Hi!
I’ve been looking at building a new workstation or HEDT for a little while and have been looking at the different Threadripper options, both 2xxx, 3xxx and 5xxx series, I was leaning towards one of the lower end 5000 units but I’m looking at the totatl system cost and it seems a bit steep for what I need. I don’t really need 128 pcie lanes or 2 TB of memory but I would like maybe 64 lanes and 256G of memory. It was looking like Threadripper was the only real option for that until a couple of days ago when Intel finally launced Xeon w3400 and w2400!
The low to mid range xeon w2400 seem to fit the bill pretty nice for be, but, I’ve always wanted a threadripper system. Do you think that the Intel launch of w2400 will make AMD launch Threadripper 7000 before the end of this year? I was seeing leaks that suggested the planned launch of “Storm Peak” was around Q3 this year, that is almost an entire year after they launched the Ryzen 7000 and Epic Genoa. Why are they dragging their feet so much?!
Anyway, a bit of a rant about the pricing and direction that AMD went with the 5000 series Threadripper, what do you guys think?
Like you, I think the new sweet spot for HEDT is 64 PCIe lanes (3x8 PCIe and 8x4 m.2).
But, looking at the market, you can get:
A 7950X paired with an X670E. Seems like here, it is 128 GB of RAM and most come with x16/x4/x2 PCIe lanes and then 4x4 m.2 slots. Halfway there, I suppose.
A 13900K paired with a Z790. Again a x16/x4/x1 PCIe combo but I can see a few boards with extra m.2 slots. I have also seen a couple of boards doing the good old x8 / x8 / x4 and 5 m.2 slots, which is getting awfully close but still not there.
Neither alternatives are particularly suited to your use case this is true. But with this in mind, I understand why the TR and Xeons support much more than that; if you maxed out consumer then you want a new higher roof to cover more advanced usecases.
The reality is though, that in many cases consumer is starting to be enough even for pros these days. This leaves HEDT in somewhat of a limbo, and I’m not sure where it will land. The market is a bit weird at the moment too - AMD stands as the reigning champ and until they get any real competition whatsoever, they see little reason to release a Zen 4 threadripper. It is entirely possible the next Threadripper is Zen 5 with a Zen 3 refresh on a smaller node, though this is mere speculation.
The TLDR is, if you need to upgrade soon then the Xeons are a nice middle ground, but I’d wait 6 more months if possible.
On a side note, Is it wrong for me to wish for the good old X570 days with 36 PCIe lanes in total, 16 from the chipset and another 20 (+ 4 for chipset link) on the CPU?
I’d wait for the [upcoming] review bombardment of this new platform
Also for AMD response- hopefully should light fire at their backside, to bring back TR [non-Pro]
I would suggest looking into the AMD Threadripper Pro 3995WX. This allows you to get the most bang for the buck processor. Suppose you have no issues with getting an E-ATX motherboard for your setup. The extra space in the PCI lanes is a positive. You never know what can and will happen as you use the PC over the years.
I love the AMD threadripper pro, and Asus motherboard combination I use. I have thrown nothing at the wall the system can not handle. THE only thing I have considered doing - getting the 3995WX processor as AMD keeps releasing new generations. I won’t get on the wagon of trying to keep up with the jones. AMD could drop a new processor every 12 to 18 months. Nothing really worth doing.
I WISH the motherboard companies made smaller thread ripper pro motherboards in the M-ATX size with half the PCI lanes. Just to allow this processer into smaller PC case formats.
Also, getting the 3XXX, whichever it is, get a new CPU, and you will save a lot of money, as the matching 5XXXX will cost you just the extra cash.
A question for you to answer - what will you use the PC for? This can help to see if you will take advantage of the Threadripper Family. I personally use my PC for CAD, Revit, and 3D work. I invested in the Threadripper 3XXX processor and I use 128GB of ECC Ram, all for stability, and reliability.
You are correct btw, for newer gens the only option is to go EPYC WS if you want mATX
Just was sure I had seen a TR or two in mATX before, and while yeah I did, the most recent ones were EPYC only. Sorry for the quick shoot, I’m a SFF enthusiast myself
I have seen that motherboard. Which is based on the older Threadripper Pro Family of CPUs, no the 3X, and 5X family of CPUs. Also, that motherboard family is based on the older PCI lanes - 3.0. Regarding the ThreadRipper Pro family of motherboards - I have combed the industry. At this point, no smaller format motherboards exist.
I love the smaller format and would love to get the THreadripper into a smaller format. But to do that, I would have to go EPYC or Xeon. I love AMD because when it comes to value - the AMD products when in value all day. You will spend more and sometimes double to get the same kind of power. Xeon is expensive for reasons I do not understand, and personally, I am ok with not knowing. Since I have been into PC building when I build, I compare apple to apple and AMD wins every time for me. I am considering the EPYC, but if I remember reading correctly. The AMD Epyc is not supported under the Windows 11 operating system.
I wouldn’t count on that. On the Jan 2023 Steam hardware survey 32 core CPU’s are 0.01% with higher core counts all at 0.00%. Not a large amount of folks, even if they were fired up which most aren’t.
AMD wants to make as much profit as they can per CPU and making Non-Pro’s does not meet that goal. When AMD was $5 a share they wanted business badly and did all sorts of things to generate business. Now that it is $80, AMD is slowly turning into Intel as their stock price rises. Consumer happiness and choice of product is being replaced by corporate profits to keep stock holders happy.
the starting point for TR is not great and I just dont need it for home use. I am well suited to a general gaming system and currently have a 5900x w/ 6750 XT and 32gb.
I dont honestly even make good use of the 5900x but the limited PCIe situation makes it hard to transition my chip into a home server platform.
My sweet spot is enough lanes for GPU, 2x M.2, dual 10g, and 8x SAS card. This combo tends to tap out most consumer boards and is easy for a TR system but I cant justify a $1000 cpu. What I like most about the new Intel offerings is they plan to offer a $400 CPU with 64 PCIe lanes. That would be nearly perfect for my needs, if only they had a a -T or -L variant with 60w or lower.
I really dont want to run server applications on my PC, and I dont want to run my gaming system on a VM.
Also IPMI or at minimum vPRO is a huge plus which you dont see often enough on TR workstation boards. My rack is 100’ from my office so I dont want to be walking all the way to my garage every time I need to do something.
Yeah, the 64 lanes looks really interesting, at some of the cheaper ones (8 and 12 core) version look really interesting. I guess I’ll wait a bit as suggested here to see what AMD’s repsonse to this competition is.
Don’t wait too long though, there is a chance that AMD will not be coming out with something new until early next year. It all depends how much time you think your current system has.
Im a serial waiter. Intel has shots fired with xeon for workstation. Will AMD Rip them a new one who noes. ATM AMD are more to power sipper while intel is turning power to 11 to make headlines.
It even gets rid of all your Windows-related problems, guaranteed!
