Review Threadripper 3rd Gen Review and Availability Thread

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Hitman928

Diamond Member
Apr 15, 2012
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Since the other thread got merged and I am not the OP as well as the announcement thread being so long, I figured it would be better to have a separate review and availability thread.

Once reviews are posted I will update this post. If you see a review you would like added to this post, please PM me.

Video reviews
Hardware Unboxed
Gamers Nexus
Linus Tech Tips

Print reviews
Phoronix
PCWorld
PCMag
Guru3d
Tweaktown
Anandtech
Computerbase (translated)
Servethehome
Phoronix (3990x)
For sale
3960x, 3970x, and 3990x listed for sale on Newegg.
 
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moinmoin

Diamond Member
Jun 1, 2017
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I was ready to pull the trigger on the 3960... went to checkout and it was gone. Is the strx motherboard good for 4th/5th gen as well?
Regarding compatibiliyt with 4th/5th gen: Unlike with AM4 there are no guarantees either way, Threadripper just got an unexpected new socket revision after all. But I'd expect the Zen 3 4th gen Threadripper to be compatible still. Zen 4 is expect to see PCIe 5 and DDR 5 which very likely spawns new socket revisions across the board.
 

amrnuke

Golden Member
Apr 24, 2019
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Now you are being blatantly dishonest to save face. The focus has been on TR parts and the only mention of Intel was a direct reply to another poster. You just picked out a comment and wanted to put something down for some odd reason.
I think this is clear enough. It is not dishonest to recap your posts to give context to your statement, nor for me to clarify that Microcenter do play the markup game.

They just aren't doing so with TR3 or with TRX40 motherboards at the present time.
 

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
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TR4 is not bad at all for all the power the platform has. The same for sTRX4, the platform offers WAY more than the Intel equivalent. I paid $400 for my TR$ motherboards, and the sTRX4 boards start at around $440 for more functionality !

And so you registered as a user today just to put down the Threadripper motherboards ?
 
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Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
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What do you mean entry level ? The threadripper series is for HEDT, not cheap desktops.
 
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Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
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The platform is not. And even 8 core was not cheap compared to desktop 8 core.
 
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Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
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New generation. the 24 core 3860x is now the entry point.

If you want threadripper and cheap, get a 1900x
 

moinmoin

Diamond Member
Jun 1, 2017
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That's the point. Threadripper with gen 3 no longer is and sTR4 never was entry level. If you want fewer than 24 cores and/or less features than sTR4 you go with Ryzen on AM4.
 
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Yeroon

Member
Mar 19, 2017
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24-core is not entry level.

Some people want channels, lanes, new tech, and an upgrade path and don't need so many cores right now.

Instead of offering fewer cores on sTRX4, an alternative would be to repackage 24 and 32 core Threadripper 3 as TR4.

What? That makes no sense. Roll out a new platform with significant upgrades to connectivity, but then make extra effort to make a few processors backwards compatible for upgrades? Why not just roll it all out on x399 in the first place then?

I recall reading that majority of TR sales were the top models, and the low core counts you want were poor sellers. AMD can still release a 16 or 8c model before zen 3, its only been a few months since the 24/32 parts have launched, and a few days (?) since the 64c.
 

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
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Threadripper 8 core was the entry level on TR4, like Athlon is the entry level on AM4.

AM4 is for consumers.

One would not buy 1900X now, but 1920X. But then the only normal upgrade possibility would be just 4 cores more, and with the risk of low future availability.

And you would not have PCIe 4.0 .
If you want 8 core and PCIE4, then go am4. You have the choice of 4,6,8,12,16 cores. If you want threadripper, and all its goodies, the entry to that is 24 cores. But if you want all those PCIE lanes and cheap, get TR4 and a 1900x,1920x,1950x, etc...

There is something for everything you need. Why do you keep trolling this thread ?
 
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ultimatebob

Lifer
Jul 1, 2001
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I'm trying to figure who the market is for those Threadripper 3990's. At $4K each for just the CPU, you're exceeding most people's CPU budget for even high end workstations.

You're starting to approach the Apple Mac Pro level of pricing insanity at this point.
 
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DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
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I'm trying to figure who the market is for those Threadripper 3990's. At $4K each for just the CPU, you're exceeding most people's CPU budget for even high end workstations.

You're starting to approach the Apple Mac Pro level of pricing insanity at this point.

I would think the top use for the 3990x would be high-end render boxes. Dunno how many people have or had small clusters of older machines thrown together for render purposes, but one 3990x can essentially replace multiple machines.
 
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Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
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BTW, this is a TR3 review and availability thread, not a discussion on whether is a good product. If this derailment continues, someones going to get an infraction.
 

scannall

Golden Member
Jan 1, 2012
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I'm trying to figure who the market is for those Threadripper 3990's. At $4K each for just the CPU, you're exceeding most people's CPU budget for even high end workstations.

You're starting to approach the Apple Mac Pro level of pricing insanity at this point.
Intel's nearest part in performance though still a little slower is over $10,000. $4,000 is a deal.
 
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ultimatebob

Lifer
Jul 1, 2001
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The Anandtech review of the 3990 seems to show that a lot of applications are still struggling to scale to use more than 8 cores or 16 threads. That also seems to make this more of a niche product.
 

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
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The Anandtech review of the 3990 seems to show that a lot of applications are still struggling to scale to use more than 8 cores or 16 threads. That also seems to make this more of a niche product.
Except that in the applications that it was designed for (rendering, video production, etc) it does just fine. You don't buy a $4000 CPU to run word and excel and cruise the internet.
 

Panino Manino

Senior member
Jan 28, 2017
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There's something I don't understand about these Threadrippers.
With so many cores, why AMD gave the system only 4 channels? Up to 32 cores, ok, but 4 channels feels too little for 64 cores. Even if AMD was adamant on 4 channels I think would be reasonable to make an exception to the top of the top the line CPU and give it 2 more channels, right?

There was some technical limitation that I don't know or is this completely artificial?
 

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
25,478
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There's something I don't understand about these Threadrippers.
With so many cores, why AMD gave the system only 4 channels? Up to 32 cores, ok, but 4 channels feels too little for 64 cores. Even if AMD was adamant on 4 channels I think would be reasonable to make an exception to the top of the top the line CPU and give it 2 more channels, right?

There was some technical limitation that I don't know or is this completely artificial?
EPYC has 8 channels, but runs slower. Threadripper has 4 channels, but the CPU is faster. Pick whichever one works for the application that you run.