When AMD debuted the Ryzen Threadripper 3000 series a number of years ago, it was seen as some of the best HEDT CPUs in the market thanks to both its performance and supposed long platform support. Well, AMD eventually forgot to support it and took a break from the consumer HEDT market altogether, but that’s changing now as AMD has now launched the Ryzen Threadripper 7000 series along with Ryzen Threadripper Pro 7000 WX processors for enterprise users.
The Threadripper processors have always impressed many thanks to their high core counts, but these HEDT processors do a lot more than just pure performance. Ryzen Threadripper’s key selling point has been more about its I/O, with significantly more PCIe lanes in particular compared to regular consumer platforms. With the Ryzen Threadripper 7000 series, this is now 128 PCIe Gen 5 lanes for the Pro 7000 WX lineup, and 48 lanes on the regular Threadripper 7000 lineup, not to mention other improvements such as Zen 4 architecture and support for DDR5 memory.
Starting off with the Ryzen Threadripper 7000 series for enthusiast users. there are three options for you to choose from here, all of which are overclockable, support quad-channel DDR5 ECC memory, 48 PCIe 5.0 lanes and require a TDP of 350W. The top dog here is the Ryzen Threadripper 7980X, which has 64 cores and 128 threads running at 2.5GHz base frequency with boosts of up to 5.1GHz and 256MB of L3 cache. According to AMD, this is the ‘world’s most powerful HEDT processor’, with gains between 4% up to 94% in performance depending on the type of workload compared to the rivalling 56-core Intel Xeon W9-3495X.
Below that is the Ryzen Threadripper 7970X, with 32 cores and 64 threads running at 3.2GHz base clock with boosts to 5.1GHz as well as 128MB of L3 cache. Lastly we have the runt of the Threadripper 7000 litter with the Ryzen Threadripper 7960X. It has 24 cores and 48 threads running at 3.2GHz base with boosts of up to 5.3GHz, along with 128MB of L3 cache. Despite being the most ‘entry-level’ of the three, the Threadripper 7960X can still boast more cores, threads, L3 cache and PCIe lanes compared to the mainstream 16-core Ryzen 9 7950X.
As for the Ryzen Threadripper Pro 7000 WX lineup, these enterprise-focused processors feature more PCIe 5 lanes and support for eight memory channels, as well as higher core counts at the very high end of the product stack. In total, the Threadripper Pro 7000 WX series has six SKUs here, all of which require a TDP of 350W, support 128 PCIe 5.0 lanes and support eight lanes of DDR5 memory. At the very top of the Ryzen Threadripper Pro 7000 WX series is the 7995WX, a 96-core, 192-thread chip running at 2.5GHz base with boosts of up to 5.1GHz.
After that you get the 7985WX with 64 cores, 128 threads running at 3.2GHz base and up to 5.1GHz boost clocks, the 7975WX with 32 cores, 64 threads at 4.0GHz base and up to 5.3GHz boost, the 7965WX with 24 cores, 48 threads at 4.2GHz base and up to 5.3GHz boost, the 7955WX with 16 cores, 32 threads at 4.5GHz base and up to 5.3GHz boost and lastly, the 7945WX with 12 cores and 24 threads at 4.7GHz base and up to 5.3GHz boost clocks. It might seem weird for the 7945WX to have less cores than the consumer-focused Ryzen 9 7950X, but again the selling point is more about the I/O with more PCIe 5.0 lanes available here.
One more thing to note here is that there are now not one, but two new motherboard platforms for Ryzen Threadripper 7000 and 7000 Pro. Both platforms technically use the same physical sTR5 socket with 4,844 pins, but the Threadripper 7000 will only work on the TRX50 platform while the WRX90 platform will support the Threadripper Pro 7000 WX chips instead. The WRX90 is designed with more PCIe 5.0 lanes support to make full use of the Threadripper Pro 7000 WX chips and has more memory channels too. The TRX50 platform meanwhile cuts it down to just four memory channels, supports up to 48 PCIe 5.0 lanes and lacks the enterprise-focused security features WRX90 would have.
Lastly, as for its pricing and availability, here’s how much the three consumer Ryzen Threadripper 7000 processors will cost:
- AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7980X, 64 cores, 128 threads – USD4,999 (~RM23,832.73)
- AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7970X, 32 cores, 64 threads – USD2,499 (~RM11,913.98)
- AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7960X, 24 cores, 48 threads – USD1,499 (~RM7,146.48)
They will be available globally from 21 November onwards, with select Threadripper Pro 7000 WX options also available from AMD’s retail partners. That being said, you can expect to see the Ryzen Threadripper 7000 Pro WX processors powering workstations from Dell, HP, Lenovo and partnered system integrators by the end of this year.
