If the postman rings three times...
Yes, we were looking out the window, awaiting the Ryzen Threadripper's arrival. Finally! This time around, after only a one-day delay, we received two large packages with interesting contents.
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Unforgettable Comes Often
But why two packages? We really only expect...
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The Pelican Case Lands
... two CPUs, one motherboard, and maybe some memory. Inside the first package, we found a nice Pelican case with the Tom's Hardware logo emblazoned on the metal faceplate, along with AMD's Ryzen Threadripper branding.
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The Pelican's Innards
A few snaps of the latches later, we found two big glowing eyes peering at us questioningly from the inside of the case. We couldn't quite capture the lighting effect with the camera, but when you open the case, and the lights come on, you know it's showtime! The extra crystal bling at the bottom of the case comes with a third Ryzen Threadripper CPU.
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Lights, Camera, Action!
Without LED, there is nothing. We just had to find the light source, so we tore the case apart. AMD created the glowing eye effect with a few nice, bright rings that shine through the front of the two Threadripper packages. The switch up top triggers the effect, obviously.
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The Enlightenment!
AMD thoughtfully silk-screened the display processor with the Tom's Hardware logo, but we still aren't sure if it's working silicon. Would you risk one of the few X399 motherboards on the planet (and our only one) just to find out? We're still pondering it.
It really is a work of art; it almost looks like a diamond in our favorite jeweler's shop window.
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All Good Things Come In Twos
AMD sends samples to an incredible number of reviewers, so it's best to provide an identical test system to everyone. That way, the components are verified to be compatible, which eases troubleshooting if something goes wrong during testing. We also found a nice plexiglass poster of sorts marked with AMD's Ryzen messaging at the top and the requisite legal mumbo jumbo at the bottom.
Our Threadrippers came with an Asus ROG X399 Zenith Extreme motherboard, matching 16GB G.Skill DDR4-3200 (14-14-14-36) memory kits, a Thermaltake AiO 360 water cooler, and a 1,250W Thermaltake power supply. The remaining cartons inside are empty—but we checked just to make sure.
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The Complete Package
RGB is more fun then ever before. Except for the CPUs themselves (why not, really?), all of the components are fully illuminated. We've got the sunglasses (welder's helmet?) ready for the tests, but we're pretty sure you'll be able to see our test bench from space with the naked eye.
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Together In The Lab
We'll test the Ryzen Threadripper 1950X (16 cores / 32 threads) and the 1920X (12 cores / 24 threads), and perhaps the Tom's Hardware processor, in the upcoming review. There is no doubt that AMD has dropped a packaging bomb on Intel. The packaging is amazing—it is the most expensive we've seen in years.
These aren't special Tom's Hardware-edition boxes, either; these are the retail packages.
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RIP the Threadripper
"Rip here," you say? We get it. Threadripper. It really is a shame to defile such a nice package, though, so we ripped with care. We wonder if you'll need that sticker for future mail-in rebates, though.
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Unlocking The Goodness
No, that's not a ring of cheese, but a big plastic screw that binds the Styrofoam shell together. A quick twist...
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