When AMD launched its Ryzen Threadripper HEDT platform, they forgot one crucial feature - NVMe RAID support. They realized their fault and promised a BIOS and driver update on September 25 that would allow users to boot from a NVMe RAID. Der8auer, overclocker extraordinaire, got first dibs on the BIOS update and uploaded a Youtube video to show us the performance numbers from a RAID array of eight NVMe SSDs. Unfortunately, he took down the video, but not before HardOCP could grab some screenshots of his feat.

As we can see from the screenshots, Der8auer created his RAID array on an ASUS X399 motherboard. Since the UEFI interface has ROG markings all over it, he probably used a ROG Zenith Extreme. With the help of two ASUS Hyper M.2 X16 cards, Der8auer was able to install his eight Samsung 960 PRO/EVO SSDs. Although we cannot distinguish the model clearly, the performance is simply spectacular. IOmeter measured a transfer speed of 28375.84 MB/s.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, announces a new lineup of Trident Z RGB DDR4 memory kits with enhanced compatibility on the latest AMD platforms. Specifically designed for AMD Ryzen and Ryzen Threadripper platforms, now there are vibrant options up to the popular DDR4-3200MHz CL14 or the massive 128GB (8x16GB) kits at up to 2933MHz. For a full range of memory kit capacity options, the new Trident Z RGB memory kit models are available at DDR4-2400MHz in 2-, 4-, and 8-module kit configurations with 8GB and 16GB modules, which allows for 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB memory kits for your AMD system.

AMD currently has two platform offerings, where Ryzen supports dual-channel with 2 or 4 memory modules and Threadripper supports quad-channel memory with 4 or 8 memory modules. To give a boost in memory performance to AMD number-crunching workstations and high-end graphic rendering systems, G.SKILL offers several selections for each AMD platform, including memory speeds of up to DDR4-2933MHz or ultra-high capacity at 128GB (8x16GB).

The X399 Designare EX, to which we were privy to a sneak peek already, stands to be Gigabyte's flagship X399 motherboard for AMD's Threadripper platform. Gigabyte, however, seem to have taken a little too much inspiration from their own AORUS X399 Gaming 7, since even the PCB color has been appropriated form that board. Changes are mostly aesthetic: black heatsinks have turned silver, with some added bluish bling that would make any Halo fan smile, and the backplate has a premium feel to it. Overall, I quite like the design accents in this board, though again, this seems to be a case of a slight redressing of an already existing product - with an accompanying increase to its price-tag. If the AORUS Gaming 7 retails for $389, you should see this one crossing the $400 threshold easily.

Aqua Computer rolled out the cuplex kryos NEXT TR4, a variant of their cuplex kryos NEXT flagship CPU water block with support for AMD socket TR4, designed for Ryzen Threadripper HEDT processors. Available in all the variants the cuplex kryos NEXT normally comes in, we have options with a copper, nickel-plated copper, and even silver cold plate variants with POM acetal, acrylic, and metal tops. The blocks feature a dense copper micro-fin lattice with 200 μm spacing between fins, standard G 1/4 threading. These new blocks come with factory-fitted socket TR4 retention modules, and include a tube of Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut thermal compound. Available now, the exposed-copper cold plate variant is priced at 59.90€, and the nickel-plated copper variant at 64.90€ with other variants priced as can be seen on the Aqua Computer web shop. Aqua Computer also mentioned that given the lack of sales of the X399 platform, they are not looking into making a new design to match the larger CPU IHS at this time.

Much has been said regarding AMD's Threadripper CPUs, particularly when it comes to how they are manufactured. At first, we thought Threadripper was actually EPYC in disguise, due it having what appeared to be four full-fledged 8-core modules - the same design as AMD's server-bound 32-core EPYC chips. The presence of gold-plating under all four dies seemed to confirm that these were in fact four full Threadripper dies, instead of two dies and two spacers (as AMD's statements led us to believe) for even IHS pressure on the four dies, instead of the uneven pressure that would result from the chip only having two physical dies present.

PC enthusiast Der8auer, with access to a Ryzen Threadripper processor, took it completely apart for science. It won't be the first time that a Threadripper HEDT processor was de-lidded (its integrated heatspreader removed), revealing that it has four "Zeppelin" 8-core dies, making it practically identical to AMD's 32-core Epyc processors; however, it's the first time that someone completely removed the dies from the package.

