64 Core Threadripper 3 to cost $3,800(Opinion)

[lobz]

It's 100% more cores for 48.5% scaling. The key is that it's the same TDP which the 32 core part was already using in its entirety, so the scaling is 48.5% more performance for 0% higher power which seems pretty good to me. Actually, I think the bigger key is what can intel offer within the same TDP? Answer that and then we can talk about architecture scaling.

Piednoel himself is one of the absolute best and most consistent and trustworthy benchmarks out there. Any time he mentions an AMD product, it means that the part is dominating and incredibly good. He's the French juanrga.

 

[Kocicak]

... 48.5% more performance for 0% higher power ...

Did you see the power meter in both tests? TDP is just a spec, what matters is the REAL power consumption of the CPUs.

BTW I would think that for the purpose of these benchmarks the 3990X was held back quite a bit.

I remember that in the past they presented performance per watt comparison, it would be much more telling than just those numbers they released. Did not they present something similar for the laptop CPUs?

 

[Atari2600]

Our buddy Piednoel says this CPU shows "terrible architecture scaling", because the 50% additional cores (at lower clocks same TDP) scales only 48%.
Giving the benefit of the doubt, is he right?

Nope. He is clueless* as usual.


*amazing that an architect is so blinded by bias that their opinion has been reduced from educated to clueless.


Multiplying nCores by base clock gives factors (relative to 3960X) of:
3960X: 1
3970X: 1.30
3990X: 1.82

Multiplying nCores by turbo clock gives factors (relative to 3960X) of:
3960X: 1
3970X: 1.33
3990X: 1.96

Cinebench speedups (relative to 3960X) are:
3960X: 1
3970X: 1.24
3990X: 1.86


So 3990X performance is exactly where you'd expect it given the increased core counts and reduced clock speeds.

As usual, Piednoel is talking out of his ____.

 

[Atari2600]

Outstanding performance benefits for render farms. The power consumption (and cooling requirement) difference from the 1P 3990X to the 2P 8280 won't be inconsiderable either.

 

[nicalandia]

why on Earth would the 3990X be late to the game? Not just Intel doesn't even endanger the 3970X at all, but they won't even have anything for probably more than a year that would come even remotely close to the 3990X.

its not late to the game, if anything the 4990X or the 7+ Zen 3 based TR will be released in between Feb and April of 2021, so 3990X will be king for that time being

 

[Hitman928]

Did you see the power meter in both tests? TDP is just a spec, what matters is the REAL power consumption of the CPUs.

BTW I would think that for the purpose of these benchmarks the 3990X was held back quite a bit.

I remember that in the past they presented performance per watt comparison, it would be much more telling than just those numbers they released. Did not they present something similar for the laptop CPUs?

No, but I don't need to. As I said, the 3970x already uses every last bit of the TDP when all threads are under a sustained load.

The 3960x actually uses a little less than the TDP.

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X and 3970X Review: 24 and 32 Cores on 7nm

www.anandtech.com

The Threadripper line isn't like the desktop line where the TDP can be exceeded by a certain amount consistently as long as the cooling is sufficient, the TDP on the 3000 series Threadrippers behaves as a hard limit (unless you turn on PBO). So if the 3970x already maxes out on power draw for the given 280W TDP, do you expect the 3990x to then use more than the TDP? I guess it's possible but AMD would definitely be pulling a fast on there and it would be documented somewhere. We'll have to wait for it's actual release to be 100% sure, but I find it highly unlikely that the 3990x would be allowed to have a higher sustained power draw than its TDP when the 3970x isn't.

Obviously the power draw can change depending on the workload given and there will probably be some workloads where the 3990x will draw more than the 3970x because neither is fully loaded, but we were talking about scaling across all available cores/threads.

 

[Markfw]

OK, not sure how long before I can work out the finances (months, not years) But imagine this chip watercooled with a 420 and a fat 360 mm radiator in series ! Thats what I have cooling a 2990wx. But this chip is like 4 times more powerful. So, I just swap in the new mobo/cpu. Its a solid copper water block. I will just put a air cooler on the 2990wx.

 

[Markfw]

I can't see much of a use for 64C TR outside of rendering studios.

Are there many other workloads can use that degree of width without being bandwidth starved?

My DC work can sure use it.

 

[Kocicak]

Markfw - I am a little bit confused, do you run

3 systems with 3900X
5 systems with 1950X
1 system with 2970X
2 systems with 2990WX
1 system with 2x 7601

Total of 12 systems?

Would not it be better to sell most of them and replace them with just a few 3990X systems? It probably would significantly improve your energy consumption too.

 

[lobz]

Markfw - I am a little bit confused, do you run

3 systems with 3900X
5 systems with 1950X
1 system with 2970X
2 systems with 2990WX
1 system with 2x 7601

Total of 12 systems?

Would not it be better to sell most of them and replace them with just a few 3990X systems? It probably would significantly improve your energy consumption too.

It's the same logic that you used when you said the 3900X should be cheaper than 2x 3600. I know the 2+2=4 is a very attractive and simple solution, especially when you teach these basic things to your kid. But believe me, not everything is that simple in the real life.

 

[Kocicak]

It's the same logic that you used when you said the 3900X should be cheaper than 2x 3600.

I never said that, I was trying to put out an idea that it would be highly practical to make a CPU by just populating the empty space in 3600 with chiplet of the same lower quality (3900X is made from much higher binned chips) and I fail to see any connection with suggesting of commisioning out a bunch of "obsolete" systems with modern stuff which performs much better and is more power efficient too.

 

[lobz]

(...) I fail to see any connection (...)

You don't say.

 

[Markfw]

Markfw - I am a little bit confused, do you run

3 systems with 3900X
5 systems with 1950X
1 system with 2970X
2 systems with 2990WX
1 system with 2x 7601

Total of 12 systems?

Would not it be better to sell most of them and replace them with just a few 3990X systems? It probably would significantly improve your energy consumption too.

That would be nice, if it were easy to sell them. I have had 2 1950x systems up for sales (just motherboard/cpu) for $600 for months, no takers. And as said, its would also be very costly. 4 1950x systems=64 cores, but even at the prices I have them listed at, thats $2400, not $4000+motherboard.