AMD’s 3rd Generation Ryzen Threadripper processors are headed for launch in November. The new HEDT lineup would feature the brand new Zen 2 core architecture and tons of mega-tasking performance but along with all the added features, the processors might also require a new TR socket revision which if rumors hold true, might end their backward compatibility on the existing X399 products.
AMD’s 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper CPUs Rumored To End Support on X399 Chipset and TR4 Socket
The details come from the author of the DRAM Calculator for AMD Ryzen processors, Yuri Bubily or more famously known as 1usmus. He mentions on his post over at Overclock.net that AMD in their latest plans have removed X399 compatibility for next-generation Ryzen Threadripper processors. This clearly points towards the upcoming AMD 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper series which is going to make its debut with a 24 core and 48 thread chip in November. Following is the complete quote:
Hey. Unfortunately, there is not very good news, AMD has changed its mind about making X399 compatible with the new generation. For this reason, HEDT disappeared from all calendars and the release of these processors was forced to postpone.
Since the new processor has a new memory controller and he in a single copy (instead of two as before) had to seriously change the pins. Also, the new PCI Gen 4 standard and new power pins made a special contribution. TRX40 and TRX80 are a new generation and a new architecture. Nothing to do with the past generation. At the moment, all information is classified and I do not have access to it.
Yuri points out that the new memory controller, multiple chiplets and the addition of PCIe Gen 4 are some of the main reasons why we would be receiving a platform change which would include both, a new chipset and a new socket. When it comes to the chipset, there have been several leaks regarding the new TRX40, TRX80, WRX80 chipsets which should replace X399 as a whole. The new socket is said to be a revised version of the existing TR4 socket with more power pins which was a necessity for the new PCIe Gen 4 protocol.
We know that with each generation of Ryzen processors, AMD has brought forward new platforms but also retained compatibility for older chipset based motherboards. As of right now, AMD X570 platforms can support all Ryzen processors and 3rd Gen Ryzen processors are supported by older X370 and X470 motherboards too. The 3rd Gen Ryzen processors also received a new chiplet I/O design along with PCIe Gen 4 but here’s where it gets interesting, those processors didn’t actually require a socket change and they can run on older motherboards. Same is the case with 2nd Gen EPYC which is socket-compatible with older Naples based platforms.
We aren’t sure if the socket change would be as significant as being highlighted but it is possible that 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper processors may work on the existing motherboards but won’t enable the same feature-set as the newer chipset. That much remains to be seen since the launch is still a few months away. While this news is a bummer for Ryzen Threadripper users who were waiting to add new 3rd Gen chips on their existing platforms, it’s also great news as this means that the new HEDT lineup would have a platform properly tuned for them.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper Generation Comparison:
| Family Name | AMD 1st Gen Ryzen Threadripper | AMD 2nd Gen Ryzen Threadripper | AMD 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU Architecture | Zen 1 | Zen+ | Zen 2 |
| Process Node | 14nm | 12nm | 7nm |
| Max CPU Cores | 16 | 32 | 64? |
| Max CPU Threads | 32 | 64 | 128? |
| PCIe Support | PCIe Gen 3.0 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | PCIe Gen 4.0 |
| Max PCIe Lanes | 64 | 64 | 128? |
| Max L2 Cache | 8 MB | 16 MB | 32 MB? |
| Max L3 Cache | 32 MB | 64 MB | 256 MB? |
| Socket | TR4 | TR4 | TBD |
| Chipset | X399 | X399 | TRX40, TRX80, WRX80 |
| Launch | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3000 Series CPUs – Here’s What To Expect In Terms of Price, Specs, and Performance
The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3000 series family is internally known as “Castle Peak” and is stated to bring dominant leadership in the HEDT market. The family will prove to be a new watermark in performance and overall efficiency while new platform features will be introduced on the new and enhanced motherboards to take them to the next level.
Considering that AMD would want to remain in a dominant position with the Threadripper 3000 series, we will be looking at some spectacular amounts of multi-threaded performance numbers which will only get better with the added clock speeds thanks to the 7nm process node. The CPUs will also be getting major core bumps, but AMD would like to keep prices close to current levels.
AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su:
“You know. it’s very interesting, some of the things that circulate on the Internet—I don’t think we ever said that Threadripper was not going to continue—it somehow took on a life of its own on the Internet,” Su said, speaking to a small group of reporters following her keynote. “You will see more [Threadripper] from us; you will definitely see more.
If mainstream is moving up, then Threadripper will have to move up, up—and that’s what we’re working on.”
If we look at the trend with AMD’s jump from Ryzen Threadripper 1000 to Ryzen Threadripper 2000, we saw that the new processors with core parity of the previous generation were priced around the same with a $200-$300 shaved off from their previous price tag. The 1950X became 2950X and cost $200 US less. The higher core count parts were at a different market tier entirely, costing north of $1200 US but at the same time, much cheaper than their Core-X competitors.
In terms of raw performance output, the new die layout remains to be tested, but since it is more refined over the previous two generations with a stronger interconnect between them, the cache and latency performance may end up giving a bigger boost to total system responsiveness. AMD will definitely be aiming for both LGA 2066 and LGA 3647 lines with their new chips. Intel has said that their upcoming Core-X series would offer a much better value proposition with 2x better perf per dollar compared to Skylake-X but that remains to be seen.
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