AMD announced two third-generation Ryzen Threadripper HEDT (high-end desktop) processors today, along with the Ryzen 9 3950X mainstream desktop CPU and Athlon 3000G APU. Already we're seeing early benchmarks of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X.
| Processor | Cores / Threads | Base / Boost | L3 Cache | Memory Support | TDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X | 24 / 48 | 3.8 / 4.5 GHz | 128MB | Quad DDR4-3200 | 280W |
| AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX | 24 / 48 | 3.0 / 4.2 GHz | 64MB | Quad DDR4-2933 | 250W |
| Intel Core i9-9980XE | 18 / 36 | 3.0 / 4.4 GHz | 24.75MB | Quad DDR4-2666 | 165W |
| AMD Ryzen 9 3900X | 12 / 24 | 3.8 / 4.6 GHz | 64MB | Dual DDR4-3200 | 105W |
| Intel Core i9-9900KS | 8 / 16 | 4.0 / 5.0 GHz | 16MB | Dual DDR4-2666 | 127W |
Four Threadripper 3960X results are currently in the 3DMark database. The 24-core, 48-thread processor was seemingly paired with Gigabyte's TRX40 Aorus Xtreme motherboard, 32GB of DDR4-3200 RAM from G.Skill and two different graphics cards, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 and an AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 with liquid cooling.
We'll be comparing these newfound benchmark results for the Threadripper 3960X to the Threadripper 2970WX its replacing and the Ryzen 9 3900X, AMD's current flagship consumer chip. The Threadripper 3960X's greatest competitor is the Intel Core i9-9900KS, a supremely fast gaming processor, and the Intel Core i9-9980XE, Intel's current-gen flagship HEDT part.
It's important to note that there are many more benchmarks results available for those competing chips. For this reason, we'll be using the average Physics score for each chip, which should be a pretty good indicator for comparison purposes. Regardless, don't forget that there are different systems involved and some are overclocked.
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A quick glance at the results shows the Threadripper 3960X rising above the Threadripper 2970WX by fairly large margins. This is to be expected, considering that the Threadripper 3960X is the direct replacement for the Threadripper 2970WX. However, the Threadripper 3960X apparently lost to the Ryzen 9 3900X in the Fire Strike test. It redeemed itself in the Time Spy and Time Spy Extreme tests.
The Threadripper 3960X seemingly beat the Core i9-9900KS but fell behind the Core i9-9980XE in Fire Strike. AMD's 24-core offering also looks like it squashed its Intel rivals in both Time Spy and Time Spy Extreme.
| Processor | Fire Strike | Time Spy | Time Spy Extreme |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X | 27,751 | 12,604 | 12,603 / 12,677 |
| AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX | 21,567 | 7,539 | 6,556 |
| Intel Core i9-9980XE | 30,658 | 11,492 | 10,222 |
| AMD Ryzen 9 3900X | 28,705 | 12,164 | 6,696 |
| Intel Core i9-9900KS | 26,306 | 11,759 | 5,385 |
3DMark's Physic test is a decent way to explore a processor's performance, but it doesn't compare to an in-depth review evaluating the chip from different angles. Stay tuned to Tom's Hardware for just that.
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Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.