(Image credit: AMD)

Update 11/6/2019 11:40am PST: Corrected L2 cache details.

Original article:

Wootware, a South African provider of IT-related products and services, apparently listed two upcoming AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3000 CPUs before their launch. As discovered by hardware leaker @momomo_us, a user from the Korean Quasar Zone grabbed some screenshots of the postings for both chips, the Threadripper 3970X and 3960X, before Wootware took them down.

This is the first time that we've seen a retailer officially list the upcoming core-heavy chips. But we should approach the listings with skepticism, as we've found some inconsistencies with the specifications.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X and 3960X Specifications

Processor Cores / Threads Base / Boost (GHz) L2 Cache (MB) L3 Cache (MB) TDP (W) AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X* 32 / 64 3.0 / 4.2 32 256 250 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X* 24 / 48 3.5 / 4.7 32 256 250 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX 32 / 64 3.0 / 4.2 16 64 250 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 24 / 48 3.0 / 4.2 12 64 250

*Specifications in this row aren't confirmed.

The Ryzen Threadripper 3970X reportedly comes with 32 cores and 64 threads. Wootware reportedly listed the chip with a 3 GHz base clock and 4.2 GHz boost clock, which is identical to that of the previous Threadripper 2990WX. The biggest upgrade seems to lie within the L3 cache.

According to Wootware, the Threadripper 3970X and 3960X are equipped with 32MB of L2 cache. This is likely wrong because the Zen 2 architecture brings 512KB of L2 cache per core, unless AMD was able to squeeze in 1MB per core. Therefore, the Threadripper 3970X and 3960X should maintain the same L2 configurations as last-gen's counterparts.

The Threadripper 3960X seemingly sports 24 cores and 48 threads, which would most likely make it a direct replacement for the Threadripper 2970WX. The Threadripper 3960X appears to feature a 3.5 GHz base clock and 4.7 GHz boost, which is 500 MHz faster than its predecessor.

Both the Threadripper 3970X and 3960X are also said to have 256MB of L3 cache, which is four times more than the predecessors.

Image 1 of 4 (Image credit: Quasar Zone) Image 2 of 4 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X (Image credit: Quasar Zone) Image 3 of 4 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X (Image credit: Quasar Zone) Image 4 of 4 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X (Image credit: Quasar Zone)

According to the screenshots, the Threadripper 3970X and 3960X are rated at 250W, which is the same TDP (thermal design power) envelope as the last-gen counterparts.

For the most part, Wootware's listings look plausible, except for the information on the CPU socket, memory type and PCIe design. The retailer points to the AM4 socket, dual-channel DDR4-3200 memory and 16 PCIe 4.0 lanes. However, that matches specifications for the lower-end AMD Ryzen 3000-series desktop processors and seems unlikely for AMD's next HEDT (high-end desktop) CPUs.

AMD's third-generation Threadripper processors were rumored to launch on November 5, but yesterday VideoCardz reported that AMD pushed the announcement date to November 7.