When AMD introduced its Ryzen Threadripper Pro CPUs for high-end workstations and then made them widely available, it was only a matter of time before someone introduced server platforms for these processors. It looks like ASRock Rack is the first company to do so with its WRX80D8-2T motherboard, which supports a Threadripper Pro CPU, up to 2TB of memory, and has seven PCIe 4.0 x16 slots.
AMD's Ryzen Threadripper Pro CPUs support up to 2TB of DDR4-3200 memory using eight channels (up from 256GB on non-Pro TR) and have 128 PCIe lanes (up from 72 on non-Pro TR). But unlike AMD's EPYC processors for mainstream servers, these chips boast high clock speeds that make them ideal for ultra-high-end workstations. The abundance of PCIe lanes and support for plenty of memory make them suitable for servers, so ASRock Rack is taking advantage of these capabilities to offer its clients a unique set of features.
ASRock officially positions its WRX80D8-2T platform for servers aimed at GPU compute applications or remote workstations — though, given the high clocks of AMD's Ryzen Threadripper Pro CPUs, we assume the motherboard could also be used for CPU-based render farms.
ASRock's WRX80D8-2T motherboard comes with an sWRX8 socket for AMD's Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3000WX/5000WX CPUs and is powered by AMD's WRX80 chipset. The platform has everything it takes to be a server, including four SATA ports, two OCuLink connectors for U.2 SSDs or additional SATA HDDs (12 SATA ports supported in total), two M.2 slots for SSDs, two 10GbE ports (enabled by Intel's X710-AT2), and one GbE connector for remote management. One thing to keep in mind is that when all PCIe slots are populated, not all SATA and OCuLink connectors will work.
Like other server boards, the WRX80D8-2T carries Aspeed's AST2500 server management processor, which supports a D-Sub/VGA display connector, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, and one COM port.
ASRock's WRX80D8-2T motherboard is already available in Japan. At PC4U it costs ¥145,200 (including tax), which is approximately $1050.
