A Couple of years ago 64 Cores CPU in a single Chip and that too for a Workstation was unimaginable. But AMD finally makes the impossible thinking reality by announcing the Threadripper 3990X, a 64 Cores and 128 Thread CPU. This is a first of its kind this segment and competitor Intel has nowhere near something like this in Workstation category or even in the Server category.Â
The top Intel HEDT Chip Core i9-10980XE has 18 Cores and 36 thread. While the top Intel chip cost $1000 the 64 Cores Threadripper cost only $3990. A 2S Intel system built around the Xeon Platinum 8280 would offer 56 cores but has a sticker price of $20,000 just for the CPUs. In other words, AMD hit intel where it hurts the most.Â
Even two 8280s running together in a dual-socket configuration can’t do much against the 3990X. During the CES presentation, AMD demonstrated a V-Ray workload from the recent Terminator: Dark Fate film, which the 3990X took one hour and three minutes to complete while the pair of Xeons took one hour and thirty minutes. AMD also provided a Cinebench R20 score during their presentation.Â
Chips are set to ship on Feb. 7. AMD is recommending at least 64GB of RAM for these chips, but 128GB or 256GB might be more appropriate for relevant workloads, depending on how you intend to use it.