maximumpc.com SEP 2020 MAXIMUM PC 11
the beginning of the magazine, where the articles are small
quickstartThe most powerful workstation chip ever
Threadripper Goes Pro
core, and chief of these is the
memory controller, which
now boasts eight channels of
DDR4-3200 memory rather
than four. Memory bandwidth
can be a problem on the 3990X,
particularly if you want to hit
all those cores effectively. The
PRO has effectively doubled
the bandwidth at a stroke.
The maximum memory size is
2TB across the range, which
is an awful lot to put into one
box. You also get more PCIe
4.0 channels, up from 88 to- AMD claims this is a first
for this market: Although the
Threadripper already has
PCIe 4.0, it’s not considered
a “professional” chip. There’s
also a dedicated security chip
and Memory Guard, which
offers full memory encryption,
so sensitive work that’s stolen
or lost is safe. The TDP rating
hasn’t changed from 280W.
This is generated by an odd
AMD-only calculation that has
little to do with power draw at
all—in fact it isn’t factored into
the calculation.
The promotional material
contains the usual bar charts
showing a performance lead
over Intel chips—it’s hardly
an independent source,
but telling nevertheless.
The 3995WX out-guns the
Intel Xeon W-3275 and dual
Xeon Platinum 8280s when
running benchmarks using
dozens of industry-standard
heavyweight applications
involving video work,
mathematical modeling and
so forth, typically by a margin
of around 20 percent. Anything
that can use that extra memory
bandwidth shows a big jump.
Along with new chips,
we have a new platform,
designated WRX. This uses
a sWRX8 socket, required
because of the new pin-out
map required by those extra
memory channels. The “W”
is for workstation, the “8”
for eight-channel memory,
and the “X” doesn’t stand for
anything but looks good. The
accompanying chipset is the
new WRX80. We have little on
this as yet. Acer and Gigabyte
are working on boards.
We have no prices for
individual chips yet either.
Initially Threadripper PROs
will only be available insideprebuilt systems. If you want an
individual chip you are invited
to contact AMD for a quote,
but don’t hold your breath. The
first Threadripper PRO system
is from AMD partners Lenovo:
The ThinkStation P620. It’s a
bit of a monster, with up to four
Nvidia Quadro graphics cards.
It’s offered as a powerful
alternative to multiple
processor systems (i.e. Intel
ones). Each is built to order,
and prices start from $4,
and go considerably higher
than that. All this is packed into
a modest-sized box. The P
should be available this fall.
Thhreadripper sits between
the desktop Ryzen, and the
server-only EPYC. While not
designed to sit in a ser ver r ack,
it is quite a beast for a desktop.
The Threadripper PRO
further defines that split. The
Threadripper is for the high-
end desktop, and enthusiasts.
The new Threadripper is
pitched directly at professional
creatives using workstations.
The distinction between
Threadripper and EPYC is
that it’s still a single-socket
chip: You can’t build multiple
processor boxes or mount
t h e m i n r a c k s. I t d o e s m e a n y o u
can use fairly standard cases,
and ancillary components.
Why are we interested in the
Threadripper PRO? Because
what’s in a workstation one
year is in a desktop later–it will
trickle down the chain. And
it’s so powerful, even if it’s not
really meant for us, we still
want one. –CLAFTER WEEKS of rumors
and leaks about AMD’s new
Threadripper, AMD has
revealed what it likes to call
“the first and only 64-core
professional workstation
processor”: the Threadripper
PRO 3000WX series. There
are four in all. The top model
is the Threadripper PRO
3995WX, which has 64 cores
and a base clock of 2.7GHz,
with a maximum boost to
4.3GHz. Below this are the
32-core 3975WX, the 16-core
3955WX, and lastly the
12-core 3945WX. The clock
speeds increase as the core
count drops, all the way up
to 4.0GHz on the base model
12-core chip. Essentially they
are pro versions of existing
Threadripper chips, employing
the same 7nm Zen 2 cores:
The 3995WX is a 3990X, and
so forth. The base clock rates
are a shade lower across
the range, probably down to
extra overheads running the
memory—the 3995WX loses
200MHz to the 3990X. The PRO
range is overclock locked,
unlike its predecessor, which
is a clear sign of the difference
in intended markets.
The main changes take
place around the processor’sThe top model is the
Threadripper PRO 3995WX,
which has 64 cores.
AMD says this is the “ultimate
processor for the workstation”—
and might be right.©^
AM
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