Ryzen Threadripper processors are built by completely disabling two out of four "Zeppelin" dies on an Epyc multi-chip module (MCM). Two diagonally opposite dies are disabled. The disabled dies can't be reenabled, at least not on an X399 chipset motherboard, as the Threadripper HEDT platform lacks DRAM, PCIe, and possibly even power wiring for the disabled dies.

In a Forbes interview conducted by Anthony Leather, AMD officials Senior Vice President and General Manager Jim Anderson, Corporate Vice President of Worldwide Marketing John Taylor, Sarah Youngbauer of AMD's communications team, and James Prior, AMD's Senior Product Manager, have shed some light on the development process for AMD's equivalent of a flash hit - their HEDT, HCC Threadripper chips. Threadripper, which leverages AMD's Zen architecture used in their Ryzen and EPYC processors, makes use of an MCM design with up to 16 cores and 32 threads, with AMD's svelte Zen, 8-core base units linked through the company's high speed interconnect Infinity Fabric.

This has allowed the company to scale designs from four core processors with Ryzen 3, all the way towards the current cream of the crop Threadripper 1950X. It's an extremely scalable design, which brings with it improved yields and some pretty significant cost savings for AMD due to smaller dies. This, in turn, means the company is able to more agressively price their Ryzen and Threadripper processors compared to the competition, at least when it comes to high core and thread counts for the same price bracket - and the success of that business decision is showing.For our forum lurkers, this article is marked as an editorial.

With the release of AMD's newest flagship CPU, the X399 Threadripper, Phanteks is excited to introduce the Glacier Series C399a. The full CPU waterblock from Phanteks are designed to work seamlessly with AMD's new X399 Threadripper which allows serious overclocking and extreme performance.

Made from premium materials according to the finest standards of craftsmanship from Phanteks, the C399a water block delivers extreme cooling and improve stability under high overclocks for the enthusiasts. The C399a is custom designed for the AMD TR4 socket VITON sealing from the Automotive and Aerospace Industries ensure the best reliability and longevity.

Processor sales numbers of leading German retailer Mindfactory.de show AMD Ryzen processors to be outselling Intel processors for the first time in over a decade. German and EU DIY PC buyers seem to have developed a taste for AMD Ryzen processors, which is reflecting in Mindfactory's sales figures. Since March 2017, when AMD launched its Ryzen 7 series, AMD processor sales have seen a steady growth from 28% (vs. 72% of Intel), to a stunning 56% by the end of August 2017. Mindfactory's sales is a test case of AMD's growth in the DIY processor market, which forced Intel to rush in its Core X family, and its 8th generation Core processor family, which could be out in Q3-2017.

Ryzen 5 1600 appears to be the most popular AMD choice among Mindfactory's customers, as the 6-core/12-thread processor strikes a price-performance sweet-spot at 198€. The chip is outselling the similarly-priced Core i5-7500 by two times, and the i5-7600K by three times. The 8-core/16-thread Ryzen 7 1700 is the second most popular AMD Ryzen part, priced at 288€. From the Intel camp, the Core i7-7700K still commands the single biggest chunk of Mindfactory's CPU sales. As expected, the Ryzen 7 1700X outsells the 1800X by five times. Also, the Ryzen Threadripper 1950X is outselling the Core i9-7900X by over three times. Find more interesting data in the beautifully drawn graphs by Redditor "Type-21."

G.Skill today announced quad-channel kits of its AMD Ryzen-friendly Flare X series, targeted at Ryzen Threadripper HEDT builds. The new 4-module kits come in speeds of DDR4-2133, DDR4-2400, and DDR4-3200; in module densities of 8 GB and 16 GB, making up 32 GB and 64 GB quad-channel kits, respectively; and in color-based variants of black and red. The top-dog DDR4-3200 variant runs at its advertised speeds with timings of 14-14-14-34, and a module voltage of 1.35V. The modules are backed by lifetime warranties; and are typically priced double those of G.Skill's 2-module (dual-channel) Flare X series kits.

At its pre-launch media conference call for the Ryzen Threadripper 1900X, AMD mentioned that the chip has been carved out from the common 4-die EPYC MCM using a "4-0-4-0 diagonal configuration," which led to some confusion as to which cores/dies AMD disabled to carve out the $549 8-core HEDT processor. The company shed some light on this matter, responding to questions from TechPowerUp.

