AMD Gives 7000-series Threadrippers A Frequency Bump With Epyc Core Counts

AMD has launched 7,000-series Ryzen Threadripper processors, bringing its 5nm Zen 4 cores to high-end desktops and workstations.

As with previous generation Threadripper parts, the chips borrow heavily from their Epyc datacenter counterparts that we reviewed last November, and feature the familiar combinations of compute and I/O dies.

Like Epyc 4, the workstation-class Threadripper Pro comes with between 12 and 96 cores, depending on whether you need more threads or higher clock speed. AMD has also continued its tradition of bestowing much higher boost clocks on its Threadripper parts – on the order of 5.1 to 5.3GHz, depending on the SKU.

Here's a breakdown of Threadripper Pro parts announced today:

• Threadripper Pro 7995WX: 96 cores/192 threads, with a base clock of 2.5GHz and a boost clock of 5.1GHz, thermal design power (TDP) of 350W, and 480MB of total cache.
• Threadripper Pro 7985WX: 64 cores/128 threads, with a base clock of 3.2GHz and a boost clock of 5.1GHz, TDP of 350W, and 320MB of total cache.
• Threadripper Pro 7975WX: 32 cores/64 threads, with a base clock of 4GHz and a boost clock of 5.3GHz, TDP of 350W, and 160MB of total cache.
• Threadripper Pro 7965WX: 24 cores/48 threads, with a base clock of 4.2GHz and a boost clock of 5.3GHz, TDP of 350W, and 152MB of total cache.
• Threadripper Pro 7955WX: 16 cores/32 threads, with a base clock of 4.5GHz and a boost clock of 5.3GHz, TDP of 350W, and 80MB of total cache.
• Threadripper Pro 7945WX: 12 cores/24 threads, with a base clock of 4.7GHz and a boost clock of 5.3GHz, TDP of 350W, and 76MB of total cache.

Note: AMD has yet to share retail pricing for its Threadripper Pro components.

AMD claims the higher core counts and clock speeds translate to sizable performance gains compared to Intel's workstation parts. Pitting its 96-core 7995WX against Intel's 56-core W9-3495, AMD boasts a lead of 38 percent in AutoCAD, 43 percent in Solidworks, 92 percent in Ansys Mechanical, and 123 percent in Chaos V-Ray. Of course, as with all vendor-supplied benchmarks, we recommend you take AMD's with a grain of salt.

Despite the higher boost clocks, this isn't just a faster Epyc – the I/O functionality has been pared back significantly. As you may recall, Epyc 4 featured 128 lanes of PCIe 5.0 and support for 12 channels of DDR5 4,800MT/sec memory, and 6TB of RAM. Threadripper Pro keeps the 128 PCIe lanes, but is limited to eight channels of DDR5 and 2TB of DDR5.

The loss in memory bandwidth is compensated somewhat by native support for faster 5,200MT/sec memory, and you may be able to get away with even faster memory using AMD's EXPO presets. Yep – just like past Threadrippers, this thing is overclockable.

The boost clocks don't appear to have contributed to a higher TDP either as the chips are all rated for 350 watts. However, it's not unusual for AMD's desktop parts to consume well in excess of their stated TDP if adequate cooling and power is available.

Unlike previous-gen Threadripper Pro parts, which featured a workstation-specific sWRX8 socket, all 7000-series parts use a common sTR5 socket. This means, in addition to support for AMD workstation-class WRX90 motherboard chipset, the chips can also be used in mainstream TRX50 boards.

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High-end desktop fare

If you can make do with a few less cores, PCIe lanes, and memory channels, AMD also refreshed its non-Pro Threadripper family with a trio of CPUs aimed at the high-end desktop market.

The chips can be had in variants boasting 24, 32, and 64 cores. Like their Pro siblings, all boost up to between 5.1 and 5.3 GHz – at least for lightly threaded tasks.

Here's a full breakdown of AMD's high-end desktop Threadripper CPUs:

• Threadripper 7980X: 64 cores/128 threads, with a base clock of 3.2GHz and a boost clock of 5.1GHz, TDP of 350W, and 320MB of total cache. $4,999.
• Threadripper 7970X: 32 cores/64 threads, with a base clock of 4GHz and a boost clock of 5.3GHz, TDP of 350W, and 160MB of total cache. $2,499.
• Threadripper 7960X: 24 cores/48 threads, with a base clock of 4.2GHz and a boost clock of 5.3GHz, TDP of 350W, and 152MB of total cache. $1,499.

Compared to their Pro siblings, 7000-series Threadripper's I/O has been cut down even further to 1TB of memory spread across four channels of DDR5 5,200MT/sec DIMMs and 48 lanes of PCIe 5.0.

That's 16 channels fewer than Threadripper 3000's 64 lanes, AMD's last generation of HEDT CPUs. This means 7000-series TRX50 motherboards are going to be limited to just three full speed x16 PCIe slots. But those lanes are twice as fast as the last generation, so it should all work out well.

The non-Pro version of Threadripper 7000 is supported on motherboards using AMD's TRX50 chipset, but won't support the more feature rich WRX90 chipset.

According to AMD, Pro and non-Pro Threadripper platforms will be available from systems integrators and OEMs by the end of year, while customers building their own systems can get their hands on either product range beginning November 21. ®