We tested the first PC in Spain with Intel i9 and Optane

[OyaYansa]

We have talked to you about Intel's next generation processors and about Intel Optane, a new technology that aims to revolutionize the market for flash memory by offering storage with a high-speed RAM. In theory, everything seems always quite good, but in Tenerife Lan Party 2017 we have been able to put the hands to the most advanced computer, possibly, that there is now in Spain. And it's really impressive.

The Qi World store has fought hard to bring the first teams with the recently launched Intel i9 7900X and Optane memories to Spain and is wearing them all weekend in Tenerife Lan Party. There are two computers that mount the new Intel i9 at the show, but there are also computers with the new range i7 X-Series. We have been able to get your hands on the following configuration:

CPU: i9 7900X at 4.3GHz
GPU: NVIDIA 1080 Ti
RAM: 16GB at 2800MHz
Storage: 16GB Intel Optane and HDD at 7200rpm 1TB

If you are in hardware you will have noticed that the RAM could be something faster, or have more. They could also mount an SSD instead of an HDD, but it's something the store has done on purpose. As they have told us, this is an intentional decision to test the features of Intel Optane M.2 devices.

What is Intel Optane?
There is a bit of confusion on this topic, but basically it is a flash memory with a heart rate that can '' get stuck '' on an M.2 port to speed up the computer. This is the main function of Optane, give an acceleration to our team.

How is it installed? As we have been told from Qi World, it is necessary to make a configuration in the BIOS so that the user does not know that there is an Optane device the computer (not for nothing, but so that it can not be used as storage). Once this is done, the Intel Optane drivers are installed and the company program will automatically start scanning the computer, activating the '' Optane Acceleration ''.

Once this is done, the Intel program will fly on its own and the user will not have to do anything at all. Now, how do you accelerate our PC? Optane drivers will read which applications we open most on our computer and will make those applications run faster.

The program is something that we will not notice too much in games, but we will do it in rendering programs and other professionals. In short, it works in a similar way to Apple Fusion Drive, but much faster.

Let's go with the i9 7900X
We would have loved to do all the tests possible to a monster like the Intel i9 7900X, but there are the logical limitations of an event like this. Ah! Something to emphasize, there were two models i9 to play and one of exhibition, reason why the users have been able to test all the week the benefits of these processors.

Although we have played with the i9 7900X, for the combination of Optane and GTX 1080 Ti, there was also the very powerful (and very expensive) i7 6950X, a CPU designed to work, especially with a GTX 1010. It should also be wonderful, But we wanted to play the i9.

The result, as you can imagine, is tremendous. The game that we have been able to test has been Battlefield 1 in multiplayer mode with everything in ultra configuration and 1080p resolution (yes, they were not 4K panels, which would have been great to be able to see the limits of the configuration. Unnecessary for the multiplayer, as they annoy more than anything else, the DICE game ran at 200 frames per second.

This is something spectacular, but even more so are the temperatures of these new Intel X-Series. The i7 6950X was cooled by a liquid cooling kit from Corsair and never surpassed the 32nd. The i9 7900X, however, was cooled with a double overhead heatsink and even with a 140w TDP, it did not exceed 40º with much load after a while in Battlefield 1. It consumes a lot, yes, but the temperatures are very contained.

Now ... there are two questions on the table. The first is if we have noticed Optane. Yes but no. Battlefield 1 is one of the most open applications on the computer with Optane, so the Intel driver has noticed that this is a recurring app and, therefore, passes it to the forefront of the cache, which causes it to open Very quickly to be the main HDD a ... HDD.

However, the speed of opening is the same as doing so from an SSD, so we have not noticed real advantages of Intel Optane in this time that we have spent in front of the computer. The numbers are there and the speed of Optane is incredible, but in games is something that will not help us too much, at least for the moment.

On the other hand, Intel i9. It is clear that the new Intel processor is a beast, but here also has much to say the graphics card. A GTX 1080 Ti can with all and ever more important graphics to play.

Processors take longer to become obsolete, while graphics have to be renewed periodically in order to continue running the most impressive games at the highest level without having to lower any parameters. For rendering jobs and professional programs that pull a lot of CPU, it is clear that the new generation of Intel is a real beast thanks to a huge number of cores and, above all, a high speed per core.

The best of this first contact with the first i9 7900X that we see in Spain has undoubtedly been the temperature and consumption at the level of resources of the processor itself. It is quite impressive that you run a game like Battlefield 1 without messing up and also meet the temperature level. Hopefully soon we can take a deeper look at Intel's new beast.