AMD Threadripper 2950X Processor Review

Final Thoughts

How Much Does it Cost?

When Threadripper launched around 12 months ago (review), it offered 16 cores and 32 threads for just £999.99. That’s an incredible deal given the comparable Intel CPU was almost £2000. However, that CPU is now down to a bargain price of £660.97. The New 2950X offers big performance improvements and more, and yet it still costs less new than the original TR4 chip did at its launch last year! Unfortunately, we only have the US MSRP of $899, which will due to various reasons likely end up like £800-900 in the UK. Furthermore, while the top chip is available today, the one we’ve reviewed is actually hitting stores on the 31st August. Of course, if you’re eager to lay hands on the 32 Core 64 Thread model of this CPU, that’ll cost you just £1639.99. That’s a lot of money, but the price per core, it’s in a league of its own compared to what Intel has to offer right now.

Overview

AMD has really gone all out on their new CPU range for Threadripper. While we didn’t have the top model to test today, it’s still clear that it’s offering incredible performance and exceptional value for money. The comparable Intel offerings are still far more expensive, and while they do have their benefits over AMD in some tests, there’s clearly a market for those who need the big performance at a much lower price and AMD does win the battle in several benchmarks regardless.

Out With The Old

Just like the Ryzen Gen 2 launch, the new Threadripper uses the new 12LP Zen+ architecture. This is a “leading performance” process which offers 10-15% better transistor performance and reduced power requirements. Of course, that translates to 4.4GHz max boost clock and around 80-120mV reduced voltage per core at any clock. In short, faster chip, lower voltages, less heat. The result of this is clear, the CPU quickly outperformed its predecessor.

Performance

For a chip that’s basically a re-tooling of last years model, the performance improvements are drastic. Scoring some of our highest benchmarks to date, the 2950X is exceptional value for money for this level of performance. If you’re a game developer, work in 3D rendering, video editing, or just do a lot of CPU intensive work, it’s like bringing a gun to a knife fight. Single core performance isn’t as fast as Intel’s, but through sheer brute force, 16 cores more than makes up for the deficit there. Furthermore, the lower temperatures, that massive cooler, and the Ryzen Master Utility make it easier than ever to get maximum performance from the chip 24/7.

Gaming

The boss is gone and you want to slack off, or your just eager to play the new game you’ve been developing, or maybe you just use the same PC for your work and gaming like I do. When it comes down to it, the Threadripper can certainly game, and it’ll handle 4K and VR workloads with ease. When it comes to 1080p performance, fewer cores and higher clocks are still king, but there’s no shame in the figures seen today either. Legacy mode did improve performance in some games, hurt it in others, but overclocking the CPU seemed to have the most impact. If you’re gaming a lot, turning off most of the cores and cranking the clocks would be the way to go. Of course, you can save this to a profile in Master Utility, but it will mean a reboot to enable or disable such a profile.

Should I Buy One?

Honestly, most home users would do well to stick with Ryzen Gen 2 CPUs, such as the fantastic 2700X. For rendering and gaming, it’s a beast of a CPU. However, if time is money, then cutting those rendering times down is important. The 2950X monsters the competition when it comes to 3D rendering, transcoding and other CPU heavy tasks. You may pay up for it now, albeit less than you would on an Intel solution of similar performance, but it’ll literally get your work done faster than ever. It’ll let you work, game, multitask, and more, fast, harder, and longer. Well done AMD! Now, I can’t wait to get my hands on the 2990X, double the cores and threads of the one tested today… Amazing!

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