AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3995WX (64C/128T, 288 MB Cache, up to 4.2 GHz Max Boost)

Product Information

The following two processors have no Threadripper equivalents, but also represent a slightly different scenario that we’ll explore in this review. Both the 3955WX and 3945WX, despite being part of the big Threadripper Pro family, only use two chiplets in their design: 8 core per chipet for the 3955 WX and 6 core per chiplet for the 3945WX. This means these processors only have 64 MB of L3 cache, making them somewhat identical to the Ryzen 9 3950X and Ryzen 9 3900X, except the IO die means there is eight channels of memory and 128 PCIe lanes here. AMD 16-Core Zen 2/3 Comparison Beyond the cores, there are some other significant differences between the two processor families. Compared to the Intel Xeon W-2400, the Intel Xeon W-3400 has more memory capacity (4 TB vs 2 TB), more PCIe lanes (112 vs 64) (so it can support more add-in GPUs), more Intel Smart Cache (L3), and a higher max base power (350W vs 225W). The Hitman 3 results are a bit more typical, where the 5995WX was slightly slower than the 5950X, a mere 3% decline in performance which meant it was still 18% faster than the older 3990X. Intel has launched its long awaited ‘Sapphire Rapids’ workstation processors, but do they have enough to surpass AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper Pro? Greg Corke puts these high-end CPUs through their paces

There’s a similar pattern with the Intel Xeon W-3400 Series, with the higher end models featuring the largest number of cores and highest boost frequencies. The range tops out with the 56-core Intel Xeon w9-3495X with a base frequency of 1.9 GHz and a Turbo Boost Max 3.0 of 4.80 GHz. For comparison we've included the Threadripper 3990X which was tested on the MSI Creator TRX40 motherboard using the same Team T-ForceDDR4-3600 memory at 3400. Then we have a few desktop CPUs for comparison: a Ryzen 9 5950X tested with dual-rank DDR4-3200 memory, and the Intel Core i9-12900K using DDR5-6400 memory. The graphics card used for all testing is the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti. Let's get into the data... Benchmarks

A New Multi-Core King of Workstation Performance

Ever since their introduction, the Ryzen Threadripper CPUs have offered impressive rendering performance,” said Vlado Koylazov, Academy Award Winner and Co-Founder, Chaos. “The new Threadripper PRO 5000 WX-Series processors further improve on this, allowing 3D artists and architectural visualization professionals unparalleled ability to accomplish even more in less time.” But these days, CAD is often just one of many tools used by architects, engineers and designers, some of which do benefit from having more cores or higher memory bandwidth. So, it’s important to understand how ‘Sapphire Rapids’ performs in CAD. AMD's original Threadripper chips(and supporting motherboards) were geared for HEDT, meaning they came with higher core counts and access to more memory and PCIe connectivity than mainstream desktop PC chips. However, pricing was still mostly within reach for enthusiasts. After several generations, AMD released its Threadripper Promodels with twice the number of memory channels (eight) for professional users and unique motherboards, but the beefy chips carried the eye-watering pricing to match their incredible performance. This is the most expensive AMD Ryzen CPU you can buy, which as you might suspect is also the fastest and most powerful Ryzen CPU currently in existence. Not even upcoming Zen 4 CPUs will change that, at least not when talking about core-heavy workloads.

