Update 2/7/2020: Check out our AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X review (opens in new tab) to see how the chip stacks up against the competition.
AMD's Ryzen Threadripper 3990X is scheduled to hit shelves tomorrow. However, the 64-core monster is already available for pre-order at Amazon Canada for 5,476.91 CAD (opens in new tab), which is about $4,120.
The suggested e-tail price for the Threadripper 3990X is $3,990. Whether we get to see the processor at that price will depend hugely on AMD's supply and the market's demands.
The Threadripper 3990X is the flagship chip for AMD's third-generation Ryzen Threadripper family, which currently consists of the Ryzen Threadripper 3970X and 3960X (opens in new tab). It's the first processor to bring 64 cores (opens in new tab) to a high-end desktop (HEDT) platform.
Built on AMD's Zen 2 microarchitecture, the Threadripper 3990X has 64 cores and 128 threads, and like all modern AMD offerings, it's a product of TSMC's 7nm FinFET manufacturing process.
The Threadripper 3990X has 256MB of L3 cache (opens in new tab) and 32MB of L2 cache, which is 288MB of total cache. The processor comes with a 2.9 GHz base clock (opens in new tab) and 4.3 GHz maximum boost clock.
The Threadripper 3990X boasts a plethora of useful features that will certainly appeal to content creators and professional users. The processor natively supports quad-channel DDR4-3200 RAM (opens in new tab) kits and offers 64 speedy PCIe 4.0 (opens in new tab) lanes to accommodate the latest PCIe 4.0 SSDs (opens in new tab) and graphics cards (opens in new tab).
The Threadripper 3990X will fit just fine into current sTRX4 motherboards (opens in new tab) with the TRX40 chipset (opens in new tab). As far as motherboard options are concerned, there's an abundance of options. However, choice of CPU cooling (opens in new tab) will be the most important aspect for Ryzen 3990X users. The 64-core part is rated for 280W, after all.
