AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7980X & 7970X Review: Revived HEDT Brings More Cores of Zen 4

AMD's Ryzen Threadripper 7000 processors people nan latest additions to nan high-end desktop (HEDT) market, a conception AMD wants to bring backmost to nan mainstream. Based connected AMD's proven Zen 4 architecture and built connected TSMC's 5nm process, some of AMD's caller Ryzen Threadripper 7000 lineups – Pro and non-Pro – are designed to bring much cores and much I/O to nan high-end desktop and workstation markets. Altogether, AMD is offering 3 caller Ryzen Threadripper 7000 SKUs, nan top-end 7980X pinch 64 cores, nan mid-tier 7970X pinch 32 cores, and nan entry-level spot successful nan line-up, nan 24-core 7960X.

As has been nan lawsuit for nan vanilla Threadripper bid since its inception, nan intent of AMD's server-derived processors is to meet nan demands of desktop users who require utmost multitasking capabilities and precocious throughput for analyzable workloads, offering much CPU cores, much representation channels, and much PCIe lanes than what different comes pinch AMD's desktop platform. At nan aforesaid time, nan basal Threadripper lineup differentiates itself from nan master workstation-focused Threadripper Pro chips – successful this case, AMD's caller Threadripper 7000 WX-series – by leaving retired immoderate of nan much 'Pro' features that travel pinch that hardware, arsenic good arsenic immoderate of nan CPU/memory/IO hardware that nan moreover much powerful Pro chips offer. Segmenting some merchandise lines is simply a bully idea, fixed nan pedigree and usage cases of some nan Pro WX-series and non-Pro chips are aligned with. With Threadripper 7000, AMD targets customer bases that request CPUs much powerful than a desktop Ryzen processor but not arsenic exotic (or expensive) arsenic what's fundamentally a afloat server-grade chip.

After taking a break successful nan erstwhile generation, AMD is erstwhile again offering a HEDT-focused line-up to consumers, which is arsenic grandiose arsenic it is interesting. When AMD launched nan Zen 3-based Threadripper 5000 series, AMD only ever released nan workstation-focused Pro parts, leaving users looking for semi-affordable high-core count CPUs successful nan dust. This time, AMD has decided to bring nan HEDT back, creating a brace of Threadripper lines akin to nan Threadripper 3000 family successful 2019.

Today successful our AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7000 bid review, we're going to beryllium focusing connected nan apical 2 chips from nan trifecta, nan top-end Ryzen Threadripper 7980X (64C/128T) and nan mediate of nan roadworthy 7970X (32C/64T). We'll beryllium comparing them to nan erstwhile Ryzen Threadripper 3000 bid and straight against Intel's Sapphire Rapids Workstation CPUs, including nan flagship Intel Xeon w9-3495X. Also, we'll beryllium putting them against nan desktop flagships, specified arsenic nan Intel Core i9-14900K and nan AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, to spot really overmuch much capacity AMD's caller foray into HEDT users tin compression out. Is location a suitable spot successful nan marketplace for HEDT chips, fixed really acold desktop processors person progressed wrong nan past mates of years? Let's find out.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7000 Series: Bringing HEDT Back

After AMD skipped releasing a vanilla Threadripper processor arsenic portion of their Zen 3 architecture family – what would person been nan Ryzen Threadripper 5000 bid – things surely looked dim for nan early of nan high-end desktop (HEDT) market. Combined pinch Intel besides skipping HEDT that procreation by not bringing down their troubled Ice Lake server silicon to HEDT products, and it was looking for illustration HEDT whitethorn person yet been pushed retired by much powerful desktop processors. But a procreation later, and things person seemingly changed for nan amended for nan HEDT market. Looking to further capitalize connected nan occurrence of their Zen 4 architecture, AMD is bringing backmost HEDT models to nan marketplace via nan Threadripper 7000 series, pinch 3 caller chips ranging up to 64C/128T, each pinch afloat Zen 4 cores.

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7980X, 7970X, and 7960X are nan latest entries successful nan HEDT market, bringing important advancements successful processing powerfulness and efficiency. The 7980X is nan apical SKU pinch 64 cores/128 threads, a turbo timepiece velocity of up to 5.1 GHz, and a guidelines timepiece of 2.5 GHz. The 7970X has half nan cores and threads, for 32 cores/64 threads altogether, and offers a higher guidelines wave of 3.2 GHz and matches its higher-end counterpart's 5.1 GHz turbo clock.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7980X (64C/128T) CPU-Z Screenshot

These chips are aimed astatine driving demanding multi-threaded applications that tin saturate precocious halfway count CPUs, specified arsenic precocious contented creation, 3D rendering, and analyzable computational tasks. The 7980X, nan much powerful of nan two, is peculiarly suited for scenarios requiring utmost multitasking and precocious throughput.

Conversely, though AMD isn't sampling it for today's reappraisal embargo, nan Threadripper 7960X represents nan different broadside of nan coin. With 24 cores/48 threads, a guidelines wave of 3.2 GHz and a turbo timepiece velocity of up to 5.3 GHz, nan 7960X offers nan fewest cores, but still each of nan representation bandwidth and I/O lanes nan Threadripper level tin provide, making it particularly good suited for tasks wherever information throughput alternatively than earthy CPU capacity is nan bottleneck. Still, pinch less CPU cores, it's nan entry-level portion (if you tin telephone it that) to AMD's caller HEDT platform, pinch an MSRP of $1499.

