AMD might just bring back dual-socket configuration for its upcoming Zen3 Ryzen Threadripper CPU

AMD’s Zen 3 Ryzen Threadripper CPU range has been delayed for quite some time, but it appears that they have something big planned for the pro workstation category. Igor’s Lab released the final specifications of AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper 5000 Pro CPU line-up, which will include five SKUs, a few days ago.

The series is built on the Zen 3 core architecture and includes up to 64 cores, 256 MB cache, with a 280W TDP. These chips will not have a specific 3D V-Cache or a 6nm node optimization, but there is one key feature for the workstation market that may be added to the family.

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 5000 Pro range is said to feature a ‘2P’ socket configuration in the leaked specs. The 2P configuration, like Intel’s 2S, denotes dual-socket support, implying that the red team will offer dedicated workstation motherboards through its OEM partners. This would allow AMD to put two Ryzen Threadripper CPUs on the platform instead of the single one we have now.

This could be a big setback for Intel’s workstation aspirations, since AMD has once again dominated the core count market, with their high-end sWRX8 platform boasting an incredible 128 cores.

A PassMark entry obtained by TomsHardware further confirms this, pointing to dual Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3995WX 64 core CPUs running on a single motherboard. When the twin CPUs were compared against a single Threadripper Pro 3995WX 64 core chip, the new configuration outperformed the old by 44 percent. The following table (through – Tomshardware) shows the performance results:

The performance boost isn’t huge, but keep in mind that just a handful of synthetic benchmarks can take advantage of AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper Pro chips’ 64 cores, let alone 128 cores in a dual-socket setup. With over 100 cores, an enormous 4 TB system memory capacity (16 memory channels / 8 per chip), and an absurd quantity of PCIe lanes, this creates a whole new performance category for the workstation segment. This is undoubtedly a highly appealing alternative for workstation users.

There are presently no commercially available motherboards that support dual Ryzen Threadripper Pro CPUs, but as previously stated, AMD would work with its partners to develop such if the 2P socket is chosen.

Because AMD’s EPYC server architecture has a large number of dual-socketed motherboards, OEMs like Gigabyte, Supermicro, and ASRock Rack could be among the first to offer such a high-end workstation motherboard. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 5000 CPUs are expected to be released in March 2022, so we may hear more about them at CES 2022.

also read:

Here’s the new PassMark benchmark score of AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3995WX 64 core CPUs

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