AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper processor is a one-of-a-kind product that combines performance and expandability. Customers are willing to pay up to $50,000 for Threadripper-based workstations, but it is often impossible to assemble one because the supply of these CPUs has been critically limited in recent months, according to PC makers.
Several firms in the United States sell workstations with up to 64 cores based on AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper and Threadripper Pro CPUs. Six of these PC makers, according to The Register(opens in new tab), have complained about CPU shortages since the fourth quarter of last year. Those firms include Maingear, Puget Systems, and Velocity Micro.
While Velocity Micro has some Threadripper 3960X and 3970X CPUs in stock, the 64-core Ryzen Threadripper 3990X is no longer available (among the best CPUs for workstations today). Meanwhile, in the workstation category, the Threadripper 3990X has been the most popular processor. Ryzen Threadripper Pro-based PCs are still available, but they are out of reach for most of the company’s customers. AMD warned about future Ryzen Threadripper shortages in Q4, but the company predicted early this year that supplies would get significantly tighter.
Another custom PC maker, Maingear, suffers the same issues as Velocity Micro. The lack of AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper hindered the workstation business ‘a touch’ for Puget Systems, prompting the company to offer Intel Xeon-based workstations to certain of its clients instead.
“If I sell 10 systems that are 15 grand a pop to a single customer, that’s a big purchase order,” said Wallace Santos, CEO of Maingear, a boutique PC maker that has historically been particularly enthusiastic about AMD processors. “It’s not a small purchase order for me. So imagine saying no to a with like 30, 40 systems. It’s real money, and it’s just a shame that it turned out this way.”
AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3000WX-series CPUs
AMD used to sell its Ryzen Threadripper processors with an unlocked multiplier (and hence overclocking potential) to both end-users and PC manufacturers. However, in mid-2020, AMD released its Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3000WX-series CPUs, which enable up to 2TB of memory and 128 PCIe lanes but are only offered to workstation makers and are not overclocked. The business followed up in March with the Ryzen Threadripper Pro 5000WX-series CPUs, but these are only accessible through Lenovo until the second half of the year.
Smaller workstation manufacturers can’t get Ryzen Threadripper 3000/3000WX Pro or 5000WX Pro CPUs since they’re too expensive. As a result, they are effectively losing business to Lenovo, which is disappointing. As a result, they’ve put a lot of effort into advertising their Ryzen Threadripper-based products as well as this brand.
Because of the acute shortages, at least one manufacturer has decided to devote more time and resources to creating and marketing Intel Xeon-based workstations, despite the high demand for AMD’s powerful workstations.
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