Regarding representation and I/O capabilities, nan Threadripper 7000 bid supports quad-channel DDR5 representation and up to 48 PCIe 5.0 lanes, offering plentifulness of bandwidth for devices specified arsenic retention and graphics. Unique to nan Threadripper 7000 level (versus AMD's user platform), AMD supports RDIMMs here, allowing nan for support for up to 1 TB of representation via DDR-5200 RDIMMs – complete 5x arsenic overmuch representation arsenic desktop Ryzen.

These processors correspond AMD's committedness to pushing nan capacity of desktop computing power, catering to some professionals, enthusiasts, and everything successful between. They are designed for users who require much than what modular desktop CPUs tin offer. The Ryzen Threadripper 7980X and 7970X are designed to excel successful multi-threaded workloads. Their theoretical expertise to grip much divers and intensive workloads than desktop processors makes them a pivotal prime successful nan existent HEDT landscape.

One measurement supra this is nan Threadripper 7000 Pro WX series, which has support for 8 channels of memory, pushing nan capacity wherever workloads, instruction sets, and applications tin use from some much representation bandwidth and higher representation densities.

The TRX50 Chipset: Designed For Threadripper 7000, Supports TR Pro 7000 WX-Series

Launching alongside nan caller Threadripper chips is AMD's TRX50 chipset. The TRX50 platofrm uses nan caller 4844 pins sTR5 socket, which for illustration nan Threadripper processors themselves, is derived from AMD's EPYC offerings – successful this lawsuit nan SP6 socket AMD introduced for their lower-priced EPYC 8004 (Siena) processors. Despite nan identical pin count, it should beryllium noted that sTR5 and SP6 are not pin compatible.

Meanwhile, looking astatine things connected a generational basis, location is simply a grade of cooler compatibility. Specifically, older socket sTRX4 Threadripper coolers will still fresh connected nan 58.5mm x 75.4mm sTR5 socket. This intends users upgrading from sTRX4 chips should theoretically beryllium capable to recycle their aged cooler. However, they would surely request to beryllium tin of supporting a higher TDP of 350 W.

Platform sketch of nan WRX90 (left) and TRX50 (right)

For representation and I/O, nan TRX50 level supports 4-channel DDR5 representation and 80 PCIe lanes. Though nan second ends up being an unexpected operation of PCIe 5.0 lanes and PCIe 4.0 lanes, pinch 48x PCIe 5.0 lanes alongside a further 32x PCIe 4.0 lanes. As PCIe Gen5 is much analyzable to instrumentality and longer runs require re-drivers, AMD has opted to limit nan manufacturing costs of motherboards by not moving rather truthful galore max-speed PCIe lanes. At nan aforesaid time, nan thought of TRX50, particularly erstwhile straight compared to WRX90 for Threadripper Pro 7000 WX-series chips, is that it is simply a cut-down type to supply everything users request connected a middle-abridged chipset betwixt desktop AM5 and WRX90 – meaning that dialing backmost immoderate PCIe lanes to 4.0 besides provides immoderate characteristic differentiation betwixt nan 2 Threadripper lineups.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7970X (32C/64T) CPU-Z Screenshot

It is worthy highlighting that Threadripper 7000 Pro chips tin besides beryllium utilized successful TRX50 motherboards. But, of course, they will beryllium subjected to nan aforesaid representation transmission and I/O limitations. In that respect, TRX50 boards tin beryllium utilized arsenic a fund committee pairing for Threadripper Pro chips. Otherwise, nan converse is false: non-pro Threadripper 7000 chips cannot beryllium utilized successful WRX90 boards, arsenic illogical arsenic that would be.

Test Bed and Setup

We usage nan pursuing trial systems for our AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7980X, 7970X, and Intel Xeon WS-series testing:

For our head-to-head comparison, we person connected manus Intel's latest Sapphire Rapids Xeons. Like nan Threadripper series, nan Xeons are divided up into 2 sub-groups – nan full-fat Xeon w-3000 bid for high-end workstations, and nan lighter Xeon w-2000 bid for much mainstream workstations. Unfortunately, nan only Xeons we person connected manus are nan w-3000 bid parts (which is what Intel sampled for reviewing erstwhile those were released), truthful it's not rather an apples-to-apples comparison, particularly arsenic nan w-3000 Xeons support 8 channels of representation (versus TR's 4 channels).

Still, location are similarities successful halfway and thread count and TDP that should connection immoderate enlightening data. Both platforms person a max TDP of 350W, and nan Intel W9-3495X we're utilizing is simply a 56C/112T chip, while nan Threadripper 7980X is simply a 64C/128T chip.

For added flavor, we'll beryllium adding successful information from some AMD and Intel's flagship desktop processors, including nan Core i9-14900K, nan Ryzen 9 7950X, and Ryzen 9 7950X3D. We will besides beryllium comparing nan caller AMD Threadripper 7000 bid chips to their erstwhile counterparts, including nan AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X (64C/128T), which we reviewed successful 2020, arsenic good arsenic nan Threadripper 3970X (32C/64T).

Read connected for our extended analysis.