AMD Slashes Prices of First-Gen Ryzen Threadripper CPUs: Starting at $300
by Anton Shilov on August 27, 2018 10:00 AM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
- AMD
- Ryzen
- ThreadRipper
- Threadripper 2
Following the launch of its second-generation Ryzen Threadripper processors earlier this month, AMD quietly began to slash prices of its first-gen Ryzen Threadripper CPUs. Right now, the most affordable Threadripper (1900X) costs around $300, whereas the former flagship 16-core processor is available for $720. However, there is a catch. Platforms featuring AMD’s X399 chipset and the TR4 socket are not cheap. Besides, if demand for processors increases spontaneously, so will the prices of motherboards.
Now that some of AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper 2000-series processors are available for purchase, the original Ryzen Threadripper 1000-series look less attractive for the target audience and while there is no direct competition between the two product lines right now, it is in AMD’s best interests to sell off the remaining stock of the first-gen HEDT chips as soon as possible. In a bid to speed up the process, AMD recently slashed SRPs (suggested retail prices) of its first-gen Ryzen Threadripper processors to levels significantly below those set earlier this year, though not considerably below campaign prices.
As a result of the price cut, the eight-core Ryzen Threadripper 1900X will cost around $300, the twelve-core Ryzen Threadripper 1920X will be priced at circa $400, whereas the former flagship Ryzen Threadripper 1950X will be available for $799. A quick check with Amazon indicates that retail prices of the said CPUs are very close to their SRPs, or even below them. For example, the octa-core 1900X is now available for $308, whereas the 16-core 1950X can be purchased for $720. The 1900X has more memory channels and PCIe lanes than any regular Ryzen processor, so the chip makes sense for those who need a lot of DRAM bandwidth and/or plans to use multiple high-end SSDs and/or graphics cards.
| AMD's High-Performance Desktop CPUs | ||||||||
| Cores/ Threads |
Base/ Turbo |
L3 | DRAM 1DPC |
PCIe | TDP | SRP | Retail Price |
|
| TR 2990WX | 32/64 | 3.0/4.2 | 64 MB | 4x2933 | 60 | 250 W | $1799 | $1799 |
| TR 2970WX | 24/48 | 3.0/4.2 | $1299 | - | ||||
| TR 2950X | 16/32 | 3.5/4.4 | 32 MB | 180 W | $899 | - | ||
| TR 1950X | 3.4/4.0 | 4x2667 | $799 | $720 | ||||
| TR 2920X | 12/24 | 3.5/4.3 | 4x2933 | $649 | - | |||
| TR 1920X | 3.5/4.0 | 4x2667 | $399 | $449 | ||||
| TR 1900X | 8/16 | 3.8/4.0 | 16 MB | $299 | $308 | |||
| Ryzen 7 2700X | 8/16 | 3.7/4.3 | 16 MB | 2x2933 | 16 | 105 W | $329 | $319 |
| Ryzen 7 1800X | 8/16 | 3.6/4.0 | 16 MB | 2x2667 | 95 W | ? | $244 | |
Evidently, Threadrippers need an AMD X399-based motherboard with the TR4 socket, which are usually more expensive than platforms for AMD’s mainstream Ryzen CPUs. MSI’s X399 SLI Plus — one of the more affordable TR4 mainboards — is currently available for $310, which is significantly higher than enthusiast-class motherboards for regular Ryzen processors (priced at $200 – $270). Furthermore, if demand for such platforms skyrockets because of affordable CPUs, retailers will hike their prices.
It is unknown how many Ryzen Threadripper 1000-series CPUs are still in stocks of retailers and AMD as well as how long these stocks will last. AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper 2950X is set to be released on August 31, whereas the model 2920X is due in October. Obviously, AMD is inclined to get rid of the first-gen Ryzen Threadripper chips as soon as possible so to avoid any internal competition.
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MonkeyPaw - Monday, August 27, 2018 - link
Isn’t Anton from Eastern Europe? I can forgive an occasional grammatical blip if it’s not his native language.yeeeeman - Monday, August 27, 2018 - link
A good writer reads its article at least one more time before posting it.JoeyJoJo123 - Monday, August 27, 2018 - link
And a good commenter reads THEIR* comment at least one more time before posting it.People are really making a big piss out of some occasional typos. Even despite the typos, the Anandtech articles are some of the more technical and affluent pieces written on computer hardware on the net. I'm not blowing smoke up anyone's rear, but when you got places like Tom's Hardware's editor in chief saying "Just Buy It" in regards to RTX 2000 series GPUs (https://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-rtx-gpus-... before any performance to cost metrics are out or before Tom's even had a sample in to test before they post their review, then I'd rather pick my poison over a passable grammar/spelling mistake than thinly veiled shilling.
Holliday75 - Monday, August 27, 2018 - link
I agree 100%. I can easily read passed the typos and still understand the meaning in the context. Its annoying reading comments if people are complaining about it. Sure mention the problem so they can fix it, but complaining and just being a jerk about it is annoying.As to the article on Tom's. I read that last week and was just plain floored. That article was a horrible piece of work and surprised me quite a bit.
Calin - Monday, August 27, 2018 - link
That would be the editor's job (as you sometime see [Ed:...] notes in articles).webdoctors - Monday, August 27, 2018 - link
I;ve been limping along on my Sandybridge CPU for 6+ yrs, waiting for DDR4 prices to come down, but with these crazy cheap Ryzen deals I'll have to finally bite.What to do with all these cores?
PeachNCream - Monday, August 27, 2018 - link
If you don't have a set of tasks for them right now, I wouldn't worry so much about it. Core count is on the rise so it won't be long before a lot more software exists that puts those additional processor cores to use. Since you're still on Sandy right now, if you do upgrade to a TR, you'll probably feel no need to upgrade again for a number of years.Mitch89 - Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - link
If you have to ask what to do with the extra cores, why are you considering upgrading?Even today, Sandy Bridge is still an excellent system for many uses.
SanX - Monday, August 27, 2018 - link
What is maximum supported RAM size for TR4 and consumer processors?Cooe - Monday, August 27, 2018 - link
TR has identical support to EPYC, which means yes to ultra-high density ECC DIMM support up to a potential (iirc) 128GB/DIMM (1TB max for TR, 2TB for EPYC).Everything else on the other hand in the consumer market is going to tap out at the normal 16GB/DIMM (aka 64GB max for dual-channel, 128GB for quad).