What is new in the AMD Threadripper 9000 series

About a month ago, AMD presented the Threadripper PRO 9000, a new generation of high-performance processors aimed at professionals who need to have a high number of cores and a large parallelization capacity without giving up the latest security and protection functions at the hardware level.

The Threadripper PRO 9000 will be available from July and will arrive together with the Threadripper 9000, a series aimed at less demanding professionals with tighter budgets and also those who do not need such a large number of cores and who want to use their PC for work and play.

Where the Threadripper 9000 fits in

These processors are aimed at covering a market that has grown exponentially in recent years, that of workstations. It is expected that, by the end of 2029, this market will have reached 9 million units, a figure that represents a very interesting “pie” for AMD, which logically wants to get as large a piece as possible.

The workstation market is very broad, as it includes two major levels: laptops and desktops. This last level is what AMD’s Threadripper 9000 is aimed at in its two versions.

How AMD Threadrippers Have Evolved

I remember perfectly that, in their beginnings, these processors came to the market as a solution for high-performance computing, but they were also aimed at enthusiastic users who wanted access to a very powerful multithreaded processor with a reasonable price for what was on the market at that time.

The first-generation Threadrippers, also known as the 1000 series, offered good multithreading performance, but their single-threaded performance had a lot of room for improvement. That improvement came with the arrival of the third-generation Threadripper, based on the Zen 2 architecture, as they made a very big leap in single-threading compared to previous generations, and as expected, they also improved in multi-threading.

From then on, the growth and improvements received by the Threadripper processors were a real spectacle, both in single-threaded and multithreaded. AMD managed to raise single-threaded performance to such a good level that it finally managed to create a generation of HPC processors capable of achieving good performance in games, a type of application where single-threaded power has more weight.

The Threadripper 7000 was that off-road generation capable of offering an excellent level of performance in any scenario, both single-threaded and multi-threaded. We already saw it in our review of the Threadripper 7980X, and now, with the Threadripper 9000, AMD has raised the bar again.

Threadripper 9000 in depth

• Zen Architecture 5.
• Up to 96 cores and 192 threads.
• Increased throughput per core vs. Zen 4.
• Optimized pipeline for intensive workloads.
• AVX512 instructions in one pass (512-bit data path).
• Enhanced ISA capabilities.
• It supports DDR5 memory at 6,400 MT/s.
• Compatible with the sTR5 platform.

With the Zen 5 architecture came the leap to TSMC’s 4nm node. Each CPU chiplet, also known as a CCD unit, is manufactured on that node, and this translates into an improvement in performance per watt consumed.

This architecture offers an increase in CPI of up to 16% compared to the previous generation and comes with other important improvements, among which we can highlight:

• Hop predictor with lower latency, more accuracy, and more output capacity.
• Integrated dual decoding system.
• Improvements to the integer execution unit, with six ALUs and three multipliers.
• Six pipelines, two of them FADD with two-cycle latency.
• Improved floating point unit that can work with a larger number of instructions.
• Doubles the maximum bandwidth of the floating-point unit.
• Improvements in the preload of data in the charging and storage unit.
• The L1 cache increases from 32 KB to 48 KB and now has 12 addresses.
• Cache improvements with reduced latencies.
• The bandwidth of the L2 cache has been doubled, and the latency of the L3 cache has been reduced.

The Threadripper 9000 processors, both in their standard version and in the PRO version, use the chiplet or CCD unit as the central pillar. This one has 8 Zen 5 cores and 16 threads, which means that each core can work with a process and a thread, and adds up to 40 MB of cache (8 MB of L2 and 32 MB of L3).

The I/O chiplet contains the entire I/O subsystem, the PCIe lines, and the memory controller. It is manufactured on TSMC’s 6 nm node and is placed in a central position. It communicates with all the chiplets, which are located on both sides. This chiplet also integrates the third-generation Infinity Fabric subsystem, the management processor, and the “Secure Processor,” AMD’s integrated security solution.

A look at the Ryzen Threadripper 9000 and sTR5 platform

• Support for DDR5 memory configurations at 6,400 MT/s in configurations of up to eight channels.
• Compatible with interleaving mode on 2, 4, 6, and 8 channels.
• Support for RDIMM modules and for “single” and “double rank” modules.
• Up to 2TB of RAM.
• Maximum CPU TDP supported: 350 watts.
• Up to 128 PCIe Gen5 lanes.
• Security features with dedicated subsystem and hardware protection, including Secure Boot, Trusted Hardware, SME (Secure Memory Encryption), and AES 256 XTS encryption.
• Up to 32 IO SATA lines.

Models and Specifications

The Threadripper 9000 is divided into three different models, supports four-channel RAM configurations, and offers up to 80 PCIe Gen5 lanes. They all have a TDP of 350 watts, can reach 5.4 GHz in turbo mode with an active core, and use SMT technology.

• Threadripper 9980X: 64 cores and 128 threads at 3.2 GHz-5.4 GHz. 256 MB L3 cache.
• Threadripper 9970X: 32 cores and 64 threads at 4 GHz-5.4 GHz. 128 MB of L3 cache.
• Threadripper 9960X: 24 cores and 48 threads at 4.2 GHz-5.4 GHz. 128 MB of L3 cache.

The Threadripper PRO 9000 WX is divided into six different models and supports memory configurations on eight channels. They offer up to 128 PCIe Gen5 lanes, also have a maximum turbo of 5.4 GHz, and a TDP of 350 watts.

• Threadripper 9995WX: 96 cores and 192 threads at 2.5 GHz-5.4 GHz. 384 MB L3 cache.
• Threadripper 9985WX: 64 cores and 128 threads at 3.2 GHz-5.4 GHz. 256 MB L3 cache.
• Threadripper 9975WX: 32 cores and 64 threads at 4 GHz-5.4 GHz. 128 MB of L3 cache.
• Threadripper 9965WX: 24 cores and 48 threads at 4.2 GHz-5.4 GHz. 128 MB of L3 cache.
• Threadripper 9955WX: 16 cores and 32 threads at 4.5 GHz-5.4 GHz. 64 MB L3 cache.
• Threadripper 9945WX: 12 cores and 24 threads at 4.7 GHz-5.4 GHz. 64 MB L3 cache.

Performance of the Threadripper 9000

Which sectors are they aimed at?

These are processors aimed at the professional sector that, in general, are aimed at professionals who need to ventilate demanding workloads through a high number of cores/threads at the CPU level.

Among the sectors that are most dependent on this type of processor, we can highlight:

1. Design and manufacturing: AI-assisted conceptualization, 3D rendering and product visualization, and advanced simulation.
2. Media and entertainment: heavy workloads of special effects, AI-enhanced video production, with transcoding and color grading, and real-time rendering.
3. Architecture, engineering, and construction: AI-assisted designs, footorrealistic rendering of complex models, and real-time tutorials and presentations using virtual reality.
4. Science and software: accelerated software compilation, AI-assisted coding using LLMs, oil and gas prospecting, and image and data processing.

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