AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X 32-Core, 64-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor

UPDATE: Short version: Not all multi-threaded workloads are created equal so unless you got a water loop don't even bother with static OC and just run 3970X on Auto with power-limit enforced and don't go anything beyond +200MHz PBO. Longer version: A note regarding overclocking. I was able to find a real-world multi-threaded workload that pushes this CPU to the limit and doesn't play well with static overclock because power limit doesn't work with static overclock. Under my static overclock of 4.15GHz at 1.200Vcore synthetic CPU stressing workloads only result in power consumption of 260-270Wpackage but my real workload pushed the power consumption to 330+W when all 64 threads were loaded and CPU utilization was 99ish%. This memory and CPU intensive workload takes hours and actually crashed in the middle until I figured out that it was a thermal problem. The first thing I did was drop clocks to 4.0GHz and kept 1.200Vcore and it still crashed but it took longer to crash. Then I looked with hardware monitoring software and saw power over 300Wpackage. I tried synthetic CPU stressing workloads again for comparison and power draw was several tens of watts lower. I tried to force power limit in BIOS but it doesn't apply for static OC. I went to Auto settings in BIOS and haven't looked back. My 64-thread workload that broke static OC runs at 3.7GHz base on all cores with some cores boosting 3.725-3.750GHz on Auto while synthetic CPU stressing software runs 3.9-4.0GHz on Auto with power limit at 280W on Auto settings. So read the rest of the original review but ignore static OC section for CPU. The RAM OC still applies and boosts performance. I also ended up upgrading to NEMIX dual-rank 4x32GB DDR4-3200 22-22-22-52-1T 1.2V ECC UDIMMs that I recommended in original review that I run at DDR4-3600 1.35V 24-24-24-56-1T because latest version of my workload used 90+GB and caused SSD memory swapping and thrashing. I think I lost around 15-20% bandwidth/latency vs my tightly tuned dual-rank Samsung B-dies but if I were going to double those up from 64GB to 128GB there is no doubt I would have lost some of my tight timings 16-17-16-36-1T anyway (probably to 18-18-18-38 with 8x16GB dual-rank, based on experience) and therefore would have lost bandwidth/latency anyway. I went with better reliability as my run times are long. ORIGINAL: 3970X is basically 2x tightly-coupled 3950Xs in one package from CPU cores configuration perspective but being an EPYC Rome derivative (has a wider IO chiplet) also comes with 4x the PCIe 4.0 lanes of 3950X. I'm cooling mine using $90 be quiet! 250W TDP Dark Rock Pro 4 CPU air-cooler (a necessary monster in this case) and paired with $400 MSI TRX40 WIFI board and 4x DIMMs of G.SKILL Flare X 16GB (dual-rank) binned Samsung B-die DDR4-3200 14-14-14-34-1T 1.35V RAM for a total of 64GB RAM (expandable to 8x DIMMs if I need 128GB of fast RAM - though will likely need to re-tune memory OC with 2 DIMMs/channel). If you need more than 64-128GB RAM I recommend saving the hassles of memory testing/validation and just going with 32GB DDR4-3200 ECC UDIMMs (not RDIMMs, which are not supported) from NEMIX for up to a maximum of 256GB with 8x DIMMs. One note on Mclk and Uclk is that Uclk (uncore clock - L3 caches and infinity fabric) runs at Mclk (memory clock) speeds up to 1800MHz corresponding to DDR4-3600 so that becomes your memory tuning sweet spot for "free" performance gains on these Ryzen CPUs. Oh and don't forget to update your motherboard BIOS to the latest version before optimizing anything as results/stability may vary across different BIOS versions! Please note that each CPU sample is a little different and your results may vary but it shouldn't deviated too much from my findings below if you are doing it right. Use my optimizations below as a starting point and you may do a little better or worse depending on your sample and your cooling setup. I played around with OC using both PBO method (+100MHz, +200MHz) and static all-core OC