AMD Announces Official Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9000 WX-Series Pricing

[A Computer Guy]

It's a good time to ask AMD about that! It's not even that they didn't make the low end Threadripper with the identical core count to the top Ryzen 9, it's just that they added the "Pro" and "WX" monikers and charge $1000 more than they should for it.

With essentially minimal competition between high end AM5 and non-Pro/WX Threadripper they can price high. I was hoping AM4 EPYC might bridge the gap in between but it didn't. Besides lack of competition I would think they probably have more validation behind the platform and CPU's lending to the cost. At least you don't hear anything about exploding CPU's on Threadripper.

 

[Dr. Dro]

With essentially minimal competition between high end AM5 and non-Pro/WX Threadripper they can price high. I was hoping AM4 EPYC might bridge the gap in between but it didn't. Besides lack of competition I would think they probably have more validation behind the platform and CPU's lending to the cost. At least you don't hear anything about exploding CPU's on Threadripper.

When the bare minimum becomes a premium feature

 

[Hecate91]

Nowhere. Inflation+more expensive lithographic node+much more transistors and R&D. Less yield because more errors when baking wafer, eventually with more than one pass. And in this thread we discuss not HEDT 9000X but 9000WS or workstation CPUs.

Intel isn't even using their own fabs either, which would make their HEDT parts more expensive using a TSMC node. And yes I'm aware of that, not sure why people brought up HEDT cpu's, all of the complaints are of course from Intel users who would never buy an AMD CPU anyway, let alone a Threadripper workstation CPU.

 

[HBSound]

Also, it would be nice to see a dual-processor Threadripper system!

 

[Dr. Dro]

Intel isn't even using their own fabs either, which would make their HEDT parts more expensive using a TSMC node. And yes I'm aware of that, not sure why people brought up HEDT cpu's, all of the complaints are of course from Intel users who would never buy an AMD CPU anyway, let alone a Threadripper workstation CPU.

No one is complaining. We are literally discussing HEDT CPUs, of which Threadripper is one. What you're seeing here is the reality that will set in if AMD is allowed to run amok. The HEDT market is all but dead, elitized to the extreme since Intel dropped out and AMD realized they could get away with it scot-free. They've been hiking the prices about $3000/generation on average. Of course, these have improved, and no one is saying that a 96-core processor isn't a marvel of technology, but at the same time, yeah, it's completely priced out of market, unless you run a business and make serious money, these aren't viable anymore.

 

[Hecate91]

So when AMD has a competitive product they're getting off with murdering the market, but when a certain green company has an effective monopoly on the market it's too bad so sad just buy it or else you're dumb for buying anything else. Intel users didn't seem too concerned either when AMD had nothing to compete in the workstation CPU market. Very interesting double standards. Intel not competing is on them, I have no sympathy for a company that used underhanded tactics to stagnate progress and control the consumer and business market for over a decade.
And these aren't HEDT cpu's, they are high end professional workstation cpu's, if you need 96 cores you likely aren't concerned over the price.

 

[Dr. Dro]

So when AMD has a competitive product they're getting off with murdering the market, but when a certain green company has an effective monopoly on the market it's too bad so sad just buy it or else you're dumb for buying anything else. Intel users didn't seem too concerned either when AMD had nothing to compete in the workstation CPU market. Very interesting double standards. Intel not competing is on them, I have no sympathy for a company that used underhanded tactics to stagnate progress and control the consumer and business market for over a decade.
And these aren't HEDT cpu's, they are high end professional workstation cpu's, if you need 96 cores you likely aren't concerned over the price.

It really is just about defending the brand for you isn't it. Of course whoever "needs" 96 cores will happily buy one, regardless of the cost, that's always been the case. $11700 for someone who's working for big budget studios or doing complex simulations for large corporations, the machine's paid off in a week. Even in a forum as large as TPU, there's only one user who comes to mind, and he already has a dual EPYC monster anyway. But this is not the case for the largest majority of people, who could perfectly use something better than a 9950X but don't necessarily need a 96-core processor. That's where they have failed to deliver.

