AMD may provide dual-processor functionality to its Threadripper processors
In a nutshell: AMD leaked a report late last week outlining the features and specifications of the upcoming Threadripper Pro 5000-series processors. He said all five models will have dual-processor functionality. Shortly thereafter, two Threadrippers appeared in the PassMark database, completing the test in dual socket mode, but they are not from the 5000 series.
Instead, they were the two seventeen-month-old flagships of the 3000 series: the 3995WX. In theory, since the CPU shares its hardware with the Epyc 77×2 series processors that support two sockets, the 3995WX cannot run in dual-socket mode only due to software limitations.
Working in tandem, two processors achieved score 123 631 points; 35% more than the average result for a single 3995WX and the highest score from any pair of two processors in the database.
If the result is genuine, as it seems plausible, then there is only one likely culprit: AMD itself. It is far too unlikely that the other party will be able to successfully modify two processors, each costing about $ 8,800 each, and the required motherboard.
As for why AMD would be experimenting with its older processors, we’re guessing that the creation of the first sWRX8 dual-socket motherboards for the 5000 series raised some questions about their backward compatibility. A microcode update could probably bring dual-processor functionality to the 3000 series processors, although AMD has little incentive to create one.
Credit: Onur Binai
That said, at a minimum, AMD has an incentive to include a dual-processor feature in the 5000 series. In the past, this could have destroyed the Epyc series; this is one of the main characteristics that distinguish the two product lines. But from 2022, the Epyc series will be a whole “generation” ahead of Threadripper and will use at least a newer architecture, if not a newer node.
Most of the available information on the 5000 series comes from the aforementioned report, which was obtained by Igor’s laboratory… Its contents have not been verified, apart from a few overlaps with other leaks, but Igor’s Lab is a reliable source. At the same time, sometimes specifications change before the announcement of processors.
Possible Specifications for Threadripper Pro 5000 Series
| 5995WX | 5975WX | 5965WX | 5955WX | 5945WX | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kernels / threads | 64/128 | 32/64 | 24/48 | 16/32 | 12/24 |
| Single core acceleration clock | 4.55 GHz | ||||
| Acceleration clock of all cores | 2.70 GHz | 3.60 GHz | 3.80 GHz | 4.00 GHz | 4.10 GHz |
| Base clock | 2.25 GHz | 2.70 GHz | 2.80 GHz | 2.90 GHz | 2.94 GHz |
| L3 cache | 256 MB | 128 MB | 64 MB | ||
| L2 cache | 32 KB | 16 KB | 12 KB | 8 KB | 6 KB |
| TDP with increasing clock frequency | 280 watts | ||||
| TDP at base frequency | 229 watts | 190 watts | 171 watts | 152 watts | 138 watts |
According to Igor’s Lab, there are now only Pro (with the letter “W”) versions of the processors. This year there are five instead of four; the addition was a 24-core model.
In general, the characteristics of these processors are not too different from their predecessors. Their clock frequency for all cores is in some cases a couple of hundred megahertz higher or lower, but in general they are similar. Their single-core clock speed alone is continually upgraded to 250-350 MHz.
As with the Ryzen 5000 series, the biggest update is under the hood: the Zen 3 architecture. In our testing, it was able to deliver 10-20% gains in IPC performance across a variety of applications. This could provide even greater gains on higher core count models, which benefit from impressive inter-core and cache latency, significantly improved over the Zen 2 3000 series architecture.
But, most likely, the growth in sales will be driven by the functionality of the two connectors, if it does arise. It would be interesting to see what the 128 unlocked cores can do.
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