method and settled with a static all-core OC, let me explain why. PBO method gives you slightly higher low-thread boost clocks (maybe 3-4% higher, not more) but at the cost of higher automatic Vcore of 1.4+V at idle and low-thread workloads. The PBO method downside comes when you run all-core workloads and Vcore droops down from 1.4+V to 1.3+V with all-core clocks only peaking to 3.9-4GHz depending on a core and CPU package power consumption shoots up to 330W. You may be able to play with Load Line Compensation (LLC) settings to bring down the all-core workload Vcore droop even lower to lower the package power consumption but in my case I haven't seen cores boost above 4GHz on all-core workloads no matter what I did with PBO and LLC and package power consumption still peaked at 300+W so it must be a thermally-sensed sustained limit. With static OC I was able to find a sweet spot where I wanted it to keep package power consumption under all-core workloads closer to the rated 280W with clocks/Vcore optimizations. I was able to do 44x multiplier (44x 100MHz Bclk) for [email protected] with level 2 on LLC resulting in 1.300Vcore@330Wpackage on all-core workloads but package temperatures peaked just above 80C. Clearly 250W-rated CPU air-cooler wasn't going to work well for 300+W. I should note that these new CPUs do power management really well to internally clock/power-gate as needed based on resource utilization so there's no problem of drawing too much power at idle with a static OC like in the chips of the past. My final balanced CPU static OC is 41.5x multiplier (41.5x 100MHz Bclk) for [email protected] with level 2 on LLC resulting in 1.150Vcore@260Wpackage@71Cpackage on all-core workloads. Actually, I was stable at 42x multiplier for [email protected] which with level 2 LLC resulted in 1.20Vcore@280Wpackage during all-core workloads but I chose to save 20W instead of pushing extra 50MHz. For RAM OC I settled on DDR4-3600 with 1:1 Mclk:Uclk with 16-17-16-36-1T at 1.45Vmem. Going above 1800MHz on Uclk (uncore) switched Mclk:Uclk to 2:1 ratio despite BIOS setting explicitly set to 1:1 so I didn't bother further and left Vsoc on Auto. Now for the importance of dual-rank RAM, I also have 8GB (single-rank) G.SKILL DDR4-3200 14-14-14-34-1T RAM kits with binned Samsung B-dies that I was able to run at DDR4-3600 14-16-16-16-36-1T at 1.45Vmem. Note that all listed settings are best-performant OC I was able to squeeze out from each type of RAM kit while passing 4 passes of MemTest86 with SMT on (all-core) and 48-hour uptime servicing both heavy CPU and GPU loads simultaneously without idling (I have 2x Radeon VIIs running at 1375MHz@825mVcore and 801MHz@850mVhbm2 that draw ~125W and a stock ITX SFF RTX 2070 in the case). Well the dual-rank 16GB DIMMs at stated OC settings still outperformed tighter-tuned OCed single-rank 8GB counterparts in aggregate RAM benchmarks by about 3-4GB/s aggregate RAM bandwidth and memory latencies were a toss up within a margin of error. For RAM, as a rule of thumb, with single-rank DDR4 DIMMs (usually 4/8GB DIMMs) you need at least 2 tighter timing stops all the way across the board to even try to match the dual-rank DIMMs in real performance/throughput (i.e. 14-14-14 single-rank vs 16-16-16 dual-rank at the same clocks), let alone surpass it. That's it on OC front. Find the best settings to keep the CPU within your cooling budget (important!) and keep the CPU package temperatures low enough (don't get scared by higher core hotspot temperatures that go to 80+C, look at package temperatures). A little note on 3980X (48c/96t, surely the SKU is in the works for later) and 3990X (64c/128t). These are not well-balanced chips compared to their EPYC counterparts and start lose linear scaling above 40c/80t workloads in many real-world workloads reliant on RAM bandwidth to keep the CPU cores fed (outside of benchmarks that fit into caches) because EPYC counterparts have 8-channels of memory but these TRX40 parts only get 4-channel memory. You will also need Enterprise version of Windows to correctly detect/utilize beyond 32c/64t and NUMA CPU configurations.

