AMD Readies Ryzen 9 3950X 16-core Processor to Awestrike Crowds at E3

[btarunr]

When AMD launched its Ryzen 9 3900X 12-core/24-thread processor at its Computex 2019 keynote, our readers commented on the notable absence of a 16-core SKU, given that a "Matisse" multi-chip module with two 8-core "Zen 2" chiplets adds up to that core-count. Some readers noted this could be a case of AMD holding back its top performing part in the absence of competition in the segment from Intel. It turns out, the company was saving this part up for an E3 2019 unveiling.

The Ryzen 9 3950X maxes out "Matisse" MCM with 16 cores, 32 threads via SMT, a staggering 64 MB of L3 cache (72 MB including the 8 MB of total L2 cache), and a stunning 105-Watt TDP figure that's unchanged from the company's TDP for the 3900X. The Ryzen 9 3950X is clocked at 3.50 GHz, with a maximum boost frequency of 4.70 GHz. The company is yet to reveal its price, but given that the $499 price-tag has already been taken by the 3900X, one could expect an even higher price. It remains to be seen if the 3950X will launch alongside the rest of the series on 7/7.



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[trparky]

A boost of 4.7 GHz? That's awesome! Now the question of course that everyone's going to have on their minds is how long can the processor stay at that boost clock and if it's going to be an all-core clock boost or just a single-core clock boost? If it turns out that it's an all-core boost clock and with adequate cooling it can stay at that boost clock then holy crap, stick a fork in Intel... they're done. But of course it's all dependant upon how long it can stay at 4.7 GHz.

 

[Durvelle27]

Man just when i settled for the 3900X i see this

 

[HwGeek]

A boost of 4.7 GHz? That's awesome! Now the question of course that everyone's going to have on their minds is how long can the processor stay at that boost clock and if it's going to be an all-core clock boost or just a single-core clock boost? If it turns out that it's an all-core boost clock and with adequate cooling it can stay at that boost clock then holy crap, stick a fork in Intel... they're done. But of course it's all dependant upon how long it can stay at 4.7 GHz.

AMD maintained Max 105W TDP for backward compatibility, so if you need Extra performance Get X570 board and activate PBO, this is what I think the case gonna be.

 

[Tomorrow]

A boost of 4.7 GHz? That's awesome! Now the question of course that everyone's going to have on their minds is how long can the processor stay at that boost clock and if it's going to be an all-core clock boost or just a single-core clock boost? If it turns out that it's an all-core boost clock and with adequate cooling it can stay at that boost clock then holy crap, stick a fork in Intel... they're done. But of course it's all dependant upon how long it can stay at 4.7 GHz.

Problably single core boost. Hopefully retail silicon is better cause during computex the ES version was running at 4.2Ghz allcore but at a massive 1.5 volts and 250W power draw.
I would be suprised if even 4.7 Ghz allcore could be attained with manual overclocking.

 

[trparky]

I personally don't understand why we're limiting ourselves to low TDP values in desktops, it's not like we're dealing with notebooks in which you have limited cooling capacity and power usage limits. This is the desktop platform, the sky is the limit. If the processor needs more power, there are 1000 Watt power supplies. If the processor needs more cooling then you know, go balls to the walls with a massive liquid cooling system.

 

[Tomorrow]

As for the price i think 599 is the minimum and 849 is the maximum. 599 because 3800X to 3900X was +100 for 4 extra cores. Assuming this sticks then going from 12 cores to 16 cores adds 100$ too.

Less optimistic option is 849 so as not to cannibalize Threadripper 2950X sales which is also a 16c/32t CPU. But they will also not undercut it significantly with 599.

So my best guess is 699. Seems like a happy medium and also being about half the price of 7960X and less than half of 9960X.

 

[dirtyferret]

I am 100% filled in awe! Finally a CPU worthy of playing Minecraft....

 

[Metroid]

As for the price i think 599 is the minimum and 849 is the maximum. 599 because 3800X to 3900X was +100 for 4 extra cores. Assuming this sticks then going from 12 cores to 16 cores adds 100$ too.

Less optimistic option is 849 so as not to cannibalize Threadripper 2950X sales which is also a 16c/32t CPU. But they will also not undercut it significantly with 599.

So my best guess is 699. Seems like a happy medium and also being about half the price of 7960X and less than half of 9960X.

You right, I myself was thinking of an extreme value, $999 but since lisa said threadripper is not dead then this will have to be cheaper than what is coming next on threadripper but we dont know yet that too, I mean amd might price this 16 cores at $999 and charge threadripper a lot more for that.

This is what the competition has

Core i9-9960X

SREZ4 (M0)

16 (32)

3.1 GHz

4.0/4.4 GHz 4.5 GHz

16 × 1024 KiB

22.00 MiB

165 W

LGA 2066

DMI 3.0

4 × DDR4-2666

Q4 2018

BX80673I99960X CD8067304126500

$1684

It's realistic to say the next threadripper cpus based on zen2 might cost an arm and a leg if 3950x is priced at $999. Threadripper price will be based on what kind price amd will set for the 3950x today. If 3950x is $999 then a double high end threadripper will cost double of that, 32 cores, 64 threads for $1999.

 

[deu]

God damn... My body is ready if the price is not too hardcore...

 

[SL2]

Has anyone figured why it's:

3700X, 3800X, 3900X, 3950X

instead of:

3700X, 3750X, 3800X, 3900X ???

 

[Tomorrow]

I highly doubt it will be 999$. That would be double the price of 3900X. There would be no incentive to get 16 cores when you can get 12 cores for half the price.
Plus 999$ is more than half of 9960X.