But no, we're stuck in mainstream platforms with 20 miserly PCIe lanes and 2 memory channels because god forbid we have actual expandable desktop platforms anymore.

 

[TumbleGeorge]

Spoiler: Off topic

Don't despair. Rumors about Intel Nova Lake are that the number of PCIe 5.0 lanes is increasing. Thanks to the fact that there will be a suitable controller in the south bridge (the motherboard chipset). I don't know if AMD will respond to such a move, but there will undoubtedly be new motherboard series by the time of the launch of processors with AMD Zen 6 architecture, which will no longer use, I hope, the outdated Promotionary 21 chip

 

[unwind-protect]

Also, it would be nice to see a dual-processor Threadripper system!

How is that different from a dual EPYC system?

 

[HBSound]

How is that different from a dual EPYC system?

If I understand correctly, the Threadripper motherboard already includes the necessary outputs compared to the Epyc board. If you require additional outputs for devices, you'll need to add a PCI card in some instances. In terms of clock speeds, the Threadrippers take the lead, while the fastest Epyc chip draws 500 watts per unit. When comparing apples to apples, the Epyc 9655P has the same thread and core count but only achieves a GPU speed of 4.5 GHz, which falls short of the latest generation Threadripper's 5.4 GHz. The main distinction I see between the two is that the Epyc processor is approximately half the price of the newest round of CPUs.

Your thoughts?

 

[unwind-protect]

If I understand correctly, the Threadripper motherboard already includes the necessary outputs compared to the Epyc board. If you require additional outputs for devices, you'll need to add a PCI card in some instances. In terms of clock speeds, the Threadrippers take the lead, while the fastest Epyc chip draws 500 watts per unit. When comparing apples to apples, the Epyc 9655P has the same thread and core count but only achieves a GPU speed of 4.5 GHz, which falls short of the latest generation Threadripper's 5.4 GHz. The main distinction I see between the two is that the Epyc processor is approximately half the price of the newest round of CPUs.

Your thoughts?

I'm not up-to-date with newest EPYC mainboards, but generally they have the same amount of onboard gear, just on a physically bigger board.

Clockspeeds might be a bit lower, but in the EPYC world you can get the -X chips with large L3 cache.

 

[HBSound]

I agree, and after quickly looking at some of the EP boards, the clock speeds are around 4800-6400 for the RAM speed.

I

 

[efikkan]

Still no 3D cache versions.
The bios leak lied.

Thankfully not.
We don't need more gimmicks. Extra L3 cache makes no difference on most productive workloads, especially Threadrippers which have more thermal headroom resulting in less throttling.

Same 8 channel RAM access but AVX-512 is undivided with full 512 bit path. In previous 7000 series was executed divided into 2 pipelines of 256 bits each.
Also support faster DDR5 memory and have other changes in front side of CPU.

AVX-512 support is the same on Pro vs. non-Pro. The difference is 8 vs. 4 memory channels, PCIe channels and core count.

Who in their right mind would buy the 9955WX when the Ryzen is under $600? You must really need a lot of extra PCIe lanes.

Anyone who needs lots of memory and/or PCIe bandwidth.
Even more attractive will probably be 9960X (24C, 4-channel DDR5-6400) which will probably be priced at $1500 or less. (judging by retail prices so far)
Workstation CPUs are also more stable, offer more consistent performance under load (thanks to less throttling).
Ryzen 9900X/9950X are borderline "benchmarking CPUs", where those cores don't really come to much real use for productive workloads, the value is made worse thanks to very limited IO. Those who want a "semi-workstation" probably need several fast SSDs and possibly lots of drives, and a AM5 build will probably be very short-lived.

