General Performance Benchmarks
AIDA64 ENGINEER
AIDA64 has a set of several 64-bit benchmarks to measure how fast the computer performs various data processing tasks and mathematical calculations. Multi-threaded memory and cache benchmarks are available to analyze system RAM bandwidth and latency. Benchmark pages of AIDA64 Extreme provide several methods to measure system performance. These benchmarks are synthetic, so their results show only the theoretical maximum performance of the system. The AIDA64 suite has various benchmarks for CPU, FPU, GPU, storage and memory testing.
Memory Testing
The same 32 GB kit of G. Skill Trident Z RGB 3200 MHz memory was used on both the Z390 Aorus Pro and the Z390 Aorus Xtreme Waterforce. As the charts show, the memory performed almost identically on both motherboards. The one exception was on the memory bandwidth test where our kit of G. Skill Trident Z RGB did far better on the Z390 Aorus Xtreme Waterforce.
CPU Testing
CPU Queen is an integer benchmark that tests branch prediction and misprediction penalties. CPU PhotoWorxx tests the SIMD integer arithmetic execution units of the CPU and the memory subsystem. CPU ZLib is a compression benchmark that tests the combined CPU and memory performance. CPU AES is a multi-core encryption benchmark that uses Advanced Encryption Standard data encryption. CPU Hash is an integer benchmark that measures performance using SHA1 hashing algorithm. FPU Julia measures single precision FP, FPU Mandel measures double precision FP, FPU Sin Julia measures extended precision FP while FPU VP8 is a video compression test utilizing the FPU Julia fractal module.
Although the results were very close on the AIDA64 CPU testing, our 9900k did slightly better on the Z390 Aorus Xtreme Waterforce. You could say the results were with in margin of error. However, you could also say the lower temperatures on the Z390 Aorus Xtreme Waterforce allows the 9900k to perform slightly better.
Cinebench R15
Based on MAXON’s award-winning animation software Cinema 4D, CINEBENCH is a real-world cross platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s performance capabilities. It has both the single thread and full performance test for your CPU, as well as an Open-GL test for your GPU. Cinebench R15 is one of the most widely used benchmarks used to test the performance. It puts the CPU under 100% load, but only for a very short time. It gives a good baseline for your CPU. However, I wouldn’t use it for testing the stability of an overclock.
The I9 9900k we used did well in Cinebench R15 on both boards. However, the scores were a bit higher on the Z390 Aorus Xtreme Waterforce. One both boards, the 9900k broke 2000 points at stock. On the Z390 Pro, it scored 2001 CB. On the Z390 Aorus Xtreme Waterforce, our 9900k scored 2012 CB at stock. Overclocked to 5.0 GHz on the Z390 Pro, the 9900k maxed out at 2129 CB. On the Z390 Aorus Xtreme Waterforce, the 9900k we tested hit 2137 CB while overclocked to 5.1 GHz. The score of 2137 CB is the best score we’ve achieved with this particular 9900k.
PCMARK 10
PCMARK 10 is the successor to PCMark 8 and the latest complete system benchmark from UL, formerly Futuremark. In their own words “PCMark 10 features a comprehensive set of tests that cover the wide variety of tasks performed in the modern workplace. With express, extended, and custom run options to suit your needs, PCMark 10 is the complete PC benchmark for the modern office.” We ran the complete PCMark 10 benchmark. Like other benchmarks we ran on both the Z390 Aorus Pro and the Z390 Aorus Xtreme Waterforce, our 9900k did ever so slightly better on the Waterforce board. However, some of the results were so close, it could be considered within the margin of error. That being said, the results for the 9900k and the Z390 Aorus Xtreme Waterforce were higher none the less.
Like in other testing, the 9900k on the Z390 Aorus Xtreme Waterforce did slightly better on PCMark 10 than it did on the Z390 Aorus Pro. There was one exception on PCMark 10 with the 9900k performed better on the Z390 Aorus Pr0. This was the writing benchmark. Initially, I thought this may have been a fluke. But on two of the three test runs, this was the case. Other than the writing section, the 9900k on the Z390 Aorus Xtreme Waterforce performed better than it did on the Z390 Aorus Pro.