It turns out, that the Threadripper 1900X features an entire CCX (quad-core CPU complex) disabled per active die on the multi-chip module, so the CCX that's enabled has 8 MB of L3 cache; and access to the die's entire uncore resources, such as the dual-channel memory controller, PCIe root complex, etc. With two such active "Zeppelin" dies, the Threadripper 1900X ends up with 8 cores, 16 MB of L3 cache, a quad-channel memory interface, and 64 PCIe lanes.

When AMD Ryzen Threadripper HEDT platform launched earlier this year, a shortcoming was its lack of NVMe RAID support. While you could build soft-RAID arrays using NVMe drives, you couldn't boot from them. AMD is addressing this, by adding support for NVMe RAID through a software update, scheduled for 25th September. This software update is in the form of both a driver update (including a lightweight F6-install driver), and a motherboard BIOS update, letting AMD X399 chipset motherboards boot from RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 10 arrays made up of up to ten NVMe drives. AMD confirmed that it has no plans to bring NVMe RAID support for the X370 or B350 platforms.

AMD today released the Ryzen Threadripper 1900X eight-core HEDT (high-end desktop) processor. This product is targeted at pro-sumers who could use the quad-channel memory bandwidth and added I/O which the Threadripper HEDT platform brings to the table, but can make do with 8 cores/16 threads, which is why the chip is priced just $50 higher than the 8-core/16-thread Ryzen 7 1800X, at USD $549. The Threadripper 1900X comes with higher clock speeds than the 1800X, with 3.80 GHz nominal clock-speed (compared to 3.60 GHz of the 1800X), 4.00 GHz boost, and XFR adding another 200 MHz to the boost clock, if your cooling is good enough.

The Ryzen Threadripper 1900X gives you the full quad-channel DDR4-3200 memory interface, with support for up to 2 TB memory, and ECC support. There's even unofficial RDIMM support. The chip also offers the full 64-lane PCI-Express interface, with the same PCI-Express device configurations as the higher 1920X and 1950X parts. AMD created the 1900X by disabling two cores per CCX in each of the active 8-core dies on the Threadripper MCM. The chip also only features 16 MB of L3 cache, that's 4 MB per active CCX. Its TDP continues to be rated at 180W. AMD put out its internal testing performance numbers for the 1900X.AMD's performance slides follow.

AMD's third Ryzen Threadripper series HEDT processor SKU, the Threadripper 1900X, started selling in India, ahead of its 31st August scheduled availability. Listed on the country's leading online PC hardware store PrimeABGB, the Threadripper 1900X is priced at INR 45,699. While this price roughly converts to USD $715, which is way above the $549 MSRP announced by AMD, it's important to note that in India the retailer margins and taxes on PC hardware tend to be very high. The same retailer, considered by PC enthusiasts in India as having some of the lowest prices, lists the Threadripper 1920X at INR 65,488 ($1,024), and the Threadripper 1950X at INR 82,008 ($1,283).

The PrimeABGB listing also indicates that the 8-core/16-thread Threadripper 1900X features 16 MB of L3 cache, as opposed to 32 MB on the 1920X and 1950X. This could mean that AMD is configuring the two "Summit Ridge" dies on the 1900X in a 2+2+2+2 CCX configuration, with 4 MB of L3 cache per CCX, just like on the Ryzen 5 1400. The chip still features a quad-channel DDR4 memory interface, and 64-lane PCIe. It is priced between the $390 6-core/12-thread Core i7-7800X and $590 i7-7820X.

Alphacool has been growing their product portfolio immensely as of late, and now, the company is teasing the Eisblock Flatboy, the company's specifically-designed waterblock for AMD's Ryzen Threadripper CPUs. Threadripper CPUs have one of the biggest surface areas ever encountered in a consumer processor; because of that, not all cooling solutions are appropriate to cool the up-to 16 cores and 32 threads monsters, with a higher surface area than normal being needed.

Still in the prototype phase, the Eisblock Flatboy integrates a reverse, silent flow pump system, like the company has already introduced on their Eiswolf product. The prototype as is seems to obstruct clearance for the rightmost DIMM slot to the left of the CPU socket, which shouldn't pose a problem for some people, but would be an extremely sore point for prospective buyers should that design decision overflow towards the final version.

