AMD Tosses Best Benchmarking Practices Slides Out the Same Day Intel 9900K Launches

There has been a lot of drama going on when it comes to benchmarking the Intel Core i9 9900k processor against rival AMD parts. AMD and its own Robert Hallock, Senior Technical Marketing Manager at AMD, have put together a two-page PDF document that covers best benchmarking practices for consumers and reviewers.

This is the first time that we are aware of that AMD has directly addressed the Intel 9900K benchmark drama. The document outlines issues that AMD has with the V1 Intel 9th Gen Core performance report, specifically how its Ryzen 7 2700X was configured. AMD claims that the 2700X in the benchmarks that made the rounds was artificially crippled to four cores against AMD documented guidance.

AMD says that the memory configurations were “questionable” and goes on to cite mismatched cooler selection, impacting effective performance and frequency. AMD lists several issues with the benchmarks you can read on the slide. The second slide in the document talks about benchmarking best practices and goes into steps to sanitize the OS configuration for best results.

The chipmaker outlines steps for sanitizing the platform for stock warrantied testing and for unwarranted or overclocked testing. AMD also talks about sanitizing the data, specifically performing a minimum of five runs to reduce variability. AMD also wants people reading reviews and benchmark results to never stop asking “does this config, test, and result make sense to me as a consumer?” AMD’s slides are pictured here.