A 3rd Generation AMD Ryzen Threadripper processor might have made a surprise appearance on Geekbench and from the looks of it, the initial performance numbers look pretty amazing. Known as Sharkstooth, an AMD engineering sample with 32 cores and 64 thread has shown up which is the same config as the current flagship Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3rd Gen CPU Makes Possible Appearance on Geekbench - 32 Zen 2 Cores, 64 Threads, Up To 35% Faster Than 2990WX
The engineering sample codenamed AMD 100-000000011-11 has shown up on Geekbench along with its performance numbers in both single and multi-core tests. Part of the "Sharkstooth' family which is presumably the internal model family for 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper was tested on the AMD WhiteHaven (OC-CP) test board. We have previously seen 2nd Gen Ryzen Threadripper ES CPUs which were tested on the same platform.
The chip was configured with 32 cores and 64 threads and has a clock speed of 3.60 GHz. The max clock was not mentioned but the chip does come with 128 MB of L3 and 16 MB of L2 cache. Since AMD usually rounds up both L2 and L3 numbers, we are looking at a total 144 MB cache. The chip, being an ES processor, will always have different clocks on retail variants so these numbers aren't to be considered final. The Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX is clocked at a base frequency of 3.0 GHz so the ES processor definitely runs at higher clocks. Other specs of the testing platform include 128 MB of DDR4 memory.
The processor scored 5677 points in single-core and 94772 points in multi-core CPU performance results. When compared to a Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX, the current flagship with 32 core and 64 threads but based on the Zen+ cores, the chip scores around 70,000 points in multi-core and 5300 points in single-core tests. This puts the engineering sample around 5-7% faster in single-core and about 35% faster in multi-core tests. In another entry, the chip scores 5932 points which should be about 10% faster than the 2990WX.
Now we still can't say for sure if this is in fact a 3rd Gen Threadripper CPU but the available data does point to that. The performance numbers show that AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3000 series will bring a huge increase to multi-core performance while boosting single-threaded performance a lot higher. The clock speeds for the 32 core part are a great increase but AMD also has a 64 core part in plans which would simply shatter any record we have seen before.
AMD has already launched their 2nd Generation EPYC lineup with Zen 2 cores, bringing up to 64 cores, 128 threads, and 128+ PCIe lanes while being based on 7nm process node and running at clocks as high as 3.35 GHz. Since the Threadripper platform can support high TDP CPUs, we can expect boost clocks on the higher core parts beyond 4 GHz.
MD Ryzen Threadripper 3000 Series CPUs - Here's What To Expect In Terms of Price, Specs, and Performance
The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3000 series family is expected to debut in the second half of 2019. This family will be internally known as “Castle Peak” and is stated to bring dominant leadership in the HEDT market. The family will prove to be a new watermark in performance and overall efficiency while new platform features will be introduced on the TR4 socketed motherboards to take them to the next level. We will also be looking at PCIe Gen 4.0 support on these motherboards which is already confirmed for the X570 chipset based AM4 motherboards for Ryzen 3000 series CPUs.
Considering that AMD would want to remain in a dominant position with the Threadripper 3000 series, we will be looking at some spectacular amounts of multi-threaded performance numbers which will only get better with the added clock speeds thanks to the 7nm process node. The CPUs will also be getting major core bumps, but AMD would like to keep prices close to current levels.
AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su:
“You know. it’s very interesting, some of the things that circulate on the Internet—I don’t think we ever said that Threadripper was not going to continue—it somehow took on a life of its own on the Internet,” Su said, speaking to a small group of reporters following her keynote. “You will see more [Threadripper] from us; you will definitely see more.
If mainstream is moving up, then Threadripper will have to move up, up—and that’s what we’re working on,”
If we look at the trend with AMD's jump from Ryzen Threadripper 1000 to Ryzen Threadripper 2000, we saw that the new processors with core parity of the previous generation were priced around the same with a $200-$300 shaved off from their previous price tag. The 1950X became 2950X and cost $200 US less. The higher core count parts were at a different market tier entirely, costing north of $1200 US but at the same time, much cheaper than their Core-X competitors.
In terms of raw performance output, the new die layout remains to be tested, but since it is more refined over the previous two generations with a stronger interconnect between them, the cache and latency performance may end up giving a bigger boost to total system responsiveness. Expect more details in the coming months.
