The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X and 3970X Review: 24 and 32 Cores on 7nm
by Dr. Ian Cutress, Andrei Frumusanu & Gavin Bonshor on November 25, 2019 9:05 AM ESTTest Bed and Setup
As per our processor testing policy, we take a premium category motherboard suitable for the socket, and equip the system with a suitable amount of memory running at the manufacturer's maximum supported frequency. This is also typically run at JEDEC subtimings where possible. It is noted that some users are not keen on this policy, stating that sometimes the maximum supported frequency is quite low, or faster memory is available at a similar price, or that the JEDEC speeds can be prohibitive for performance. While these comments make sense, ultimately very few users apply memory profiles (either XMP or other) as they require interaction with the BIOS, and most users will fall back on JEDEC supported speeds - this includes home users as well as industry who might want to shave off a cent or two from the cost or stay within the margins set by the manufacturer. Where possible, we will extend out testing to include faster memory modules either at the same time as the review or a later date.
| Test Setup | |
| AMD TR3 | Threadripper 3970X Threadripper 3960X |
| Motherboard | ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme (BIOS 0601) |
| CPU Cooler | Thermaltake Riing 360 CLC |
| DRAM | Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 8x8 GB DDR4-3200 |
| GPU | MSI GTX 1080 Gaming 8G |
| PSU | Corsair AX860i |
| SSD | Crucial MX500 2TB |
| OS | Windows 10 1909 |
For our motherboards, we are using the latest firmware. It should be noted that our Intel tests do not have the latest Intel security updates for JCC and others, as the motherboard vendors for the models we used have not implemented them yet.
The latest AMD TR3 benchmarks were run by Gavin Bonshor, while I attended Supercomputing in Denver last week. Unfortunately both Intel and AMD decided to sample processors before the annual trade show conference, with launches only a couple of days after the show finished. As a result, our testing has been split between Gavin and myself, and we have endeavored to ensure parity through my automated testing suite.
Also, our compile test seems to have broken itself when we used Windows 10 1909, and due to travel we have not had time to debug why it is no longer working. We hope to get this test up and running in the new year, along with an updated test suite.
We must thank the following companies for kindly providing hardware for our multiple test beds. Some of this hardware is not in this test bed specifically, but is used in other testing.
| Hardware Providers | |||
| Sapphire RX 460 Nitro | MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X OC | Crucial MX200 + MX500 SSDs |
Corsair AX860i + AX1200i PSUs |
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| G.Skill RipjawsV, SniperX, FlareX |
Crucial Ballistix DDR4 |
Silverstone Coolers |
Silverstone Fans |
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Xyler94 - Tuesday, November 26, 2019 - link
No, Dell EMC and HPE have both gone Epyc, Amazon is getting Epycs, Azure is getting Epycs, Google's Stadia runs on Epyc (That's another discussion though). Lots of big names are running Epyc now. It takes years to validate server equipment, unlike the enthusiasts, who can afford a bit of downtime here and there, servers cannot. So they experiment with new hardware for a year or two before implementing it. Remember that the 1.5 Exaflop Supercomputer is gonna be powered by AMD CPUs also.AMD is making big wins, but it takes a lot of time for the numbers to show
Teckk - Monday, November 25, 2019 - link
True, but neither does living in denial. So Intel launched their HEDT for half the price they would've otherwise launched, why would they if it was so good and would sell like crazy?Ignoring problems like 10nm and just quoting numbers gets boring quickly.
Total Meltdowner - Monday, November 25, 2019 - link
It's only downhill now.Supercell99 - Tuesday, November 26, 2019 - link
Also, AMD earnings are $0.03 per share. So really INTL can give their chips away for a few years if they wanted and crush amd until they get the performance advantage again. I love that AMD is back we need competition, but lets be real. To think INTEL is out of this is idiotic.bigvlada - Wednesday, November 27, 2019 - link
You might want to read about what happened when American Tobacco Company tried to give products for free in order to crush the competition.Marburg U - Monday, November 25, 2019 - link
Hmmm, still on QX9770 here. Will wait the next gen.o_O
ShowsOn - Monday, November 25, 2019 - link
Your CPU is slower than the US$49 Athlon 3000G that AMD released last week.peevee - Tuesday, November 26, 2019 - link
Actually, that would be a fun comparison. 4 10 y/o cores @3.2, vs 2 1.5-y/o cores+SMT @3.5...Teckk - Monday, November 25, 2019 - link
Agree with you on the price, maybe a little too expensive?When is the next new (non-Skylake) Intel chip coming? Is that TigerLake or Saphire Rapids in 2021?
Irata - Monday, November 25, 2019 - link
When comparing prices, let's not forget that Intel prices are OEM (when buying 1,000) units whereas TR prices are MSRP.But looking at actual performance and platform features, I honestly cannot see anyone who is not already on X299 even paying that much.