AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X and 3970X Review
An advice for the younger enthusiasts out there: don't buy this _yet_, it's an overpriced pseudo-workstation platform for now, even if you can afford it.<p>It's nice to watch (and have) new CPUs pushing the available computing performance up, and bringing new features. With Ryzen 3000/EPYC Rome this finally happened in a meaningful way, and TR is(shortly will be) the most powerful CPU there is. _AND_ Intel is getting kicked in the ass, which is good.<p>But objectively, even if AMD is better value than Intel now, it still is overpriced.<p>The first problem is with the launch price. This kind of system maintains the top status for one year or so these days. Then it slips into mainstream level which can be got for 50%, 30% price. Look at what happened to 2950X, or EPYC Milan platforms. They were similarly expensive at launch and they are mainstream performance now, their prices have fallen dramatically as well. (If you want AMD, those are much better choice now.)<p>The second problem is, the TRX40 motherboards available now are simply underwhelming and disappointing, take a look:<p><a href="https://www.pcmag.com/feature/372107/first-look-all-the-amd-trx40-motherboards-for-third-gen-thre/6" rel="nofollow">https://www.pcmag.com/feature/372107/first-look-all-the-amd-...</a><p>You can get 16,24,32 cores for x $1000, but only 4 channels of memory and 3-4 PCIe slots and 2010-era networking? The Xeon workstation boards are so much better. Here is how you design a motherboard in this price range:<p><a href="https://www.servethehome.com/supermicro-x11spa-t-motherboard-review-an-intel-xeon-w-3200-platform/" rel="nofollow">https://www.servethehome.com/supermicro-x11spa-t-motherboard...</a><p>It's like mobo manufacturers are thinking, the TR CPUs are cooler than Xeons, let's make a killing on expensive gamer-like motherboards.<p>If you're after nice punch performance on the cheap, go here, sort by performance, then look for rows with highest value.<p><a href="https://www.cpubenchmark.net/CPU_mega_page.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.cpubenchmark.net/CPU_mega_page.html</a><p>The result for me is, if you're after performance but clever with money, go for 3900X or 3700X on an B450 board, anything else is kind of stupid for most people.<p>If you're after solid workstation with ECC and 2020-level, connectivity, Intel Xeon W now or wait for better motherboards (unlikely to happen).