I do not consider this HEDT.
Its a Workstation CPU, not a Enthusiast CPU.
By definition Enthusiast means overclockable Enterprise components.
HEDT term was invented by Intel with the introduction of eVGA's Classified SR-2.
Special server CPU's with unlocked multipliers were introduced just for that platform, and that was the birth of "HEDT"
ThreadRipper PRO does not fill that definition in any form with what HEDT stands for.
Its a Slap to us Enthusiast, telling us either we take it or leave it.
This is one thing i completely disagree with AMD on, they could of just left it as a EYPC as it is, and put it on a workstation line, instead they thought they could milk more profits by sneaking it in the HEDT line, which is very shady.
Even Serve the Home states its a Workstation CPU... not HEDT:
In what is more of a workstation EPYC or "WEPYC" the AMD Threadripper Pro brings all of the features you wanted in Threadripper and EPYC together
www.servethehome.com
So the last HEDT AMD has had was the 3900X series as that was the last TR which offered overclocking.
The last Intel HEDT cpu was the W-3175 which failed horribly..... but this is intel's last HEDT.
Its really sad, they want to kill off the HEDT line from what it looks on both sides, and were left with neutered PCI-E lanes, when every last count since the introduction of nVME's.
To me, it seems like PCI-E lanes have been having the biggest improvements recently.
Having faster lanes is not the same as having the quantity.
Sure you can run a 16x gpu in a 8x, but you CAN NOT run a 8x HBA in a 4x, or a 4x nVME in a 2x.
You also can not run a 8x 10gbe card in a 4x slot.
I can think of many people who have at last 2 nVME's if not more in their system, and that its a pci-e count of 8, which is almost 1/3rd of what you get in a consumer gamer platform.
In today's age, i think a minimum of 48x pci-e lanes should be mandatory, which no system ryzen or intel offers until you go up to HEDT or Workstation Enterprise class.