Recently, Zhaoxin launched the KX-7000 CPU series in China, mainly for desktop computers in the domestic market. Now, the first benchmark results for these chips have appeared in the Geekbench database. The performance of the Zhaoxin KX-70008 8-core CPU is doubled compared to the previous generation, but there is still a gap compared with the previous generation desktop products from Intel and AMD.

The Zhaoxin KX-7000 CPU series to be released at the end of 2023 is based on the x86 Century Avenue core architecture, and the company claims that its performance will be twice that of the KX-6000 series. There are two 8-core versions of the series, each with different clock speed and power consumption targets.

The top model operates at up to 3.7GHz (base clock is 3.2GHz), while the lower-power model has a boost clock of 3.6GHz (base clock is 3.0GHz). In addition, these chips have 4MB L2 cache and 32MB L3 cache, support DDR5/DDR4 memory, provide 24 PCIeGen4 lanes, and support platforms running the LGA1700 socket. The chips are also very similar in design to Intel's existing LGA1700 socket CPUs, with similar IHS.

In Geekbench6, we see the entry-level Zhaoxin KX-7000/8@CPU, which has 8 cores, 8 threads, 4MB L2 cache and 32MB L3 cache. The chip has a base frequency of 3.0GHz and a boost frequency of 3.3GHz, which is lower than its standard 3.6GHz boost frequency.

In terms of CPU performance, the chip scored 823 points in the single-core test and 3813 points in the multi-core test. In comparison, the Intel Core i3-10100F (Comet Lake) CPU (4 cores and 8 threads, clocked up to 4.3GHz) scored much higher. In the same benchmark, it was about 75% faster on the single-core test and 17% faster on the multi-core test.

The Zhaoxin KX70008 octa-core CPU is indeed more than twice as powerful as its predecessor, the KX-6000, which is to be expected since we're looking at twice the cores, higher clock speeds, and TDP. It seems that Zhaoxin still has a long way to go before it can compete with the previous generation products of AMD and Intel. Meanwhile, another Chinese CPU maker, Loongson, is more competitive in the desktop segment, with performance comparable to the latest generation of x86 desktop products.