The 64 Core Threadripper 3990X CPU Review: In The Midst Of Chaos, AMD Seeks Opportunity
by Dr. Ian Cutress & Gavin Bonshor on February 7, 2020 9:00 AM ESTAMD 3990X Against $20k Enterprise CPUs
For those looking at a server replacement CPU, AMD’s big discussion point here is that in order to get 64 cores on Intel hardware is relatively hard. The best way to get there is with a dual socket system, featuring two of its 28-core dies at a hefty $10k a piece. AMD’s argument is that users can consolidate down to a single socket, but also have better memory support, PCIe 4.0, and no cross-memory domain issues.
| AMD 3990X Enterprise Competition | |||
| AnandTech | AMD 3990X |
AMD 7702P |
Intel 2x8280 |
| SEP | $3990 | $4450 | $20018 |
| Cores/Threads | 64 / 128 | 64 / 128 | 56 / 112 |
| Base Frequency | 2900 | 2000 | 2700 |
| Turbo Frequency | 4300 | 3350 | 4000 |
| PCIe | 4.0 x64 | 4.0 x128 | 3.0 x96 |
| DDR4 Frequency | 4x 3200 | 8x 3200 | 12x 2933 |
| Max DDR4 Capacity | 512 GB | 2 TB | 3 TB |
| TDP | 280 W | 200 W | 410 W |
Unfortunately I was unable to get ahold of our Rome CPUs from Johan in time for this review, however I do have data from several dual Intel Xeon setups that I did a few months ago, including the $20k system.
This time with Corona the competition is hot on the heels of AMD's 64-core CPUs, but even $20k of hardware can't match it.
The non-AVX verson of 3DPM puts the Zen 2 hardware out front, with everything else waiting in the wings.
When we add in the AVX-512 hand tuned code, the situation flips: Intel's 56 cores get almost 2.5x the score of AMD, despite having fewer cores.
Blender doesn't seem to like the additional access latency from the 2P systems.
For AES encoding, as the benchmark takes places from memory, it appears that none of Intel's CPUs can match AMD here.
For the 7-zip combined test, there's little difference between AMD's 32-core and 64-core, but there are sizable jumps above Intel hardware.
Verdict
In our tests here (more in our benchmark database), AMD's 3990X would get the crown over Intel's dual socket offerings. The only thing really keeping me back from giving it is the same reason there was hesitation on the previous page: it doesn't do enough to differentiate itself from AMD's own 32-core CPU. Where AMD does win is in that 'money is less of an issue scenario', where using a single socket 64 core CPU can help consolidate systems, save power, and save money. Intel's CPUs have a TDP of 205W each (more if you decide to use the turbo, which we did here), which totals 410W, while AMD maxed out at 280W in our tests. Technically Intel's 2P has access to more PCIe lanes, but AMD's PCIe lanes are PCIe 4.0, not PCIe 3.0, and with the right switch can power many more than Intel (if you're saving 16k, then a switch is peanuts).
We acknowledge that our tests here aren't in any way a comprehensive test of server level workloads, but for the user base that AMD is aiming for, we'd take the 64 core (or even the 32 core) in most circumstances over two Intel 28 core CPUs, and spend the extra money on memory, storage, or a couple of big fat GPUs.
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jmunjr - Friday, February 7, 2020 - link
Wow I saw benchmarks of the 3990X vs 2 x Xeon Platinum 8280 on Linux and what a beat down. The 3990X at worst matched the 2x8280 on a few tests and soundly beat on many others. Impressive!Batty - Friday, February 7, 2020 - link
Several people suggested compiling source code would be a good test of this chip's performance. I agree, I would recommend Unreal Engine 4.24.1 built clean from source, it is a vast codebase and scales very well with more cores. My Intel 6/12 core machine takes 73 minutes, for instance.MattZN - Friday, February 7, 2020 - link
My personal favorite is chromium (i.e. the source base for the chrome web browser). 30,000+ C++ files is a great test.-Matt
Rudde - Monday, February 10, 2020 - link
Anantech used to benchmark Chromium compile. I can't recall why they stopped.Ian Cutress - Friday, February 14, 2020 - link
Something in Windows 1903/1909 broke our script. Due to events and travel I haven't had a week of downtime to sit down and fix it.wizyy - Friday, February 7, 2020 - link
"In The Midst Of Chaos, AMD Seeks Opportunity"Sounds like a title of one of the chapters of Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Novel by Luo Guanzhong, XIV century).
Even if it isn't meant like so, it's appreciated :)
Ian Cutress - Friday, February 14, 2020 - link
It's an edited Sun Tzu quote :)007ELmO - Friday, February 7, 2020 - link
When you use the word "amortize" with anything but a mortgage.deksman2 - Friday, February 7, 2020 - link
You know, I actually find that this is quite intuitive review of the CPU which illustrates how badly Windows software is lagging behind hw.And while Linux may not be the go to choice for Enterprise users (although stability wise I do think Linux is pretty solid), I still think including it in this review would have been a good idea (as historically, it DOES have FAR superior support for multi-core CPU's above 32 cores than Windows).
On that note, perhaps Enterprise users should consider going Linux and looking for open source software to replace their existing ones.
Open source generally can get better upgrades/support for the simple reason its open.
I've seen businesses using Linux (where commonly before they had Windows) and using exactly the same software for example.
So, I don't think transitioning to Linux etc. would be a problem. In the short term with adjustment and all, yes perhaps, but in the long run, they will probably save money by using free/open source software. Even in the short term, companies could be running both Windows and Linux together to help with adjustment and training until they are ready to completely move to Linux.
eek2121 - Friday, February 7, 2020 - link
Meanwhile, Linux unlocks the true potential of this beast: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&...