This formidable AMD 64-core CPU may be the last of its breed; here’s why I’m excited about that
AMD is likely to launch its Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7000 series later this year if a video posted on Chinese social media platform Bilibili and featuring Tony Yu, General Manager at Asus China, is to be believed.
In the video, Yu seems to confirm that AMD will unveil the processor family codenamed Storm Peak and a new TR5 platform in the second half of 2023, with the top of the range SKU likely to be called the 7995WX.
Based on previous product launches, we expect the Threadripper Pro 7995WX will have 64 cores with 128 threads, a 2.7GHz base clock and a max boost clock speed of 4.8GHz. The IPC gains should allow it to top most benchmarks where it counts. Add in 256MB L3 cache and a stable 280W TDP and you’ve got a potent rival to Intel’s Sapphire Rapids Xeon W family.
| Header Cell – Column 0 | TRP 3995WX | TRP 5995WX | EPYC 7763 | EPYC 9534 | TRP 7995WX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core count | 64 | 64 | 64 | 64 | 64? |
| Max Boost Clock (GHz) | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.8? |
| Base Clock (GHz) | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.45 | 2.45 | 2.7? |
| Base-to-Boost | 55.55% | 66.66% | 42.80% | 51.20% | 77.77%? |
| L3 cache (MB) | 256 | 256 | 256 | 256 | 256? |
| TDP (W) | 280 | 280 | 280 | 280 | 280? |
| Launch date | July 14, 2020 | March 8, 2022 | March 15, 2021 | November 10, 2022 | 2023 |
Good bye to Threadripper?
Threadripper would be the last segment of AMD’s portfolio to get an upgrade to the Zen 4 architecture: desktop CPU, mobile CPU and server CPU have already been refreshed. The decision to keep fans waiting may also stem from the fact that Threadripper – as a brand – is stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Its positioning as a Ryzen sibling despite being primarily a binned-EPYC part may muddy the market further. Intel lumps its workstation SKU with its server CPU family but in an interview with TechRadar Pro two weeks ago, AMD’s Matthew Unangst was adamant that such a change will not happen.
The market’s reception of AMD’s workstation product has been lukewarm to say the least; there’s exactly two Threadripper PRO products available from the top three workstation vendors globally. HP has yet to release one despite a clear performance advantage but AMD told us that it expects to have more partners introduce AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5000WX processor-based platforms.
Combined with the fact that there’s no mobile Threadripper processors (leaving Intel to own the mobile workstation market with its Xeon parts) and ECC support for DDR5 RAM and there’s room for improving the product mix. Case in point, when we put the question to AMD in that interview, they suggested that the latest generation Ryzen 7000 series would be a great mobile workstation with 16 cores and 32 threads.
And that’s why I am excited: this may well be the last Threadripper processor family and it would make sense to get it absorbed in the popular Ryzen family. After all, AMD already sells Ryzen PRO for mobile workstations, so why not just have a Ryzen PRO for desktop workstations?
AMD is likely to launch its Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7000 series later this year if a video posted on Chinese social media platform Bilibili and featuring Tony Yu, General Manager at Asus China, is to be believed. In the video, Yu seems to confirm that AMD will unveil the processor…
