
| Date Reviewed | March 2020 | June 2020 | April 2020 | May 2020 | 
| Cost As Reviewed | £2,500 | £1,850 | £2,000 | £3,300 | 
| Benchmark Suite | |
|---|---|
| CPU | |
| HEXUS PiFast | Our number-crunching benchmark tests the single-thread power of the CPU. | 
| Cinebench Release 20 | This popular cross-platform benchmark examines both single- and multi-core performance. | 
| Blender 2.82 | We render the Classroom scene in this popular open-source creation suite. | 
| Memory and Storage | |
| AIDA64 | Benchmark that accurately depicts memory bandwidth and latency. | 
| CrystalDiskMark | Free-to-use benchmark testing both sequential and random 4K storage performance. | 
| System | |
| PCMark 10 | A set of tests covering a wide variety of tasks performed in the modern workplace. | 
| VRMark | Using the DirectX 12 API, the Cyan Room test examines a system's VR credentials. | 
| 3DMark | We run Time Spy, a QHD DirectX 12 test of both GPU performance and stability. | 
| Gaming | |
| Civilization VI: Gathering Storm | Tested in DX11, with 4x MSAA and Ultra quality settings. | 
| Far Cry: New Dawn | Tested in DX11, with TAA, HDR10, Ultra quality settings and HD textured enabled. | 
| Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers | Tested in DX11, with FXAA and Maximum quality settings. | 
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | Tested in DX12, with TAA and Highest quality settings. | 
| Vitals | |
| CPU Temperature | Core temperature recorded when idle and when rendering via Blender. | 
| GPU Temperature | GPU temperature recorded when idle and when playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider. | 
| Power Consumption | System-wide mains power draw recorded when idle and when playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider. | 
| Noise | System noise output measured when idle and when playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider. | 

 
             
             
             
                 
                    
                 
                    
                 
                 
                 
                