 

[SL2]

Less optimistic option is 849 so as not to cannibalize Threadripper 2950X sales which is also a 16c/32t CPU. But they will also not undercut it significantly with 599.

Dunno how many 16C TR they're selling at the moment anyway. The rumor of cheaper 16C AM4 has been around for over half a year now.

I'd guess those who really wants TR goes for more than 16C or waits for 7 nm. It remains to be seen if it tops out at 64C though.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Problably single core boost. Hopefully retail silicon is better cause during computex the ES version was running at 4.2Ghz allcore but at a massive 1.5 volts and 250W power draw.
I would be suprised if even 4.7 Ghz allcore could be attained with manual overclocking.

Final ES samples have already hit 5.5GHz on all cores using LN2...

 

[dirtyferret]

Has anyone figured why it's:

3700X, 3800X, 3900X, 3950X

instead of:

3700X, 3750X, 3800X, 3900X ???

3700 is 12/24 for core/thread
3800 is 16/32

so if there was a 3750x or 3850x they would 12 and 16 core CPUs respectively

as for anything above 3800 it's a bit of a mess

 

[Joss]

Shouldn't there be a 10 core version?

 

[junglist724]

I personally don't understand why we're limiting ourselves to low TDP values in desktops, it's not like we're dealing with notebooks in which you have limited cooling capacity and power usage limits. This is the desktop platform, the sky is the limit. If the processor needs more power, there are 1000 Watt power supplies. If the processor needs more cooling then you know, go balls to the walls with a massive liquid cooling system.

Because not everyone buying a desktop is an enthusiast. A ton of Ryzen 3000s are going to go into HP/Dell/Lenovo workstations and they probably don't feel like redesigning their cooling or enclosures. They're a much bigger market than enthusiasts like people on this site, probably at least 10x bigger than the DIY market. AMD already provides a way to manually raise the TDP, it's called PBO.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Shouldn't there be a 10 core version?

Well, there's no 5 core version...
It could be that too much performance is lost using odd cores?
I mean, it worked in the past for AMD, but that was three cores.

 

[junglist724]

Shouldn't there be a 10 core version?

Well, there's no 5 core version...
It could be that too much performance is lost using odd cores?
I mean, it worked in the past for AMD, but that was three cores.

Zen 2 still has 2 CCXs per chiplet, and there has to be the same number of active cores in either CCX. It's not possible to have 3 active in one CCX and 2 in the other.

 

[SL2]

3700 is 12/24 for core/thread
3800 is 16/32

so if there was a 3750x or 3850x they would 12 and 16 core CPUs respectively

as for anything above 3800 it's a bit of a mess

Sorry you lost me lol.

I meant: why does AMD make it look like there's a bigger step between 3700X and 3800X, both 8C, and having such a small increment in model numbers between the 12C and the 16C?

Edit: Or are you actually saying that AMD has changed the model numbers after Computex? That list looks old..

 

[Tomorrow]

Final ES samples have already hit 5.5GHz on all cores using LN2...

LN2 clocks are not representitive of 24/7 speeds. I was talking about aircooled clocks. That being said 5,5Ghz on LN2 is very low. Makes it doubtful anyone can hit 5Ghz on air at all.

 

[Tomgang]

Oh man

If this cpu gonna be true and priced just right. But also have some good performance in games and can overclock much better than ryzen 2000 series. I might just join team red.

First i will wait and see what intel has to offer. But if they do another cpu release with 14 nm process on desktop and dissapointing performance compared to ryzen 3000 or again a stupid price stunt. I think my i7 980X will be replaced by a 16 core ryzen.

 

[Tomorrow]

Intel will not have anything but 14nm refreshes on desktop until 2022 based on their own roadmap. Comet Lake up to 10c/20t next year (and new socket again) and Rocket Lake problably 12c/24t in 2021.

Intel's is stuck between rock and a hard place right now. They have mature high clocking 14nm process but old architecture since Skylake.
But they also have new Sunny Cove architecture with 18% IPC improvement (before security patches mind you) stuck on underperforming and low clocking/low yielding 10nm process.

So it seems likely that in order to compete with AMD going forward they will have to backport Sunny Cove to 14nm. Easier said than done...
Most likely they will skip 10nm on desktop alltogether. That's assuming they will not iron out their 7nm process kinks for the next 4 years like they did with 10nm and that resulted in low clocking 4c/8t mobile processors at best.

 

[TheLostSwede]

LN2 clocks are not representitive of 24/7 speeds. I was talking about aircooled clocks. That being said 5,5Ghz on LN2 is very low. Makes it doubtful anyone can hit 5Ghz on air at all.

Very low for a 16 core part? Right...
This was one random final ES chip, so I'm sure it's representative of every retail chip...

 

[Metroid]

I highly doubt it will be 999$. That would be double the price of 3900X. There would be no incentive to get 16 cores when you can get 12 cores for half the price.
Plus 999$ is more than half of 9960X.

Premium desktop cpu line, this what amd hedt is at moment.

Ryzen Threadripper 2950X[113][114]	August 31, 2018 US $899	16 (32)	3.5	4.4	1,536KB		180w
Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX[113][114]	October 2018 US $1299	24 (48)	3.0	4.2	2,304KB	64 MB	250 W
Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX[113][114]	August 13, 2018 US $1799	32 (64)	3.0	4.2	3,072KB

3950x might cost $999 but all points to $699.

That being said 5,5Ghz on LN2 is very low. Makes it doubtful anyone can hit 5Ghz on air at all.

That has always been the rule, if it will apply this time it remains to be seen.