Last month, Intel announced the "Basin Falls Refresh" for their Core X-Series HEDT processors. Seven new parts were announced with the flagship of the series being the Intel Core i9-9980XE 18-core, 36-thread processor that is the successor to the Intel Core i9-7980XE 18-core, 36-thread processor launched just last year. Architecturally, the Core i9-9980XE is very similar to its Core i9-7980XE predecessor, but is made on the latest 14nm++ manufacturing process. The improvements on this node along with the switch to solder thermal interface material (STIM) have allowed Intel to increase base/boost clock speeds. Read on to see how that improves performance.