The monster has been unleashed and will rip through multitasking or heavily multithreaded programs with the greatest of ease! I've mostly used this CPU for automating routines that would otherwise take much longer on other CPUs with fewer cores. With all 64 hardware threads in use, I'm seeing 3.8 GHz clock speeds though that increases to 4.2 GHz with one thread in use based on default settings. (I know I could push that a little more if I wanted.) Threads past 32 seem to be 1/4 as fast so using all 64 threads versus 32 yields a 25% net speed increase. Still, with all 64 threads in use, what would normally take an hour on a typical quad-core CPU will be done in about 8-9 minutes on this beast! The stability has been solid. I've never experienced any slow down issues, crashes, blue screens, or anything. I haven't gotten into overclocking much, but I've been using Ryzen Master to monitor temps and clock speeds and have considered overclocking for some tasks. If you're into gaming, this isn't quite the best CPU to get, unless you're wanting to stream your game play as well where the extra cores will allow for faster, higher quality encoding without affecting the game's frame rate. Installing the CPU was rather interesting. It comes with a piece attached on the sides that sticks out meant for holding it so that you don't touch the CPU itself at all. You basically just align it with the CPU slide-in opening on the motherboard and gently slide it down then secure it with the included specialty torque screwdriver that will let you know when you get to 13.5 in-lbs of torque as it will click. Do note that this CPU does not come with a cooler. For as much power as it draws and as much cooling as it'll need, I strongly recommend a liquid cooling setup. An applicable heat sink fan setup is just going to be much too bulky and cause problems with future upgrades. The 3970X requires a lot of power. With my system idling, I see that my UPS is reporting about 160-180 watts of power usage (30W from display excluded). With this CPU under full load doing just number crunching with all 64 threads in use, I see it jump to about 400-430W. If you get a single high end video card to go with it, that'll increase still more. You'll definitely want at least a 750W PSU at bare minimum, preferably 850W to 1000W. The main weak point, of course, is the price. However, for what this CPU can do and how much processing power it has, it's well worth the cost if you're the type that does heavy multitasking or use heavily multithreaded programs a lot.

I currently use this processor for Rosetta@home protein structure simulation, running at 100% utilization, 24/7. It sits in a Gigabyte TRX40 Designare along with 128GB of G.Skill Ripjaws 3600-CL16 , cooled by a Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3 , and powered by a Seasonic 850W Platinum power supply . I dropped in a Samsung 970 EVO 500GB NVMe with dual boot for Windows and Linux Mint. I enabled XMP and had Ryzen Master do an AutoOverclock with PBO +200 (the only reason for the Windows installation). Other than that, I always run the system in Linux Mint for increased stability and increased processing performance. I could forgo Windows and Ryzen Master but I didn't want to spend the time figuring out Gigabytes convoluted BIOS. I am no longer a seasoned overclocker. Having followed CPUs closely over the past 20 years, AMD has been really impressive over the last year! The Ryzens' ability to shift workloads around from core to core on the fly is impressive! Lets say you are running a 4-core task at 100%. As the 4 individual CPU cores heat up, eventually they will throttle back the boost to keep cool. But, before that happens, the Ryzen just instantly switches the tasks to 4 other cores! The result is that you can keep your 4 core task in boost the entire time. That is what amazingly allows the 3950x and 3970x to do so well in single thread tasks and gaming performance. Taking a look at dozens of benchmarks and reviews, the AMD 3950x is the perfect gaming CPU and the next logical step up, the 3970x trades a slight amount of gaming performance with massive amounts of multi-threading performance. I am fortunate enough to be able to afford both so my gaming/work computer is the 3950x and I have essentially donated the 3970x to COVID-19 research on Rosetta@home. If Rosetta ever runs out of work, it will then be donated to Folding@home.

