Ryzen threadripper 3970x rips i9 apart

The third generation of AMD Ryzen Threadripper CPUs was released last month. A month later, the 3rd generation Threadripper processors have been tested in ECO mode, revealing that the Threadripper 3970X is an absolute monster in efficiency, beating the 165W Core i9-10980XE even running on a 140W TDP.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X tested in 140W ECO mode, still wrecks 165W CPU, Intel Core i9-10980XE

Using the AMD Ryzen Master utility, the folks at Computerbase were able to run their Ryzen Threadripper 3970X core processor on various TDPs. TDPs ranged from 180W, 140W, and even up to 95W, just to see how the CPU performed when tuned for greater efficiency. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X has a stock TDP of 280W with stock clocks at 3.7 GHz base and 4.5 GHz boost (single-core).

The chip was reported to allow all cores to run around 3.77 GHz at 280W, while the 180W TDP allowed for a lower clock speed of 3.37 GHz. That's a 10% frequency drop. for a 35% reduction in the TDP. At 180W, the Ryzen Threadripper 3970X is still faster than the 24-core Threadripper 3960X and much faster than Intel's Core i9-10980XE, in both single- and multi-core workloads.

The real magic begins when the chip is set to 140W and here, you can see the 32-core Ryzen Threadripper 3970X processor beating the Threadripper 2990WX and the Intel Core i9-10980XE. One is a 12nm 250W chip while the other is a 14nm ++ 165W chip. This only serves to show the immense efficiency of AMD that is offered through the 7nm Zen 2 cores. The chip has a close relationship with the Ryzen Threadripper 3960X (280W) at 140W which is also very impressive. At 95W, the chip is almost as fast as the 16-core Ryzen Threadripper 2950X processor with a TDP of 250W.

The most shocking result is that at 95W, in single-core tests, even the 95W chip that should have much lower single-core clocks performs on par with the Intel Core i9-10980XE at 95W. Now a single-core doesn't require as much TDP as 32 cores would, so 95W would get it close to the same power levels as the 280W TDP, but it's impressive to see how the 3970X stays on par with the Intel chip. i9, which is configured up to 4.80 GHz single-core, compared to the single-core 4.5 GHz power of the 3970X.

Visit our guide on the best processors on the market

A few years ago, these results were unthinkable in terms of efficiency, with AMD now beating Intel on a level playing field. We will keep you informed.