For code compilation work the 5995WX doesn't appear all that much faster than the 3990X which makes sense as the 5950X was only slightly faster than the 3950X. So for this sort of workload the more expensive Zen 3-based Threadripper processors probably aren't worth the premium. So if AMD comes up again with a HEDT TR 7000 series, that will be to counter the low models of the INTEL W-3300 and W-2400 series and indirectly "gap-protect" the 7950X revenues, while not going all the way up in terms of number of cores. In AMD shoes that's what I would do. Our testing focuses on the one Ryzen Threadripper Pro processor we've managed to get our mitts on so far, the 3955WX, a 16-core/32-thread chip that is a sensible choice for any kind of demanding workflow. Our test platform is the Lenovo ThinkStation P620 with Windows 10 Pro, 32GB of DDR4-3200 ECC memory, a 512GB PCI Express 3.0 SSD boot drive, and a 5GB Nvidia Quadro P2200 graphics card.Many thanks to Kingston for supplying a full set of KSM32RD8/16MEI - 16x16GB of DDR4-3200 ECC RDIMMs for enterprise testing in systems like Threadripper Pro. We thought the 64-core Ryzen Threadripper Pro 5995WX workstation processor was something else, but AMD's new Threadripper Pro 7995WX crams a mind-blowing 96 cores onto one chip. It's the top dog in a six-chip rollout of AMD Threadripper Pro 7000 CPUs using the company's "Zen 4" architecture, and a surprisingly fast follow-on to the 2022 launch of Threadripper Pro 5000. It is E-ATX in size, which is fully utilized with an impressive six full-length PCIe 4.0 x16 slots. This includes support for two triple-slot or three dual-slot graphics cards, which will depend on the configuration a user opts for. For storage, the M12SWA-TF includes four SATA ports and four PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slotsthat includesupport for RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays. Supermicro has also incorporated two PCIe 4.0 U.2 slots, with support for just RAID 0 and 1 arrays. The M12SWA-TF also uses an ASpeed's 7th generation AST2600 BMC controller with one D-sub video output on the rear for physical IPMI access. ( Ian: Oooh, AST2600 is new, isn't it?) Among the Intel Xeon W-2400 Series, the processors that stand out are the Xeon w7-2495X and w7-2475X which combine high core counts with the highest boost frequencies. The lower-end models may be suited to certain Finite Element Analysis (FEA) or other simulation tools that benefit from higher memory bandwidth but can’t necessarily take advantage of large numbers of cores. They can also provide a platform for multi-GPU workflows, such as GPU rendering. The 280W Threadripper Pro 3975WX weighs in at 32 cores and 64 threads that run at a 3.5 GHz base and 4.2 GHz boost, which is significantly lower than the Threadripper 3970X's 3.7/4.5 GHz base/boost. The chip has a significantly higher boost frequency than its 32-core EPYC 7542 comparable (+800MHZ) but a lower base frequency.

The ECC support is a crucial distinction in the workstation world. ECC is essential technology for fields, such as science, architectural design, and finance, in which unimpeachable accuracy and every decimal place matters. Non-Pro Ryzen Threadripper chips, in contrast, support ECC memory only in conjunction with certain motherboards. The Threadripper 3000 series had no issues with 4K60 footage from the older GH5, but when we upgraded to the GH6 we wanted to start working with 5.7K60, and this proved troublesome. Of course, we could use proxies but they are a pain for editing, taking a lot more time, and overall just a more cumbersome method than we prefer.The Dell’s mind-blowing Cinebench R23 score showed the awesome potential of the 96-core Threadripper Pro when all its cores and threads are unleashed. Though it has 50% more cores than the Lenovo’s 64-core Threadripper Pro, it scored more than 55% higher, suggesting the Zen 4 architecture and higher TDP are working their magic. To frame these numbers, we benchmarked the Ryzen 9 7950X at 35,063 points. The Threadripper Pro is simply in a different league. Here the 5995WX was 28% faster than the 3990X, which is a significant performance advantage and this translates into serious real-world improvements. We believe the increased memory bandwidth and improved single core performance is largely responsible for the performance gains seen in Adobe Premiere. No single Xeon W-class chip matches the 32-core/64-thread Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3975WX in core and thread count, so that leaves the job up to Intel’s scalable Xeon line, specifically the Xeon Gold and Platinum chips with 16 or more cores. Two of them can be used in a dual-CPU workstation to achieve equivalent core and thread counts, though as of this writing, I was unable to find a dual-CPU Intel tower workstation that supported more than a total of 56 cores and 112 threads (two 28-core/56-thread chips), leaving the monster 64-core/128-thread Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3995WX in a class of its own.