Unboxing AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX 32-Core Workstation Processor

It’s been no secret that AMD has had plans to bring a 32-core (64-thread) processor to market, but despite the fact that it’s going to be soon happening, I still sit here in awe that this is the reality. Before last summer, 10 cores was the best you’d get from a top-end enthusiast product. That was quickly toppled by the original Threadripper last fall, with its top-end 16-core processor, and then Intel’s Core X-series, beating AMD by a modest 2 cores, with its 18-core i9-7980XE.

Fast-forward to today, and we’d have to imagine that Intel’s not exactly thrilled by its seriously aggressive competition. Case in point: 10-core last spring, and 32-core this summer. When AMD released its 16-core Threadripper last summer, people wondered who could take full advantage of it, and ultimately, the answer could have been either the “hardcore enthusiast” or “workstation user”.

I’ve called Threadripper a “workstation” series since its release last year, because the people who will benefit from all those cores and threads the most are those who regularly engage in processes that can actually take full advantage of the performance offered. Not all workloads will scale infinitely, but when you use workloads that do, then you really want all the horsepower you can get it.

For that reason, AMD is really stressing that Ryzen Threadripper second-gen’s top-end chips as being targeted squarely at the workstation use. While AMD is being coy with the WX branding of the 2970WX and 2990WX, it seems likely that it simply refers to workstation products, like the Radeon Pro WX series do (or did I assume that wrong, too?!).

I’m running late on this post due to being so engrossed in benchmarking, so I’m going to speed through this, hoping to whet your appetite just a wee bit. Or a lot, if you’re a workstation user who already knows what kind of performance this kind of series can offer you.

To celebrate the launch of Threadripper’s second generation, the company sent out elaborate reviewer kits. Ours came in two large boxes, one of which contained the 2990WX, and the other which had the 2950X, among other goodies useful for testing. Let’s focus on the big gun, the 2990WX:

After hauling the top part of the special box, a holder for this reviewer kit can be seen. With orange acrylic pieces, a massive shield-like front touts the CPU hidden behind it. Obviously, a 32-core processor is no joke, but one of the things that made me grin when looking at the specs sticker was mention of “80MB cache”. I remember owning an 80MB hard drive!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After breaking the plastic chains from the shield, the box is revealed. The original generation Threadripper set a new standard for cool processor packaging. Intel gives us a simple box, but AMD gives you something that’s hardly standard fare. And while the packaging isn’t exactly important, it’s nice to get something a little extra with your expensive purchase.

After removing the cardboard wrap off of the box, the latch for the plastic window will be revealed. This can be simply yanked ahead to open the window, at which point you can dislodge the CPU case from its holder. Even the CPU’s protective case is solid, but when you’re looking at it in person, chances are you’re going to be looking at the inside of your PC before too long.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk a little about the Cooler Master Wraithripper AMD shipped with the reviewer kit. Having seen this at Computex in June, I was hoping it’d be included, because just look at it. It has a cool aesthetic, and enough cooling capacity to handle a 250W 32-core processor. So far, I’ve been digging it, and haven’t had the impression that the CPU has suffered due to the lack of liquid cooling. AMD does note that an AIO will drop another degree or two off of the top – so nothing major, unless overclocking is the name of your game.

 

 

 

 

As mentioned above, I’ve been knee-deep in testing the 2990WX and other processors in time for launch, which happens to be next week. What you’ll see from our look is a lot of benchmarks – perhaps the largest collection we’ve had to date. At least six new benchmarks have been added, some the result of reader (and viewer) request, and others that I’ve wanted to add for a while, but haven’t had the chance to. Aside from Cinebench and POV-Ray tests, which are used to allow you to easily draw comparisons to our results, every single one of our benchmarks will be relevant to someone who can never have enough computing horsepower for their complex work.

I’m not going to get into the nitty-gritty here, but may divulge some information about our new benchmarks before the 2990WX embargo lifts next week. For now, I’m going to jump back into playing musical benchmark PCs and make sure no stone is left unturned.