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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MarkusB. - Tuesday, November 26, 2019 - link
I dont think and I dont hope that Intel is dead here. I do love the current status to be honest. Let them fight on the same level. I dont care if I use a AMD or an Intel chip at the end of the day. Let the CPUs get cheaper and more powerfull with a nice and working competition :) ... Intel will react on this and maybe in a few years Intel is back, just to be chased again by AMD. THAT´s how it should be ;)azfacea - Tuesday, November 26, 2019 - link
intel won in 2005 because GloFo (part of amd then) couldnt keep up. now its reverse with TSMC. intel is dead for goodZizo007 - Tuesday, November 26, 2019 - link
My last Intel was the 4770K which was a great CPU. Nowdays AMD is dominating CPU performance and I am very happy with my 4Ghz 1800X. I saw no reason to upgrade the 4770K until Ryzen has launched. Intel will catch up but this might take a year or two. Intel won't be out of business for sure and that would be bad for us since AMD will raise their prices if there is no competition. In the other hand Intel is entering the GPU market which will help them. AMD is currently suffering in the GPU market as they only have the 5700XT which cannot keep up with the RTX series and Big Navi needs a miracle to even match the old Turing architecture; Big Navy won't even be released this year.Dr. Denis - Tuesday, November 26, 2019 - link
It would be nice if AMD released an entry level TR3 with 16 cores at the $900-$1000 price point. It would be like a 3950x but with the extra memory bandwidth and pcie lanes, which are really important in a variety of workloads. I think the reason why this configuration doesn't exist yet is because AMD has "Ryzen" the HEDT bar to high making the market for it too small. What do you think?azfacea - Tuesday, November 26, 2019 - link
pointless product. if you are building a 3000 usd workstation you can afford 1400. if you just want pcie lanes, there are some older gen thread rippers out there for 200 usd. AMD should focus on rolling out 2 -- and not 1 -- 7nm APU dies. one quad core for 15w and below and a 8 core apu for 15 inch laptops and larger, 25W+Dr. Denis - Tuesday, November 26, 2019 - link
Well... The APU market is another story since its the only place where AMD is still behind Intel in efficiency, and consequently, in performance. We all expect zen2 will revert this in 2020.Back to the workstation side, it seems now that the best option for a ~16 core system for memory bound applications is the good old Skylake
CyrIng - Tuesday, November 26, 2019 - link
Thank you AnandTech for this review.Talking about HEDT processing, why don't include Linux benchmark results ? Do games scores make a difference for a super computer...
Samus - Wednesday, November 27, 2019 - link
I need this to decompress my torrents. I'm tired of waiting 10 seconds for a bluray to extract and would rather wait 4 seconds...it's movie time!335 GT - Wednesday, November 27, 2019 - link
AMD's biggest problem now is making enough of these. Every EPYC is sold before it leaves the fab and I suspect the same is happening with the desktop chips.ballsystemlord - Wednesday, November 27, 2019 - link
No spelling or grammar errors found! Nice work, guys!