Intel Core i9-9900X X-Series Tray

Still testing so far so good

Solid processor, no problems with settings or overclocking. Does produce a lot of heat under heavy load, even at "normal" speeds, so liquid cooling strongly recommended.

I run the gamut of applications each day from spreadsheets to coding to video rendering, several browser tabs active, CCTV monitoring, satellite tracking, satellite telemetry gathering and conversion, 32+ channel outboard audio interface, DAW, nearly 20 COM ports both hardware RS-232 type and USB. It is sweet to be able to just do that without having to close or even minimize applications, just having them available for access multiple times in the day. Three monitors make that easy as far as real estate so this processor lets me take advantage of "desk space". Most appreciated is the hardware interaction with the audio interface over Thunderbolt and radio hardware through the COM ports. Audio latency is very low and all of the external connections run without a ... MoreI run the gamut of applications each day from spreadsheets to coding to video rendering, several browser tabs active, CCTV monitoring, satellite tracking, satellite telemetry gathering and conversion, 32+ channel outboard audio interface, DAW, nearly 20 COM ports both hardware RS-232 type and USB. It is sweet to be able to just do that without having to close or even minimize applications, just having them available for access multiple times in the day. Three monitors make that easy as far as real estate so this processor lets me take advantage of "desk space". Most appreciated is the hardware interaction with the audio interface over Thunderbolt and radio hardware through the COM ports. Audio latency is very low and all of the external connections run without a thought. More "invisible". I like to experiment but I am not a hard core overclocker, mainly because of the time involved to get that ultimate tweak and the chances of a crash while doing so or when pressing the limit that are intolerable because of the amount and bunch o' applications work I do. The 4.6 GHz is smooth since I set it and the temperatures are great, IMO. Again that's not something I follow in detail, the CPU is water cooled and max I've seen in normal use is around 63C, not running any hard synthetic benchmarks since I'm not a speed freak like I said. Idle with several stock apps is 30-35C depending on room temp (usually 76F, more or less) and bouncing up to 40C on some cores when something takes off to do something relatively intensive. I do close many applications when I game, which is a result of the fact that I game late at night after I do all that work and also to guarantee I'm not hosing myself in the game by having something running that I don't need while I'm gaming, anyway. With VR, Elite: Dangerous and Half-Life: Alyx run smooth and temps are good, at or below 60 (all seen after I take the VR headset off on the monitor history) and the GPU takes a good chunk of that work, of course. So GPU runs no more than 60C as well, the interior temp is good even though the CPU radiator is is using intake fans. I don't know what else to say, it's a great CPU for varied use and games like a champ, I'm not a hardware fanatic as far as benchmark speed and it overclocked nicely and easily, giving me a bit more base oomph with very little apparent temperature change so I would recommend it if you are doing various things on a PC. If you are looking for a gaming PC the other chips like i9-9900K may be what to look at, if you wanted a dedicated video rendering PC or maybe a CAD software/design PC this may be your ticket. For my use as described, it's the low end of this class of CPU and cores are like shiny things that attract people just by their numbers these days, but the price and performance are very right for the type of use I hopefully described well enough for you to understand in your considerations for your expected use.