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AMD has announced its latest Threadripper high end desktop CPUs, along with a launch date for the Ryzen 9 3950X:
AMD is set to close out the year on a high note. As promised, the company will be delivering its latest 16-core Ryzen 9 3950X processor, built with two 7nm TSMC chiplets, to the consumer platform for $749. Not only this, but AMD today has lifted the covers on its next generation Threadripper platform, which includes Zen 2-based chiplets, a new socket, and an astounding 4x increase in CPU-to-chipset bandwidth.
Reviews of the 16-core 3950X will appear on November 14, with retail availability on November 25. The "mainstream" CPU has a 3.5 GHz base clock, 4.7 GHz single-core boost clock, and 24 PCIe 4.0 lanes. Unlike most Ryzen CPUs, the 3950X will not come with a bundled cooler, and AMD has published a list of recommended coolers instead.
All Ryzen 3000-series CPUs can now be configured to use a lower TDP using AMD's software:
One side announcement from AMD, regarding all of the Ryzen 3000 hardware, is that every CPU now supports a cTDP down mode through the Ryzen Master software. With the tool, users can select the next power range down from the TDP of the processor. This means that 95W/105W CPUs can be set to run at 65W, then the 65W CPUs can be set to run at 45W, and the 45W CPUs can run at 35W.
AMD is doing this because they have seen a number of customers request high-core count processors at lower TDP values. Rather than releasing a wide array of X and non-X parts to satisfy all different areas of the market, AMD is offering this 'cTDP down-like' option for system builders that do want to focus on something like a 65W 16-core processor for their system. This isn't to say that AMD will not release non-X CPUs in the future (they're typically cheaper than the X CPUs), but rather than have customers wait for those parts to enter the market, AMD is giving this option to speed up adoption.
The initial Threadripper 3 CPUs are the 24-core 3960X ($1400) and 32-core 3970X ($2000), also launching on November 25. These chips require a new sTRX4 socket and TRX40 motherboards. The new chipset will allow motherboard manufacturers to offer different combinations of PCIe 4.0 lanes, SATA ports, NVMe slots, etc. Threadripper 3 supports higher clocked and denser RAM than the previous Threadripper CPUs:
Each CPU supports four channels of DDR4-3200. We confirmed that this included support for ECC UDIMMs on a board-by-board basis, but does not include RDIMM or LRDIMM support. AMD did state that these new CPUs are validated for the 32 GB DDR4 modules coming onto the market, which makes a realistic maximum DRAM support of 256GB (8 x 32GB).
A 48-core 3980X or 64-core 3990X is expected to be announced in January, but neither CPU has been confirmed by AMD yet.
At the very opposite end of the lineup, AMD has announced the Athlon 3000G, a 35W dual-core Zen+ ("12nm") APU with a bundled cooler for just $50. It comes with 3 Vega graphics compute units, compared to 8 for the $100 Ryzen 3 3200G or 11 for the $150 Ryzen 5 3400G.
Also at Guru3D (3950X), CNET, PCWorld, The Verge, and Tom's Hardware.
Previously:
AMD Details Three Navi GPUs and First Mainstream 16-Core CPU
16-Core Ryzen 9 3950X and 24-core Threadripper 3 Will Launch in November
64-Core AMD Threadripper CPUs Suggested by Release of Cooler
Custom Power Plan Could Improve Ryzen 3000-Series Clock Speeds by 200-250 MHz
(Score: 3, Funny) by RandomFactor on Friday November 08 2019, @07:04PM (9 children)
Do they include waterproofing for the drool?
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
(Score: 4, Touché) by takyon on Friday November 08 2019, @07:12PM
You could drip your drool into a liquid cooler.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 08 2019, @07:16PM (3 children)
Yea, I've got a year old 2990wx with 128 gb ram and this honestly makes me feel like upgrading to a 3990 w 256 gb... If I could sell this one for like $5k next year (minus the drives) maybe I would do it.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday November 08 2019, @08:56PM (2 children)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4NNh6UUqCQ [youtube.com]
As has been pointed out, the prices for these first two TR3 chips are NOT GOOD, because AMD has NO COMPETITION.
It might be part of a ruse where AMD will wait to see how Intel prices its Cascade Lake-X chips (which were mysteriously delayed until later in November), and then drop the prices. After all, that's exactly what AMD did with Navi and Nvidia earlier this year [soylentnews.org]. If AMD had priced TR3 too cheap, Intel could just undercut them.
AMD wants high margins for as long as possible. Intel can't effectively compete until 2021, so that is AMD's window to bulk up financially for the coming war.
If you really do need 256 GB RAM, buy whatever you have to buy. But it might be worth it to wait for Zen 3 or Zen 4 based Threadrippers. The latter could switch to DDR5. Or pick up Threadripper 3 after prices collapse. 24-core 3960X is $1400, but 24-core 2970WX is $917 (from $1300).
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 08 2019, @09:47PM (1 child)
Yea, I will definitely wait about a year either way. I had to RMA my cooler a few times last time. Not really AMD's fault, but still.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 08 2019, @09:51PM
Also, last time was an upgrade from a 4c/8t i7-3630 w 16 gb. So the difference (~8x) was much greater than this upgrade (~2x).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 08 2019, @09:57PM (3 children)
It runs hot enough to flash-evaporate the drool before it reaches the CPU.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 08 2019, @10:16PM (2 children)
These are 280 TDP under normal usage conditions. Intel's competition is 400 TDP while idle (so ~ 800 under normal load).
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 08 2019, @11:24PM (1 child)
Fake news. Intel chips use 125W whether idle or under load. The extra power usage you see depends on how fast the TLAs are running the IME.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday November 08 2019, @11:29PM
So you can get decent energy efficiency by not connecting to the interspy? Or have they embedded a neutrino router into every chip?
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]