AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X 32 Core, $1999 US CPU Review With TRX40 AORUS Master Motherboard

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3000 Series CPU Lineup

AMD has officially announced the 3rd installment of the Ryzen Threadripper family. Once again, AMD is lifting up the performance of their Threadripper parts by utilizing 7nm Zen 2 cores which offer up to 15% better IPC than Zen+ and come in a unique chiplet architecture which was first introduced on AMD's 2nd Generation EPYC lineup known as Rome. The two parts launching today are the Ryzen Threadripper 3970X and the 3960X, their specifications are detailed below.

AMD has made significant changes to their CPU architecture which help deliver twice the throughput of their first-generation Zen architecture. The major points include an entirely redesigned execution pipeline, major floating-point advances that doubled the floating-point registers to 256-bit and double bandwidth for load/store units. One of the key upgrades for Zen 2 is the doubling of the core density which means we are now looking at 2x the core count for each core complex (CCX).

• Improved Execution Pipeline
• Doubled Floating Point (256-bit) and Load/Store (Doubled Bandwidth)
• Doubled Core Density
• Half the Energy Per Operation
• Improved Branch Prediction
• Better Instruction Pre-Fetching
• Re-Optimized Instruction Cache
• Larger Op Cache
• Increased Dispatch / Retire Bandwidth
• Maintaining High Throughput for All Modes

Each Threadripper processor is made up of 4 Zen 2 dies which are interconnected through the 2nd Gen Infinity Fabric with an I/O die that acts as a central hub of the processor. Each processor has a total of 23.54 billion transistors on the entire package, which makes it one of the most densely packed chip designs ever developed.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X - 32 Zen 2 Cores, 64 Threads For $1999 US

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X is the most powerful high-end consumer desktop processor of 2019. It will be featuring 32 cores and 64 threads along with 128 MB of L3 cache. The processor will be clocked at 3.7 GHz base and 4.5 GHz boost speeds. The processor would also feature 88 Gen 4 PCIe lanes coming right from the massive PCH die which we talked about in the previous month & would be supported by the sTRX4 socket which is featured on the latest TRX40 motherboard lineup from various manufacturers. The processor would feature a TDP of 280W and would be launching at a price of $1999 US on 25th November.

While the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X has the same core count as the Threadripper 2990WX, the new CPU would be based on the 7nm Zen 2 core architecture and is expected to deliver major gains, not only in single-core optimized workloads but multi-threaded applications. The processor is a beast of its own with lots of power stacked in one chip which truly makes for a semi-pro PC / workstation build that many mega-tasking enthusiasts should be excited about. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X offers significantly better performance than the competition across multiple content creations and compute-intensive workloads, including:

• Up to 90% faster performance in Cinebench R20 nT
• Up to 47% more performance in Adobe Premiere
• Up to 49% more performance in V-Ray
• Up to 43% more performance in Chromium Release 78 Compile
• Up to 36% more performance in Unreal Engine

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AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X - 24 Zen 2 Cores, 48 Threads For $1399 US

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X is the second of the two chips that are part of the initial Ryzen Threadripper CPU lineup. The processor would feature 24 cores and 48 threads. The chip would feature 128 MB of cache, 88 PCIe Gen 4.0 lanes and a TDP of 280W, just like the 3970X. Its clock speeds are rated at 3.8 GHz base and 4.5 GHz boost. The Ryzen Threadripper 3960X would replace the Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX at a price of $1399 US which is $100 US more than the former chip but offers a lot more performance in single and multi-threaded applications.

The Threadripper 3960X would also hit retail stores on 25th November and would be a decent chip for those who are looking to enter the pro enthusiast space without touching $2K for a processor alone. The processor also seems to be perfect for those building a cheaper workstation solution as the same number of PCIe lanes and massive I/O of the other Threadripper parts is still available on it.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X - The 64 Core / 128 Thread Daddy of HEDT Chips

There's also one more chip, the daddy of all HEDT CPUs made to date. Meet the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X, the pinnacle of high-end desktop processors. Featuring a gargantuan 64 cores and 128 threads, this chip is a beast. The core and thread counts are simply astonishing unlike anything that we have seen before on the HEDT platform but AMD has pushed the HEDT hard and they are indeed bringing this supermassive chip to their TRX40 platform.

Unlike the rest of the Ryzen Threadripper 3000 processors, the 3990X has a proper announcement and launch planned in January 2020.

AMD 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper Processor SKUs

CPU Name	CPU Cores	CPU Thread	CPU Predecessor	Base Clock	Boost Clock	Cache	TDP	Price	Retail Launch
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X/WX	64 Core	128 Thread	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX (32 Core / 64 Thread)	2.9 GHz	4.3 GHz	288 MB	280W	$3990 US	7th February 2020
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3980X/WX	48 Core	96 Thread	N/A	TBD	TBD	TBD	280W	$2499-$2999 US	2020
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X/WX	32 Core	64 Thread	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX (24 Core / 48 Thread)	3.7 GHz	4.5 GHz	144 MB	280W	$1999	25th November 2019
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X	24 Core	48 Thread	N/A	3.8 GHz	4.5 GHz	144 MB	280W	$1399	25th November 2019

Both AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X and 3960X would come in brand new packaging, featuring a large cardboard package inside which a plastic container would be housing the processor along with the sTRX4 socket key. You can check out the packaging below:

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AMD Game Mode and Creator Mode For 3rd Gen Threadripper CPUs Explained

Once again, like 1st and 2nd Gen Ryzen Threadripper CPUs, the 3rd Gen series will feature support in Ryzen Master, allowing users to switch between Game Mode or Creator Mode. There will also be options to switch between legacy mode which will disable the extra threads on the processors to avoid incompatibility in legacy or older applications. Both can be set through the Ryzen Master configuration utility which has now been updated to support 2nd Generation Ryzen Threadripper processors. The utility also provides other nifty features and configuration tool which can be used by overclockers to fine-tune their chips.

Another thing worth noting is that in-game mode, Ryzen Threadripper processors will optimize to run with 8 cores, 16 threads. That means only 2 CCX or 1 die would be enabled, reducing latency. With memory access modes, users can select between UMA (maximum memory bandwidth) and NUMA (lowest latency) modes. While on the topic of Ryzen Master, it should be pointed out that a new updated version will be released on launch day, 13th August, offering more fine-tuning and control over the HEDT processors.

So what the Threadripper profiles do is that they optimize the chip for the specified workloads. For instance, the gaming mode will enable Local memory access mode and turn the compatibility mode to legacy. This will help reduce memory and core-to-core latency and overcome the thread count limitation in some of the legacy games which can endure bugs and issues with modern multi-core CPUs.

The creator mode, on the other hand, turns the memory access to the distributed mode and disables the legacy mode. This maximizes threads and total memory bandwidth for an unrestrained amount of CPU performance and will be the default profile for Threadripper processors.