Alphacool will soon be offering brackets fitted for the Alphacool Eisblock XPX and the Alphacool Eisbaer CPU AIO series. Both coolers were designed for large DIE surfaces from the beginning and provide an ideal foundation for a water cooling system on the new AMD Threadripper CPUs.

Additionally, Alphacool plans to release a special cooler later this year that is specifically made for CPUs with an extremely large DIE surface and multiple cores: The Alphacool Eisblock Flatboy. This extremely flat CPU cooler was originally designed for server systems. Because of this, it has connection points not just on its surface, but also on its sides. The side connections make the Flatboy very flat, making it easy to install in the flat casing of a 19" server rack.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, announces all-new DDR4 specifications and expanding the Flare X series, designed for AMD processors and platforms. Compatible with the new Ryzen Threadripper processors and AMD X399 chipset motherboards, these new DDR4 specifications are designed to achieve high frequency at DDR4-3600 MHz 32GB (8GBx4), as well as a massive total capacity at DDR4-2933 MHz 128GB (16GBx8). Included in the mix of new quad-channel DDR4 memory kits are DDR4-3200 MHz CL14 32GB (8GBx4) and DDR4-3466 MHz CL16 32GB (8GBx4).

With improved overclocking performance on the latest AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors on the X399 chipset, G.SKILL is announcing the DDR4-3600 MHz CL16-18-18-38 with 32GB (8GBx4) total capacity running in quad-channel mode, under the Flare X series. Tested for maximum stability, this kit's frequency speed marks the fastest memory kit ever released thus far for an AMD platform.

AMD revealed that the pair of 8-core "Summit Ridge" dies that make up the Ryzen Threadripper multi-chip module are heavily binned. AMD hand-selects the top-5% highest performing "Summit Ridge" dies for Ryzen Threadripper manufacturing, which makes these chips of a higher grade than even what AMD sets aside for Ryzen 7-series socket AM4 chips.

AMD requires the highest grade "Summit Ridge" dies to use in Threadripper chips, to keep electrical leakage to the minimum, so the chips can run as cool as possible, with the least power-draw. Choosing the best dies could also ensure that Threadripper chips have the highest overclocking-headroom taking into account other electrical and thermal constraints. A 7-series chip such as the 1800X could still achieve higher clocks than a Threadripper chip, in that sense.

AMD built its Ryzen Threadripper HEDT (high-end desktop) processor as a multi-chip module (MCM) of two 8-core "Summit Ridge" dies, each with its own dual-channel memory controller, and PCI-Express interface. This is unlike the competing Core "Skylake-X" from Intel, which is a monolithic 18-core die with a quad-channel DDR4 interface and 44-lane PCIe on one die. AMD has devised some innovative methods of overcoming the latency issues inherent to an MCM arrangement like the Ryzen Threadripper, by tapping into its nUMA technology innovation.

To the hardware, four 8 GB DDR4 memory modules populating the four memory channels of a Ryzen Threadripper chip is seen as 16 GB controlled by each of the two "Summit Ridge" dies. To the software, it is a seamless block of 32 GB. Blindly interleaving the four 8 GB memory modules for four times the bandwidth of a single module isn't as straightforward as it is on the Core X, and is fraught with latency issues. A thread being processed by a core on die-A, having half of its memory allocation on memory controlled by a different die, is hit with latency. AMD is overcoming this by treating memory on a Ryzen Threadripper machine like a 2-socket machine, in which each socket has its own memory.

Update: Corrected socket compatibility. This is a specially-designed cooler by Arctic for AMD's HEDT platform, As such, it offers limited compatibility with CPUs of lower die sizes, which means it's only compatible with TR4, AM4, LLGA2011(v3) and LGA2066 sockets.

Arctic announced the Freezer 33 TR, a tower-type CPU air cooler, designed for AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors, with out of the box support for AMD socket TR4/SP3r2. The cooler comes in two variants based on color - black with red accents, and black with silver accents. The cooler features a conventional tower-type design, in which four 6 mm-thick copper heat-pipes, which make direct contact with the CPU at the base, pass through an aluminium fin-stack, which is ventilated by an included fan.