Powerful

It isn't the least expensive CPU on the market but its bloody fast. AMD most definitely got the Threadripper series right. 64 cores and paired to a Corsair AiO liquid cooler it is running surprisingly cool. Sure, yes, this CPU may be out of reach of many due to its price but imho, its performance is well worth the investment. Just be sure to marry it to a great sTRX4 motherboard. I have it on a Asus Prime Mobo with 32GB 3200 RAM. I could go higher on the RAM but the return I would see would not be very much. Running a 3090 GPU (yep managed to get one) and I have no complaints thus far.

Been using this 3970x for over 4 months. Using Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3 air cooler with 2 fans and it is rare that temps get above 81 C, generally low 70's for most of my work. I do a ton of CAD, meshing, and CFD with this working away sometimes for several days 24/7 and it has never skipped a beat. The build it is in has been workstation reliable. Compared to an Epyc, these new Threadrippers clock higher, but they lack L3 cache to some Epyc versions, and of course, 256 GB RAM is about it whereas Epyc's have motherboards that can take between 1 and 2 TB, which is a necessity for some types of engineering codes like CFD of large models. However, it's still hard to beat the workstation-like reliability and processing power that these new Threadrippers have, provided the memory and cache aren't limiting factors.

Really expensive, but it’s a fast, stable 32-core processor. Unfortunately mine, purchased here on Amazon, turned out to not be a retail boxed version so it arrived without the liquid cooler mounting bracket. If that happens to you, you can get the Standard AMD sTRX40/TR4 Retention Kit for Asetek Liquid Coolers on Amazon for about $12, or do what I did and get the Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3 fan cooler instead which is designed for this processor’s mount without requiring a separate bracket.

I've built a few Ryzen boxes, so I'm sure it's a great processor. The packaging seems designed to make you drop it -- which I did. The inner and outer parts of the box can hold together tight and then let go quickly about a quarter to a third of the box length. The only real way to know that will happen is to have opened one before. After that, there's nothing keeping the internal processor package from dropping out. There are two more layers of packaging, but they're not all that shock absorbent. I thought I'd write this warning as I lament my situation. Never dropped a CPU before in 10-20 builds. It's mostly my fault. I stopped thinking about where the box was as I tried to pull it open. Though, most other CPU boxes have the processor secured in the box even after opening. UPDATE: Despite a bounce off a table-top and collision with a concrete floor that knocked the inner packaging apart, wedged the processor in the inner-most holder, and damaged the retainer clip, the processor still functions fully as far as I can tell. It churns through workloads while drawing about 480W. Performance is better than I had expected.

