AMD announces second generation Ryzen Threadripper processors

By Rich Edmonds
last updated

Say hello to AMD's latest Threadripper powerhouse processors.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper
AMD Ryzen Threadripper (Image credit: Windows Central)

AMD already has second-generation Ryzen processors available, but only now do we have the new Threadripper family fully detailed with specifications. AMD announced the four new CPUs, two of which are successors to the immensely powerful Threadripper processors. What's more is the company also managed to break world records with the flagship 2990WX CPU in the single-socket desktop processor category. Let's see what the fuss is all about.

The new Threadripper processors include the 32-core 2990WX, 24-core 2970WX, 16-core 2950X, and 12-core 2920X — the former two are compatible with existing and new X399 chipsets and require a TR4 socket. Not only does AMD have more Threadrippers to offer consumers, there's also a considerable boost in performance compared to the first generation — at least on paper. The powerful 2990WX will be available on August 13, 2950X on August 31, and all other Threadrippers arriving in October.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Category2990WX2970WX2950X2920X
Cores
Threads		64
32		24
48		16
32		12
24
Clock speed
Boost		3.0GHz
4.2GHz		3.0GHz
4.2GHz		3.5GHz
4.4GHz		3.5GHz
4.3GHz
Cache64MB64MB32MB32MB
TDP250W250W180W180W
Price$1,799$1,299$899$649

Of course, Threadripper is mainly targeting high-end and enthusiast builds. You likely won't need one (especially not the WX models), but it'll be fun to have the power available for intense applications and gaming. We can't tell just how fast these new processors are just yet, not until we get them in for testing, but on paper, they look like quite the iteration.

Rich Edmonds
Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

19 Comments
  • I don't think there are many if any games that can take advantage of that many cores, and even if they could, they're much more likely to be gpu limited even on cheaper (but still high end) processors, so I don't think these things are at all useful to gamers. I don't think you'll get even a single extra frame of performance, and you may end up losing some vs an i7 if there's a big enough gap in single threaded performance. It might make a marginal difference in extreme multitasking scenarios though. Like if you wanna run a game on a machine you're also using as a web server or something. But really, there's no extra power to be had for gaming, you're limited by other parts of the system.
  • Agreed, I don't think Thread ripper's primary audience is gamers though. I think it is targeting high end work stations.
  • You don't buy TR for gaming...
  • If your spending 500+ usd for a processor for a gaming only pc your doing it wrong.
  • +1 Do we still do +1's in this day and age?
  • True, but changing. NMS for example loves the 16 threads of an R7. Things are changing faster than I thought they would re. multithreading.
  • I think you got your cores and threads mixed up on the 2990WX
  • You definitely don't need any of these for gaming.
  • Can these be overclocked? :)
  • Yes all ryzen processors are unlocked for overclocking. However previous threadrippers did not overclock very far from the boost clock.
  • While true, the boost clock was for like 2 cores out of 16. Getting all those cores to that frequency would be a massive OC to be honest.
  • They can be but I wouldn't recommend it unless you can deal with the heat/noise. These are a LOT of cores to be dealing with for an all-core OC.
  • 64 cores but only 32 threads for the top chip? Either someone's made a typo, or that's one low efficiency CPU. Article due a correction?
  • AMD just continues to pummel Intel so hard. Ryzen takes top spots on Amazon seller lists and this only furthers that for workstation/prosumers. Absolute insanity in threadcounts for VERY reasonable prices; if you have these workloads you are likely making money using your machine.
  • Intel still has better Single and Quad Core performance, making it better for consumer PCs and Gaming Rigs. AMD is good workstation tasks and heavily parallelized workloads, like compiling and video rendering. This has always been the case, which is why AMD usually have twice the Cores that Intel did on lower end CPUs (i.e. Mid range AMD A10 APUs with 4 cores performed worse than a 2 Core i3s from Intel). But these if you want to run high end software like DaVinci Resolve. But Intel for Gaming and Productivity machines (or go for a Xeon build).
  • I don't think you will see much if any real world performance differences in gaming because most games are GPU limited. Considering this beats the Core i9, I doubt you would go with a Xeon either as it is very similar to the i9 but costs a lot more. Overall, I don't see any real reason to go with Intel this cycle versus AMD.
  • Crom is for workstation builds, which is what these high end threadrippers would be used for. Intel will release updated CPUs that will leapfrog them in the same areas. The areas where AMD are stronger are the areas where they’ve always been strong since the move to multi core. I’ve already stated, basically,these aren’t relevant for gaming - largely due to the CPU not being the bottleneck. One also has to factor in the software. A lot of it favors Intel - even in the niches these these CPUs would be most optimal.
  • Please review this article...
  • BS. This is obviously NOT for gaming! - Hefty chips though. Go team red!