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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mkaibear - Monday, November 25, 2019 - link
Intel had revenue of 19.2bn last quarter. The highest it's ever been for them.https://www.anandtech.com/show/15030/intel-announc...
Claiming that Intel is destroyed is laughable.
They're hurting at the moment, but then they were hurting in the Athlon era as well... and that didn't go so badly for them in the end.
For reference, AMDs revenue for the same period was 1.8bn. yes, Intel, despite all their problems, earned *ten times* what AMD did.
(Reference: https://www.anandtech.com/show/15045/amd-q3-fy-201...
Claiming Intel are destroyed is just fanboyism at its worst.
Xyler94 - Monday, November 25, 2019 - link
Unless Intel can get something out sooner rather than later, people are migrating to AMD because they are pushing things forward. 64 cores of Epyc fury is hitting them in the Server Space, which is where Intel is most scared of. They don't care that you or I buy an Intel chip or an AMD one, they care if Microsoft or Apple buys either or.Intel isn't destroyed, but they will be hurting for a while, as AMD is showing no signs of slowing down, and Intel has to beat what AMD makes next, not AMD today.
mkaibear - Monday, November 25, 2019 - link
Again, Intel have record earnings this last quarter. As in over the last 3 months. As in after two years of AMD kicking their backside in the server space they're still making record amounts of revenue.Intel aren't stupid, they're one of the most ruthless companies in the sector. They can throw five times as much as AMD's *total profit* in R&D and still make five times as much profit as AMD does.
Xyler94 - Monday, November 25, 2019 - link
Record breaking earnings mean nothing in the grand scheme of things.For as much as you gloat about Intel's RND, AMD is the one who's on top in 2 of the 4 markets (Laptops, Desktops, HEDT and Servers), some would argue 3. Doesn't matter how much money you can throw at a problem, it matters if you can solve it. AMD solved the problem, Intel hasn't, and it's a frantic state at Intel to make something happen, either get 10nm working better or changing their uArch in 14nm.
Right now, the only reason to consider a XEON over an Epyc would be for AVX-512 only workloads. Because otherwise, ServerTheHome has shown that Epyc dominates, especially the 7742 64 core part.
SwackandSwalls - Monday, November 25, 2019 - link
Those record breaking earnings (i.e. capital) mean a lot, and saying otherwise displays a large and intentional ignorance on how important capital is to the microprocessor industry. Intel can use that money to hire more both hardware and software talent, fund more research, build more fabs, outspend AMD in marketing, and on and on. If Intel had huge cash reserves but was putting up large losses every quarter then I'd be on board with your "grand scheme of things" comment. In reality they are massively profitable, selling more 14nm chips than they can produce, and have enough cash to not only learn from AMD's successes but also invest in following suit.Xyler94 - Monday, November 25, 2019 - link
Again, Hire all you want, throw as much money as you want. That doesn't matter if there's no results.AMD with literally tenths of Intel's funding can beat them, and have found better ways to make processors to increase core counts without sacrificing efficiency. Intel also needs to spend a lot of money on researching the node itself, AMD doesn't, so not all of Intel's RnD goes to making the CPU, lots of it goes into making the node itself.
So while Intel may make more, they have to spend way more, especially since CPUs aren't the only thing Intel makes (They make flash chips, 3D XPoint, Networking chipsets, and many other products, all vying for that sweet RND cash)
So while Intel makes more, they also spend more. Revenue is a great figure to look at on paper, but it doesn't amount to anything unless the spending is done wisely. AMD surely has shown that it doesn't take Intel levels of cash to become a market leader and capitalize on someone who's grown complacent.
milkywayer - Monday, November 25, 2019 - link
"record breaking numbers mean a lot".So what happened then, why is AMDs offering more power and cost efficient at a much much lower price?
Korguz - Monday, November 25, 2019 - link
mkaibear/SwackandSwalls, and point is ?? intel has all that money, yet.. been milking the SAME architecture for how many years ? as Xyler94 already said.. to keep throwing money at a problem, and it STILL doesnt get fixed, is NOT a good thing. AMD may not have the money that your beloved intel does, but guess what, they have been able to do MORE with what they do have, so tell me who is spending wiser ?? also.. how much of that 19.2 billion has intel had to dump into their fabs??imaheadcase - Monday, November 25, 2019 - link
I really hope you are not comparing Intell vs amd based on a just a CPU..that is illogical.TEAMSWITCHER - Monday, November 25, 2019 - link
Intel isn't "hurting" now... Desktop processors are not what most people want.