Today, AMD officially announces their next-generation Ryzen Threadripper processors which would include the Ryzen Theadripper 3970X and the Ryzen Threadripper 3960X. Featuring the latest Zen 2 core and tuned for the most demanding applications, the latest Threadrippers are ready to take on both gaming and enthusiast-grade application workloads.

AMD Officially Unveils The 32 Core Ryzen Threadripper 3970X For $1999 & The 24 Core Ryzen Threadripper 3960X For $1399

Packing tons of cores and double the threads, the first two installments of Ryzen Threadripper series left us all in shock and awe. The first generation Ryzen Threadripper series offered us an insane 16 core and 32 thread beast in the form of the Ryzen Threadripper 1950X, something that the HEDT market had never seen before, prompting Intel to release their own answer in the form of the Core i9-7980XE, an 18 core and 36 thread chip. But Intel's first spot in the core count race was short-lived with AMD releasing their second installment of the Threadripper lineup, featuring 32 cores and 64 threads on the Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX processor.

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Once again, Intel tried to offer their best but couldn't keep up with the core count that AMD managed to deliver. Intel only managed to offer a 28 core and 56 thread chip known as the Xeon W-3175X. But once again, AMD not only won the core count war but the pricing war too since their 32 core chip was priced $1000 less compared to Intel's flagship part.

Now, 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).

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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.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X offers significantly better performance than the competition across multiple content creation 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

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:





The AMD sTRX4 Socket and TRX40 Motherboard Platform

All 3rd Generation Ryzen Threadripper processors would be accompanied by a new platform that is known as TRX40. This platform is based around the new sTRX4 socket which is a revision of the TR4 socket but adds in new electrical pin management for enhanced support, exclusively on the 3rd Gen Threadripper lineup.

The TRX40 HEDT platform would feature quad-channel memory, UDIMM memory support with 2 DIMMs per channel and up to 256 GB (EEC) of capacity. There would also be support for 64 Gen 4 PCIe lanes with 16 lanes switchable with the SATA interface. There also seems to be info regarding TDPs and we can also notice the segmentation here too. For the full details on each respective TRX40 motherboard, you can check out our roundup over here!

AMD Ryzen Threadripper Generation Comparison:

Family Name AMD 1st Gen Ryzen Threadripper AMD 2nd Gen Ryzen Threadripper AMD 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper CPU Architecture Zen 1 Zen+ Zen 2 Process Node 14nm 12nm 7nm Max CPU Cores 16 32 64 Max CPU Threads 32 64 128 PCIe Support PCIe Gen 3.0 PCIe Gen 3.0 PCIe Gen 4.0 Max PCIe Lanes 64 64 72 Max L2 Cache 8 MB 16 MB 32 MB Max L3 Cache 32 MB 64 MB 256 MB Socket TR4 TR4 sTRX4 Chipset X399 X399 TRX40, TRX80, WRX80 Launch 2017 2018 2019-2020

In terms of raw performance output, the new die layout remains to be tested, but since it is more refined over the previous two generations with a stronger interconnect between them, the cache and latency performance may end up giving a bigger boost to total system responsiveness. AMD is definitely aiming for both LGA 2066 and LGA 3647 lines with their new chips. The new CPUs are aiming retail availability on the 25th of November so stay tuned as we keep you posted for more information and performance previews of the 3rd Gen Threadripper family.