AMD Threadripper specs
AMD Threadripper specs
It often surprises me how CPU makers don’t fully meet consumer needs. AMD has introduced strong models like the Ryzen 9 3950X and Threadripper 3970X. The 3950X offers speed but misses many features found in the 3970X, yet remains affordable. On the other hand, the 3970X or 3960X are prohibitively priced for most users, packed with unnecessary complexity. There seems to be a gap between what’s available and what people actually want—either too little value or excessive features that can’t be matched by cost. Wouldn’t it be better if we pushed for a more balanced option, like a Threadripper with 16 cores at a reasonable price? That could work, wouldn’t it?
We're seeking components with advanced capabilities such as SMT/HT, ECC, RAID, PCIe lanes, and more, all at competitive pricing compared to Intel.
I believe the 3950x is sufficient. It doesn’t provide full memory support, but it offers the 16-core, 32-thread configuration you’re after. They seem to be working on more advanced models soon. The CPU board appears capable of accommodating four additional dies. If they launch the 3980x and 3990x, it would be extremely powerful.
they realized such features weren't essential after the poor 1900X performance, and most of the TRX40 boards remain costly. the upcoming TRX4 with 16 cores should cost much less than even the 3950X to make it viable. the main advantage is that AMD might be able to use mostly faulty dies, since each chiplet contains many defective cores and only a few are needed for full functionality.
Having more PCIe lanes would likely be the best upgrade if AMD reduced the Threadripper’s core count to 16, helping your system run smoothly with several GPUs and M.2 SSDs.
They used to list similar threadcount and core numbers for mainstream performance with strong expandability, but I'm uncertain about current demand for those setups. It seems they likely thought this combination would be less appealing now, especially after moving to PCIe Gen 4, which allows devices to share bandwidth across fewer lanes.