Time has finally come. Today we are bringing you our full review of the Threadripper 2990WX and Threadripper 2950X. Although these two CPUs share the same basic DNA, you should know they are very different processors, targeting completely different market segments.
Since they were announced earlier this year, everyone's attention has been fixed firmly on the
32-core/64-thread 2nd Gen Threadripper part, now known as the 2990WX, coming in
at $1800. There will be two models in the WX series and for those wondering the 'W' signifies that this is a workstation series and the 'X' the usual xtreme nonsense we suppose. Along with the 2990WX there will also be a 24-core/48-thread model known as the 2970WX, though that model won’t be available until October.
Although the TR 2990WX has been receiving all the attention, we expect the 2950X to be the real hero of this new lineup in what basically is
a refined 1950X at a $100 lower launch price.
As was the case with the 2nd Gen Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 models, these new Threadripper parts feature reduced cache and DRAM latency with support for slightly faster memory. So they are based on the Zen+ architecture which uses the 12PL process from GlobalFoundries.
The TR 2950X features the same layout as the 1950X and that means it comprises two active Zeppelin dies, each packing 8 cores, two memory channels and 32 PCIe gen 3 lanes. When using DDR4-3200 memory the Infinity Fabric throughput between these dies is roughly 50 GBps.
As was the case with the 1950X, the 2950X can be configured in one of two ways. Using UMA (Uniform Memory Access), which AMD refers to as ‘distributed’ mode in their Ryzen Master software, the processor acts as a single unit and this means threads and DRAM transactions are distributed evenly across the entire chip to maximise bandwidth, but in turn increases latency which isn’t ideal for tasks such as gaming.
