AMD finally releases Threadripper CPUs with Zen 3 cores, but only Pro
AMD has finally announced Threadripper processors based on the Zen 3 architecture. The Ryzen Threadripper Pro 5000 CPUs will get a maximum of 64 cores, just like before. For the time being, it concerns exclusively Pro models, which are mainly aimed at large companies.
The top model of the new series is the Ryzen Threadripper Pro 5995WX. This processor has 64 Zen 3 cores, which are 17 percent faster per clock tick than the Zen 2 cores used so far. In addition, they have a 300MHz higher maximum boost speed, which now goes up to 4.5GHz. The tdp of 280W has remained the same compared to the previous generation.
All four existing Threadripper Pro versions will receive a successor in the 5000 series. They have 64, 32, 16 and 12 cores. In addition, a new model appears, namely the 5965WX, which has 24 active cores. According to AMD, this new option offers a nice middle ground for workloads that scale somewhat, but not unlimitedly, to many cores. The chip designer claims that the processors are between 25 and 55 percent faster than Intel Xeon processors with a comparable number of cores in multithreaded software, and still 13 percent faster in what AMD calls lightly threaded software.
| AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro | 5945WX | 5955WX | 5965WX | 5975WX | 5995WX |
| cores/threads | 12 / 24 | 16 / 32 | 24 / 48 | 32 / 64 | 64 / 128 |
| Base Clock Speed | 4.1GHz | 4.0GHz | 3.8GHz | 3.6GHz | 2.7GHz |
| Boost Clock Speed | 4.5GHz | 4.5GHz | 4.5GHz | 4.5GHz | 4.5GHz |
| L2 cache | 6MB | 8MB | 12MB | 16MB | 32MB |
| L3 cache | 64MB | 64MB | 128MB | 128MB | 256MB |
| Tdp | 280W | 280W | 280W | 280W | 280W |
The main differences between the Threadripper Pro series and the mainstream, more consumer-oriented models are the eight-channel memory controller and double the amount of 128 PCIe 4.0 lanes. They fit into the sWRX8 socket, which, while physically identical to the normal sTRX4 socket, is not pin compatible.
Lenovo is the first system builder to equip a workstation with the new AMD chips. The ThinkStation P620 will be available in configurations up to and including the new 64-core model. Other manufacturers will not start shipping systems with the Threadripper Pro 5000 processors until the third quarter of this year.
According to the first rumors, Threadripper 5000 processors should have appeared in November 2021, but that introduction was not forthcoming, while the Threadripper 3000 series dating from 2019 had already passed its second birthday. AMD does not say whether new cheaper non-Pro-Threadrippers will appear in the short term.