Skip to main content

AMD Threadripper 3990X is breaking CPU world records just days after release

Threadripper 3990X
AMD’s 3990X Threadripper CPU should dominate in the HEDT space. Image used with permission by copyright holder

AMD’s Threadripper 3990X isn’t just a super-powerful CPU on paper. Just days after its general release, it’s smashed a number of world records, breaking those set by its 32-core sibling, the 3970X, as well as Intel’s best Xeons, and even some dual-socket machines. AMD’s 3990X is making just about every other processor on the planet look pedestrian in comparison.

AMD’s Ryzen processors have always offered impressive multithreaded performance, from the first generation to the third. But with the instructions per clock improvements, the Zen 2 architecture, the chiplet design, and the 7nm process node shrink of the third-generation, it’s broken new ground. Alongside up to 16-cores in a mainstream desktop CPU with the 3950X, AMD’s Threadripper 3990X has ushered in a whole new era of high-end desktop performance. Its 64 cores, 128 threads, 288MB of combined cache, and 4GHz+ boost frequency, make it the most powerful CPU ever outside of a server room.

And even there it’s competitive.

Recommended Videos

The first record to fall following the 3990X’s debut on February 7 was GeekBench3 — Multi Core. Supercooled by liquid nitrogen and running on an all-core boost frequency of 5,375MHz, the 3990X scored a massive 293,771 points. That’s 10,000 points more than another 3990X benchmarked that same day, and more than 100,000 points more than the 3970X, which originally took the record in December last year.

Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming
Check your inbox!

That was followed by a GPUPi for CPU record, where the same 3990X running at 5,475MHz across all cores stole the top spot, again beating out the 3970X. The same again with Cinebench R15, and wPrime 1024m a couple of days later.

What’s so impressive about the Threadripper 3990X in each of these cases isn’t just the speed with which these records were taken, but the dramatic fashion. Between 2013 and June 2019, just before the release of third-generation Ryzen CPUs, the GeekBench3 multi-core score had increased from 38,000 to 135,000. Just six months later, the 3990X has more than doubled that score.

In Cinebench R15, the score increased from 1,000 in 2013, to 10,000 (with four Xeon CPUs) before the release of third-generation Ryzen CPUs. The 3990X increased that to 18,000 overnight.

These benchmarks are designed with multi-core CPUs and multiple CPUs in mind, so they scale far better than your average game or piece of desktop software. But the performance leap made with the 3990X is nothing short of staggering. Especially when you consider the state of the market. Intel’s 10th-generation HEDT CPUs, like the 18-core 10980XE, launched in the last few months of 2019 with a near-universal 50% price cut over their predecessors. And they were still dead on arrival, with no competition to offer AMD’s Threadrippper 3000 CPUs, even falling behind the mainstream Ryzen 3000 CPUs in some cases.

AMD didn’t need to release a 64-core Threadripper CPU. Its 32-core 3970X was more than enough to take the performance crown from Intel in all the benchmarks that matter for these kinds of chips. It may even eat into AMD’s own server business. AMD Epyc CPUs sport up to 64 cores but offer lower boost clocks than their Threadripper counterparts. They enjoy eight memory channels and more PCIExpress lanes, but a 64 core Threadripper CPU is, in some cases, faster than the 64 core Epyc alternative.

We’re already seeing some of this cannibalization of AMD’s own server market with the likes of Blur Studios using Threadripper 3000 CPUs for movie rendering. That’s a job typically reserved for server chips.

Terminator: Dark Fate meets 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™

In releasing the 3990X, AMD has leapfrogged everyone, including itself, and ended up so far ahead Intel may well take years to recover, with no sign of its upcoming CPU generations offering anything like the power of AMD’s frontrunner processors. Especially at the top end.

Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale is a freelance evergreen writer and occasional section coordinator, covering how to guides, best-of lists, and…
New 9800X3D leak: ‘Strong generational boost in games’ is just 8%
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D held between fingertips.

AMD's best processor for gaming is right around the corner. Through various leaked benchmarks, we've already learned that it might disappoint, and today's leak only serves to confirm that. According to leaked AMD data, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D may offer a subtle improvement in gaming -- although it'll still be better than what most of the Zen 5 lineup has been able to provide.

VideoCardz was able to obtain what appears to be an official marketing description of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. The blurb reveals things like the predicted improvement in instructions per cycle (IPC), gaming, and multi-threaded workloads. It looks like the real deal, but as with any other leak, it's important to remember that we'll only learn the full story once we test the CPU ourselves.

Read more
AMD confirms 9000X3D release date — but questions remain
The Ryzen 7 7800X3D installed in a motherboard.

AMD just made a surprise announcement regarding its upcoming processors, but it leaves us with two major questions: What's coming, and how much will it cost? The release date was announced to be November 7, but we're unsure which chips are coming on that date. While details are very scarce, the first listings of the CPU emerged, giving us an idea of the kind of pricing we could expect. We're also seeing more and more benchmarks of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

We knew this was coming, but AMD still surprised us. Various reports claimed that AMD would unveil the Ryzen 7 9800X3D on October 25, meaning one day after Intel launches Core Ultra 200-S processors. However, AMD broke the news today (as spotted by Tom's Hardware), but the announcement is more vague than ever. It's unclear which CPUs are coming in particular, as AMD hasn't specified which X3D model will hit the shelves on November 7. The company may still say more on the matter on October 25.

Read more
AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D may not give Intel any breathing room
The Ryzen 7 7800X3D installed in a motherboard.

The competition between Intel Arrow Lake and AMD Zen 5 hasn't been as fierce as usual, with both lineups delivering small gen-to-gen improvements. However, it seems that AMD may soon add a staple to its list of the best processors, and the CPU might be announced at the worst possible time for Intel. I'm talking about the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which now has a rumored release date alongside some performance benchmarks.

The release date speculation was initially shared on Bilibili, but the user has since deleted their post. However, the discussion continued on Chiphell forums, spilling the beans on both the official announcement date and the possible release date.

Read more