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Review: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X

by Tarinder Sandhu on 15 August 2018, 14:00

Tags: AMD (NYSE:AMD)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qadwhf

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Test Methodology

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X Specification


Intel Core Processor Configurations

CPU
Core i9-7980XE
Core i9-7900X
Core i7-8700K
CPU Base Clock
2.6GHz
3.3GHz
4.2GHz
CPU Turbo Clock
4.4GHz
4.5GHz
4.5GHz
CPU Cache
24.75MB
13.75MB
8MB
CPU Cores / Threads
18 / 36
10 / 20
4 / 8
CPU TDP
165W
140W
95W
Integrated Graphics
-
-
HD 630
IGP Base Clock
-
-
350MHz
IGP Turbo Clock
-
-
1,150MHz
Socket
LGA 2066
LGA 2066
LGA 1151
Lithography
14nm
Motherboard
Asus Prime X299-A
Asus Maximus V Hero
BIOS
0802
0801
Memory
Corsair Dominator 32GB DDR4
Corsair Vengeance 32GB DDR4
Memory Config
4x8GB
2x16GB
Memory Timings
16-17-17-36-2T
16-16-16-39-1T
Memory Speed
2,666MHz
2,400MHz
Disk Drive
SK hynix Canvas SC300 (512GB)
Power Supply
be quiet Dark Power Pro 11 (1,000W)
Graphics Card
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti FE (391.35)
CPU Cooler
Noctua NH-D15S
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit)

AMD Ryzen Processor Configurations

CPU
Threadripper 2990WX
Threadripper 2950X
Threadripper 1950X
Ryzen 7 2700X
CPU Base Clock
3.0GHz
3.5GHz
3.4GHz
3.7GHz
CPU Turbo Clock
4.2GHz
4.4GHz
4.0GHz
4.3GHz
CPU L3 Cache
64MB
32MB
32MB
16MB
CPU Cores / Threads
32 / 64
16 / 32
16 / 32
8 / 16
CPU TDP
250W
180W
180W
105W
Integrated Graphics
-
-
-
-
IGP Base Clock
-
-
-
-
IGP Turbo Clock
-
-
-
-
Socket
TR4
TR4
TR4
AM4
Lithography
12nm
12nm
14nm
12nm
Motherboard
Asus X399 Zenith Extreme
Asus Crosshair VI Hero
BIOS
0078
5704
Memory
G.Skill Trident Z RGB 32GB DDR4
Corsair Vengeance 32GB DDR4
Memory Config
4x8GB
4x8GB
Memory Timings
16-17-17-36-1T
16-17-17-36-1T
Memory Speed
2,933MHz
2,666MHz
2,933MHz
Disk Drive
SK hynix Canvas SC300 (512GB)
Power Supply
be quiet Dark Power Pro 11 (1,000W)
Graphics Card
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti FE (391.35)
CPU Cooler
Cooler Master Wraith Ripper
Noctua NH-D15S
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit)

Benchmark Suite

CPU Benchmarks
HEXUS PiFast Our number-crunching benchmark stresses a single core by calculating Pi to 10m places
Blender 2.79c Using all available cores, we run the BMW CPU_Blend benchmark and Victor benchmark
Cinebench Using Cinebench's multi-CPU render, this cross-platform benchmark stresses all cores
Corona 1.3 Using the high-performance renderer's default benchmark that stresses all cores
Keyshot 7.3 Using ray-tracing and global illumination that scales across all cores.
Arnold via Maya 2018 Using the model village scene rendered via Arnold at 2,616x1,962px. Scales across all cores
HandBrake 1.1.0 Free-to-use video encoder that stresses all CPU cores (64-bit)
Memory Benchmarks
AIDA64 Benchmark that analyses memory bandwidth and latency
Gaming Benchmarks (Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti)
3DMark Graphics benchmark run using Fire Strike and Time Spy tests
VRMark Virtual reality benchmark run using the Cyan Room test
F1 2017 1,920x1,080 and 3,840x2,160, ultra settings
Far Cry 5 1,920x1,080 and 3,840x2,160, ultra settings
Middle-earth: Shadow of War 1,920x1,080 and 3,840x2,160, ultra settings
Total War: Warhammer 2 1,920x1,080 and 3,840x2,160, ultra settings
Miscellaneous Benchmarks
Power Consumption To emulate real-world usage scenarios, we record system-wide mains power draw when idle, when encoding video via HandBrake and while playing Middle-earth

Notes

We've tested a number of platforms from each performance group. The Intel Core i9-7980XE is the obvious many-core competitor while the Core i7-8700K is the mainstream champ. We've also got Threadripper 1950X, ostensibly to show the performance uplift from the best of the previous TR generation and, going mainstream again, the Ryzen 7 2700X.

The graphics card has been upgraded to a GeForce GTX 1080 Ti FE and we've also kept to the maximum supported memory frequency on each platform.

Ensuring the comparisons are relevant and useful, we have since rebenchmarked an Intel Core i9-7900X that, as identified on the previous page, is the obvious price-equivalent competitor to 2950X. Also, appreciating this processor is more of a general-purpose chip than 2990WX, the gaming suite has been expanded to include a VR benchmark and Far Cry 5.