Compared to other Freezer 33 variants, the TR variant features an elongated base, for higher coverage of the Threadripper integrated heatspreader (IHS). The aluminium fins and heat-pipes feature matte-black nickel-plating. The included fan takes in 4-pin (PWM) input, spinning between 200 to 1,800 RPM. The cooler can cope with thermal loads of up to 320W, which makes it good for CPU TDP rating up to 200W, according to Arctic. Besides socket TR4, the cooler also supports AMD's AM4 socket, while Intel support stands at their LGA2011(v3), LGA2066. Available now, and backed by a generous 10-year warranty, the Freezer 33 TR is priced at 47.99€.

Noctua is stocking up inventories of its AMD Ryzen Threadripper-compatible NH-U14S-TR4-SP3 tower-type CPU cooler. A variant of the NH-U14S (pictured below), the cooler will be available from 12th August in the United States, through Noctua's eBay store. Other retailers will have stocks by the end of August. Noctua believes the NH-U14S features sufficient muscle to cope with the 180W TDP Threadripper processors, some of the lower variants come with 140W TDP. The TR4-SP3 variant comes with a slightly enlarged base, for better coverage of the large integrated heatspreaders of the Threadripper chips. The other Threadripper-compatible coolers in Noctua's lineup are the NH-U12S-TR4-SP3, and NH-U9-TR4-SP3.

Thermaltake today announced that five of its Water 3.0 Riing series all-in-one, closed-loop, liquid CPU cooler models support AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors in the new TR4 package. Among the supporting models are the Water 3.0 Riing RGB 360, Water 3.0 Riing RGB 240, Water 3.0 Riing RGB 120, Water 3.0 Riing RGB Extreme, and Water 3.0 Riing RGB Ultimate. The five coolers include brackets for socket TR4, although the company didn't mention if the circular blocks of the Water 3.0 Riing RGB series provides 100% coverage of the processors' integrated heatspreader.

ENERMAX, the designer and manufacturer of high-end PSU and CPU coolers, announces the launch of LIQTECH TR4, the closed-loop liquid coolers that are custom-designed especially for the top-end enthusiast Threadripper CPUs. The LIQTECH TR4's base plate can cover the entire Threadripper's IHS (integrated heat spreader) to deliver greater heat transfer efficiency and faster dissipation. Furthermore, with the innovative high-flow-rate pump and patented Shunt-Channel-Technology (SCT) coldplate design, LIQTECH TR4 can deliver extremely high cooling capacity of 500W+TDP for heavily overclocked CPUs and demanding HEDT systems.

Update 10/8: ENERMAX Updated the MSRP. The LIQTECH TR4 240 is priced at USD $129.99, and the LIQTECH TR4 360 at $149.99.

Chinese liquid-cooling manufacturer BYKSKY has showcased what are as of yet the first waterblocks specifically engineered for AMD's HEDT X399 platform. The company has showcased a grand total of four variants for their liquid-cooling solutions, which come with accents in either Red, Silver, Red + RGB Lighting, or Silver + RGB Lighting.

Sans RGB, the blocks are expected to retail for about $58; adding a light spectacle to your water blocks, however, will seemingly increase pricing to a still very appealing $63. Even though these specific Threadripper waterblocks are for now only listed in China, expect availability to expand in the coming weeks.

An issue on AMD's Ryzen performance under certain Linux workloads, which caused segmentation faults in very heavy, continuous workloads on the Ryzen silicon (parallel compilation workloads in particular) has been confirmed by AMD. Tests like Phoronix's Test Suite's stress run quickly bring the Ryzen processors to their knees with multiple segmentation faults. While this problem is easy to cause under very heavy workloads, the issue is virtually absent under normal Linux desktop workloads and benchmarking,

AMD also confirmed this issue is not present in EPYC or Threadripper processors, but are isolated to early Ryzen samples under Linux (AMD's testing under Windows has found no such behavior.) AMD's analysis has also found that these Ryzen segmentation faults aren't isolated to a particular motherboard vendor, but are problems with the processors themselves. AMD encourages Ryzen customers who believe to be affected by the problem to contact AMD Customer Care. Some of those who have contacted customer care about the segmentation faults have in turn been affected by thermal, power, or other problems, but AMD says they are committed to working with those encountering this performance marginality issue under Linux. AMD will also be stepping up their Linux testing/QA for future consumer products.