Amd ryzen threadripper 3960x review in Spanish (complete analysis)

AMD since 2017 is stomping on its AMD Ryzen processors. Today, we can finally bring you the review of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X 24 core and 48 threads. A processor that debuts new sTR4 socket and new motherboards with the TRX40 chipset.

Ready to see our analysis? The best Spanish-speaking? Prepare yourself a hot chocolate that we start!

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X technical features

Unboxing

Although it has not reached us in the official bundle because it is an engineering sample, the presentation has logically been renewed with respect to the previous generation. Now what we would have is a hard plastic box with the CPU placed on a pedestal that is clearly visible to our delight.

Obviously we will not have any heatsink, since these processors need strong cooling due to their TDP and we must buy it separately. Therefore, we recommend that you take a look at our guide to the best heatsinks on the market.

Exterior design

This time the design of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X is practically the same, if not identical, than its predecessors. We have a large copper and aluminum IHS with the corresponding silkscreen showing the processor model and the Ryzen Threadripper badge very large. This superior encapsulation is logically soldered to each of the chiplets that make up the CPU.

You can already imagine that a normal heatsink will have difficulties covering the entire IHS area, and in these new CPUs it will be important due to the enormous power they have. Most refrigerations have a block that only covers the central area of ​​the package, where the chiplets are effectively located, but wasting the maximum dissipation capacity.

If we turn it around what we find will also be quite familiar, since despite the fact that the socket has changed, neither the distribution nor the number of contacts in it have. In this way we have a LGA (Land Grid Array) type sTRX4 socket with a total of 4094 gold-plated contacts to improve power transfer. The zone is physically divided into two parts as if it were two independent processors, although the 5 chiplets are connected via the Infinity Fabric data bus .

Many have criticized this decision to change or update the socket for this new generation of 7nm, which implies that previous generations will not be able to be installed on boards with sTRX4 and the new debuted chipset AMD TRX40. AMD explains that this has been necessary to improve the communication interface between CPU, RAM and chipset. With the maximum capacity of 88 PCIe lines that we will have in the CPU + Chipset set, it seems that the internal construction has been modified. Keep in mind that now this communication is done through a bus of 8 PCIe 4.0 Lines instead of just 4 like the previous generation, so the bandwidth amounts to no less than 16 GB / s up and down at most.

But what is the reason for the criticism? Well, the simple fact of being forced to also change the motherboard if we buy one of these expensive processors. Added to this is the fact that both the new DDR4 and USB 4.0 memories are on the doorstep, and no one is sure that AMD meets these needs with the sTRX4 and the next generation Threadripper 4000, despite claiming that the platform will be in force for a long time.

Architecture and performance

First would be the Ryzen 3000, the first processors to go on the market (for desktop PCs) with 7nm FinFET transistors manufactured by TSMC, obviously ignoring the mobile CPUs that have already had them for some time. And now it has been the turn of this AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X and 3970X, and the following that may come out, since this time we could have up to 64 physical cores on the same CPU, impressive.

This is precisely one of the great advantages of reducing the size of transistors. We have a higher density in the same space, being able to introduce more components and functional units. Being smaller they require less energy to function, although of course it is not a secret that more wafers must be discarded in the manufacturing process due to manufacturing defects as they are more susceptible to miniaturization.

The one we are analyzing today is the “least powerful” model. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X has a configuration of 24 cores and 48 threads of processing, the brutal figure that for example has the previous 2970WX. But they have gone a little further, and are now able to operate at a base frequency of 3.8 GHz and a turbo frequency of 4.5 GHz, while the reference in 1st generation was 3 / 4.2 GHz. And In addition, in this case we already anticipated that we did not suffer from the problems with which the Ryzen 3000 came out, which did not reach their maximum frequency, being able to maximize this beast.

Regarding cache memory, we have an incredible 140 MB, divided into 128 MB of L3 cache, 12 MB of L2 cache and also 2.25 MB of L1 cache, divided as always in L1I and L1D cache. All this causes the CPU TDP to increase to 280W, a figure that is still capable of covering a 240mm liquid cooling configuration. And as in the previous generation, the maximum admissible temperature or TjMAX will be 68 ^o C and it will natively support up to 256 GB of 3200 MHz DDR4 RAM on Quad Channel.

Digging deeper into architecture

With this AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X, AMD debuts its new Castle Peak architecture for high-performance processors on its enthusiastic desktop platform. The increase in cores, frequency and cache memory still has to add quite a few important things.

As in the Ryzen 3000, on this platform we also have an architecture based on chiplets, that is, processing units built separately and installed on the same substrate and linked by the Inifnity Fabric bus. Each chiplet is called a CCD (Core Chiplet DIE) complex, and within it we have two CCX (Core Complex). As one of these CCX it has 4 cores and 8 processing threads together with a 16 MB L3 cache shared between 4 and 1 MB of L2 cache for each core. In this AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X, for example, we have 24 cores, so we are going to have a total of 4 chiplets where one core has been deactivated for each CCX (3 * 8 = 24).

As in the Ryzen 3000, we have the internal Infinity Fabric bus in charge of uniting these 4 chiplets with the 5th one, which is the Input / Output bus built at 14 nm. When we have more details about the functioning of Infinity Fabric in these Threadrippers, we will update the information, but what we do know is that there has been a notable improvement in communication latencies with RAM memory and now PCIe 4.0 compatibility is offered, where each data line has a bandwidth of 2 GB / s up and down.