Monopoly intel having 99% of the market offered 350$ hedt cpus. Clearly, intelgreedia, hail amd

Technically Intel's Xeon W starts at $359 BTW.

Are the complaints that AMD doesn't offer a lowend highend desktop product? In general it seems like an odd niche. But I guess if Intel is doing it then it must sell...

It doesn't sell anything close to what it used to when they offered the real HEDT segment. High-end workstations have always been much more expansive than that.
But ever since Ryzen pushed the core counts too far on mainstream platforms, and the reviews focus on synthetic benchmarks, CPU that offer sustained performance become a hard sell. "Power users" on mainstream platforms upgrade more frequently, and as we all know, there is no one more desperate for an upgrade than a recent AM4/5 buyer.

Just imagine if 12C Threadripper cost $700 and 16C cost $900 with motherboards at $400, they would sell like hot cakes. By comparison, Xeon W isn't that far off price wise, but are only available through server channels and overpriced PC vendors.
Why AMD and Intel, why don't you want to sell the good stuff?

 

[HBSound]

Also, just as much as I love the Threadripper line of AMD, I currently use the 3975WX, and have no issues with the processors. It performs when I need it to. I do realize that it will eventually reach its end of life.

However, the current AMD5, and subsequently, will improve in its capabilities and performance. As I consider this generation of Threadripper, there’s nothing in my mind to suggest that this CPU series will last for another 10 years. If this isn’t the last generation, then the next one will be. The AMD5 does not handle everything out of the box. I see that the generation chips support many more PCI lanes, handle Registered ECC RAM, Advanced Security, and other features. I have a current AMD5 chip; my issues include the lack of PCI lane support and full ECC RAM support (motherboard/Processor), among others. In my own thinking, I considered the AMD4 Epyc, but I believe someone has already mentioned that it has fallen short. I thought it would be the offering that could seamlessly integrate into existing small form factor systems, providing workstation functions, tasks, and stability. Being an offering right above the gaming CPUs, but not the larger format EPYCs, and so on.

 

[unwind-protect]

I have a current AMD5 chip; my issues include the lack of PCI lane support and full ECC RAM support (motherboard/Processor), among others.

AM4 and AM5 have full ECC support with many mainboards and many CPUs. Basically only MSI refuses to play ball.

 

[HBSound]

Also, what is the price for the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX?

AM4 and AM5 have full ECC support with many mainboards and many CPUs. Basically only MSI refuses to play ball.

ECC Support yes, but non of them are offering any kind of registered ecc support. It would be very nice to see.

 

[DemonicRyzen666]

Also, what is the price for the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX?


ECC Support yes, but non of them are offering any kind of registered ecc support. It would be very nice to see.

Add $200 to the Current 7945wx it's probably around $2,700. The 7945wx was sitting at around $2,500.

 

[TumbleGeorge]

AVX-512 support is the same on Pro vs. non-Pro

Yes I pointed difference in execution of AVX-512 between generations 7000&9000 not between series in one generation.

 

[A Computer Guy]

No one is complaining. We are literally discussing HEDT CPUs, of which Threadripper is one. What you're seeing here is the reality that will set in if AMD is allowed to run amok. The HEDT market is all but dead, elitized to the extreme since Intel dropped out and AMD realized they could get away with it scot-free. They've been hiking the prices about $3000/generation on average. Of course, these have improved, and no one is saying that a 96-core processor isn't a marvel of technology, but at the same time, yeah, it's completely priced out of market, unless you run a business and make serious money, these aren't viable anymore.

Speaking of something that is viable a 5975wx is up on ebay right now for under $500 and about 1hr left to go on bidding. That's a crazy good deal if it lands under $800.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Speaking of something that is viable a 5975wx is up on ebay right now for under $500 and about 1hr left to go on bidding. That's a crazy good deal if it lands under $800.

Yep, unfortunately these auctions are no longer an option for me. Even if I win, price at customs is an automatic +100%. And it's about to get worse (see news)