The launch of AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ 7000 processors builds on AMD's proven workstation track record and continues the company's history of providing incredible performance to the most demanding workstation customers. Like the earlier Threadripper 3000 series, the Threadripper 7000 series pushes the performance envelope with higher CPU IPC, more RAM bandwidth, support for new types of memory, and myriad additional improvements. Let's take a look under the hood at what these new Threadripper CPUs bring to the table and how they could change your perception of what a workstation is capable of.
AMD Threadripper processors are designed for end-users who want more. That means more cores, more threads, more memory bandwidth per core, and more PCIe® 5.0 connectivity for the highest-end CPUs and SSDs. In addition to these I/O and bandwidth improvements, the Ryzen Threadripper 7000 series is built on the "Zen 4" architecture, which means these new CPUs are two full generations ahead of the older, "Zen 2"-based Threadripper 3000 chips.
The slide above breaks down the features and capabilities of the new chips, but since it's rather a lot to take in at once, let's discuss some of the highlights.
Ramping Up RAM Support:
Threadripper 7000 makes some significant changes to its memory subsystem compared to Threadripper 3000. DDR5-5200 is now supported, up from a maximum rated DDR4-3200 clock for older Threadripper systems. The new memory subsystem delivers up to 1.63x more bandwidth per core, giving the new chips more legroom and improving scaling. In keeping with AMD's minimal segmentation philosophy, ECC (Error Correction Code) RAM support is now available on Ryzen Threadripper 7000 processors. In previous generations, this feature was reserved for Threadripper Pro. Higher memory clock speeds are now better supported for enthusiasts who wish to experiment with them, with up to 6400MT/s available in a 1:1 ratio.
Unlike the Threadripper 3000 series processors, Threadripper 7000 chips now use registered memory (RDIMMs) rather than conventional, consumer-grade DIMMs. RDIMM stands for Registered Dual In-Line Memory Module. RDIMMs use a register (sometimes referred to as a buffer) to redistribute command and address signals more efficiently across each stick of RAM. Non-registered memory modules are sometimes referred to as UDIMMs but are commonly advertised as "DIMMs" as opposed to RDIMMs. By incorporating a register, RDIMM RAM modules are typically available at higher densities than conventional consumer DRAM.
Unlike previous Threadripper generations, the new 7000 series CPUs only offer four RDIMM slots. On the surface, this looks like a reduction, since the majority of Threadripper 3000 CPUs offered support for up to eight DIMM slots. Don't be fooled. While the number of RAM slots has shrunk, the amount of RAM supported per DIMM slot has grown significantly. Where Threadripper 3000 CPUs supported up to 256GB of DDR4 across eight slots of RAM, Threadripper 7000 chips will support up to 1TB of registered ECC memory across four slots. The number of slots may have shrunk, but the maximum RAM configuration has quadrupled.
Core Improvements:
The new Ryzen Threadripper 7980X, 7970X, and 7960X offer 64, 32, and 24 cores respectively, with significantly higher base and boost clocks compared to previous Threadripper 3000 CPUs. The "Zen 3" architecture's average IPC gain relative to "Zen 2" across a range of workloads was up to 19%, while the "Zen 4" architecture improved on "Zen 3" by up to 13%. These clock speed and IPC improvements make the new Threadripper 7000 CPUs substantially faster than the old 3000 series.
Like the Ryzen 7000 series of desktop CPUs, all AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7000 CPUs support the AVX-512 SIMD instruction set. AVX-512 is great for AI workloads and this support, combined with the sheer number of cores available on Threadripper 7000 CPUs, makes these CPUs an excellent choice for AI inference.
Putting it All Together
As impressive as its capabilities and core counts are, the point of Ryzen Threadripper is not just a jaw-dropping spec sheet. The point of Threadripper is what it can do for you, whether you are compiling code, editing video, working on an AI model, or rendering high-end 3D graphics. Need a high-performance PCIe® 5.0-based storage array? Threadripper 7000 has you covered. Want to deploy multiple high-end GPUs for AI training? Threadripper supports it. Does your workload depend more on cache and memory bandwidth than CPU clock speed or core count? Threadripper 7000 offers 1MB of L2 per core and 32MB of L3 per CCD, along with a 1.62x improvement in memory bandwidth.
There's an additional feature of the Threadripper 7000 processor series that we haven't discussed yet. Previous generations of Threadripper Pro CPUs were not compatible with non-Pro Threadripper motherboards. With Threadripper 7000, AMD has made hardware configurations between the two product families more flexible. It is now possible to use Threadripper Pro 7000WX CPUs in non-Pro Threadripper motherboards built using the TRX50 chipset. While the reverse is not true – non-Pro Threadripper 7000 CPUs are not compatible with the WRX90 motherboards used by Threadripper Pro – this cross-motherboard compatibility brings one major advantage with it:
Not many workstation users are going to need a 96-core CPU, but this combination is tailor-made for customers who need tons of compute but don't require the additional I/O, PCIe 5.0 lanes, and higher memory bandwidth offered by the WRX90 motherboard chipset. Thanks to the adoption of DDR5, a 96-core Threadripper 7995WX has access to more bandwidth per core than the older Threadripper 3990X did in a DDR4-based system.
From IPC and clock speed improvements, to DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 support, to a 50% jump in maximum core count, Threadripper 7000 is about helping you work more quickly and efficiently than was previously possible. We're excited to see what you build with it.
1. R5K-003: Testing by AMD performance labs as of 09/01/2020. IPC evaluated with a selection of 25 workloads running at a locked 4GHz frequency on 8-core "Zen 2" Ryzen 7 3800XT and "Zen 3" Ryzen 7 5800X desktop processors configured with Windows® 10, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (451.77), Samsung 860 Pro SSD, and 2x8GB DDR4-3600. Results may vary.
2. RPL-005: Testing as of 15 August, 2022, by AMD Performance Labs using the following hardware: AMD AM5 Reference Motherboard with AMD Ryzen™ 7 7700X with G.Skill DDR5-6000C30 (F5-6000J3038F16GX2-TZ5N) with AMD EXPO™ loaded, AMD AM4 Reference Motherboard with AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800X and DDR4-3600C16. Processors fixed to 4GHz frequency with 8C16 enabled and evaluated with 22 different workloads. ALL SYSTEMS configured with NXZT Kraken X63, open air test bench, Radeon™ RX 6950XT (driver 22.7.1 Optional), Windows® 11 22000.856, AMD Smart Access Memory/PCIe® Resizable Base Address Register (“ReBAR”) ON, Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) OFF. Desktop configurations will vary, yielding different results. RPL-005