What we also know is the maximum capacity of PCIe lines that these new processors have, which together with the chipset will be 88 PCIe 4.0 (x64 CPU + x24 TRX40). Of these 88 LANES, we have to subtract 16 of them because they are dedicated to communication between CPU and chipset, 8 in each case. And of the 56 that we have available in the CPU, 48 of them are dedicated exclusively to the PCIe 4.0 lanes of the expansion slots, and 8 for two Pick One configurations where we can allocate them to more PCIe slots, to the M.2 slot. NVMe or SATA. Also, it has a native capacity of 4 USB 3.2 Gen2 and DDR4 Quad Channel.

Test bench and performance tests

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
Base plate:	TRX40 AORUS XTREME
RAM:	32GB G.Skill Trident Z RGB Royal DDR4 3200MHz
Heatsink	Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3
HDD	KC400 512 GB
Graphic card	Nvidia RTX 2060 Founders Edition
Power supply	Corsair RM1000X

To check the stability of AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X processor in stock values. The motherboard we have stressed with Prime 95 Custom and air cooling. The graph that we have used is an Nvidia RTX 2060 in its reference version, without further delay, let's see the results obtained in our tests.

Benchmarks (Synthetic tests)

We have tested performance with the enthusiastic platform and the previous generation. Will your purchase be worth it?

• Cinebench R15 (CPU Score) Cinebench R20 (CPU Score) Aida643dMARK Fire StrikeVRMARKPCMark 8Blender RobotWprime

Game testing

We always recommend that you use the AMD Ryzen Master application to monitor and overclock your Ryzen processor. AMD maintains the design and profiles. First we have the normal mode, which is the one that comes standard with the processor, we have a second creator mode for content creators, another profile for the most gamers, which what it really does is deactivate several cores and play at full speed. Additionally we have two profiles that we can configure at our whim.

As standard, the processor handles a voltage ranging from 1.30 to 1.36 v on all the motherboards we have analyzed. We wanted to take it to the next level with the TRX40 AORUS XTREME, raising the frequency to 4400 MHz and a voltage of 1, 488v. We think it is a lot of voltage for the platform, but since it was for a few tests and was well cooled, it helps us to see its performance, but our advice is to leave it in stock or look for a sweet spot.

Thanks to this frequency increase we have earned 329 cb points in Cinebench R15. In games we will notice a slight improvement, especially in minimum FPS, but we believe that it does not compensate. This processor is well compensated and we believe that it is the best option as standard.

Consumption and temperature

Keep in mind that it is at all times with the stock sink. The temperatures at rest are more than good with 33 ºC. This has a lot of merit because we have a processor with 48 logical cores. The maximum performance temperatures are very good with 53 ºC on average with Prime95 in Large mode for 12 continuous hours.

Regarding consumption, we have used the same criteria as that of temperatures. We obtain a consumption of 83 W at rest and 272 W at maximum performance. That when we also stress our graphics card we obtain 447W of total consumption from our test bench Without a doubt, some very interesting metrics and that already gives us some clues that we will need a quality power supply.

Final words and conclusion about AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X

After testing the first and second generation AMD Threadripper, we finally see a major improvement on this enthusiastic AMD platform. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X features a total of 24 cores, 48 ​​threads, 128MB of L3 cache, 12MB of L2 cache, 280W of TDP and an improved internal design.

The area is divided into two parts with a total of 5 chiplets. All of them connected by the Infinity Fabric bus. The good work of AMD is noticeable, since it has achieved better performance than the 2000 generation. It has a total of 88 LANES, so now there is no problem connecting multiple cards and M.2 SSDs. It will be very difficult to fill all the lines.

It also has support for the PCI Express 4.0 connection, WiFi 6 connectivity, four USB 3.2 Gen2 connections and Quad Channel DDR4. As standard the processor runs on boost at 4.2 GHz, although we have managed to raise it to 4.4 Ghz. And how it pulls! Wonderful!

We recommend reading our guide on the best processors on the market

In our tests we have achieved great performance. In games it is still noticeable that many cores are not used, but having a better IPC, we do see that it is equated with the mainstream range. While working is a real blast, we can play multiple titles and edit one or two videos without messing around.

We have not been surprised by the results of temperatures and consumption. All very well cared for and we can not fault it. Perhaps we miss that it incorporates a heatsink as standard, but hey, we also see it as normal, since this line of equipment usually mounts liquid cooling or a heatsink of the Noctua level.

We will soon see it listed in stores and its price will oscillate at $ 1, 399, which, as is usual in Spain, will do the dollar / euro conversion. Is it really worth your purchase? Yes, if you are clear that you will get the most out of the processor. We see it ideal for Workstation teams and who want to play very, very, very sporadically. But for gaming there are better options, as we have commented. Currently we have the AMD Ryzen 3900X available with a very attractive price and soon the 3950X will arrive in stores with a price lower than this beast. What do you think about the performance of this AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X?

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
- FABULOUS PERFORMANCE	- BASE PLATES WITH A VERY HIGH PRICE
- ANNOUNCED FREQUENCIES ARE REAL. ALSO ALLOWS US TO PERFORM OVERCLOCK
- GOOD SOFTWARE
- TEMPERATURE AND CONSUMPTION
- PRICE MAY SEEM HIGH, BUT WE ARE FINALLY 24/48 AT A MORTAL PRICE

The Professional Review team awards him the platinum medal:

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X

YIELD YIELD - 85%

MULTI-THREAD PERFORMANCE - 100%

OVERCLOCK - 90%

PRICE - 92%

92%

In the TOP 2 processor AMD enthusiast. Ideal for design, rendering, and ultra-demanding processor tasks.