Die CPU wurde schnell und gut Verpack geliefert. Es ist schon ein echt massives Teil. Was mir sehr gut gefallen hat das ein Imbusschlüssel mitgeliefert wurde der die Montage im Sockel vereinfacht in dem er auf richtige Drehmoment begrenzt. Generell wirkt die CPU und das Zubehör sehr hochwertig. Aber bei dem Preis erwartet man sowas. Performance und Leistung: Der Umstieg von einem Intel 3820 (4 Cores @ 3,6Ghz) zu diesem "Monster" brachte einen tatsächlichen WOW Effekt. (wie HDD--> SSD) Gerade für div. Anwendungen wie etwa Unreal Engine 4.XX brachte einen extremen Boost. Was früher 1 Minute gedauert hat ist jetzt in 4 Sek erledigt. Das spart am Tag Stunden an Wartezeit ein !!! Spiele Performance: Hier ist wie erwartet der Performance Zuwachs ausgeblieben. Meine RTX 2070 Super brachte ca. 20-30% mehr Performance im Vergleich zu meinem alten 3820er. Spiele profitieren nur in seltenen fällen von den vielen Cores. Wer also NUR zocken will sollte da eher zu einer günstigeren CPU greifen. Strom und Verbrauch: die angegebenen 280 Watt habe ich noch nicht gesehen (max. 235 Watt) aber ich hab auch nicht übertaktet. Was mir massiv aufgefallen ist, das die CPU extrem schnell heiß wird von 40 auf 75 Grad in wenigen Sekunden. Das liegt wohl daran das so viele Cores gleichzeitig viel Wärme produzieren. Ich habe diesmal nicht auf eine AIO (Wasserkühlung) von Corsair sondern auf eine von Deepcool mit einem 360er Radiator gesetzt und die ist unter vollast schon richtig im Stress. Empfehlung: Bei Wasserkühlung/AIO mindestens 1 360er Radiator und nicht weniger. Nicht falsch verstehen, die AIO macht einen super Job um man merkt die Leistung wenn es oben wie aus einem Heizlüfter herausbläst, das ist abartig. Bitte die 280 Watt Abwärme nicht unterschätzen, wer ein kleines Zimmer ohne Klimaanlage hat wird im Sommer stark ins schwitzen kommen! Es ist eine Sache die Wärme von der CPU weg zu bekommen, aber aus dem Zimmer wieder eine andere. FAZIT: Für einen reinen Gaming PC ist das Geld 1000-mal besser ein einer 2. oder 3. Grafikkarte investiert. Diese CPU ist nur dann sinnvoll wenn man die entsprechenden Anwendungen dafür nutzt, dann macht sie aber einen großartigen Job. Wem es das Geld Wert ist und die richtigen Anwendungen hat sollte zugreifen.

pro: knowing any bottlenecks in system are not the CPU. Cons: Finding that almost no software, not Windows, nothing, is. capable of using the CPU past about 4 percent, because most software is HIDEOUSLY under-threaded. Pathetic to watch 1 or 2 cores do all the work while 30 or 31 others do, evidently, NOTHING. withb64 gigs of 3600MHz RAM, correctly installed in the four A channels, and a blistering fast Samsung Evo SSD, liquid cooling and twontop-line video cards, I now realize that the software is woefully, pathetically, criminally under-threaded. When you have a computer like this, the whole WORLD is the bottleneck, the black hole of speed. The low point. Your computer is a shining ray of laser light on a hill, and you look down and see all the world is lying in darkness. On the plus side, 6922 score on the Valley benchmark, at Max HD, which was, of course, GPU limited. The CPU sure wasn't breaking a sweat. I replaced the three fans on the liquid cooler with Noctua redux's and added three more to evacuate the case. As I said this CPU proves the rest of the world is the problem. It's like having a supercharged Hemi engine that has to breathe through a hole the size of a drinking strae., the hole being the lazily-developed software, that like much of the world, isciasting on last millennium's sales figures, and failing to invest the money to STAY CURRENT. Note :this includes the Big Two CAD/CAM programs.

Je l'utilise principalement pour la création 3D. J'avais un Ryzen 9 5900x 12 coeurs, et j'avais des doutes pour celui ci parce que ça me faisait repasser sur du zen 2 (les Ryzen 5000 c'est du zen 3, du coup gravure plus fine etc...). Pour le coup, un rendu qui me prenais 40 min à faire, ne m'en prend plus que 15min. Bon j'ai aussi level up la carte graphique legerement, mais quand même je pense que la difference est plus que visible. Après ça reste un peu cher quand même. Je l'ai essayé sur des jeux vidéos aussi pour voir si les 32 coeurs en font bugger certains. Tout est fluide et passe niquel, pas besoin de "mode jeux".

Simply the best CPU I have ever owned! I replaced all my Intel boxes at home by Amd and not looking back!

only thing is be careful when mounting this on the board, as a slight shift may cause MB errrors and no boot, just remount and you are done, get QVL memory too, pricing on amazon for this is amazing!