AMD’s high-end Ryzen CPUs on the AM5 platform have been dominating with CPUs like the Ryzen 9 9950X and 9950X3D both being monsters. That said, it isn’t actually the top of AMD's product lineup, they do still have their Threadripper lineup. They launched their Threadripper and Threadripper Pro 7000 Series of CPUs in late 2023, including a new sTR5 socket and TRX50 and WRX90 chipsets, and they are back at it again with their new 9000 Series of Threadripper CPUs that hit stores tomorrow. Ahead of that launch, I have had the top two CPUs in the office on the bench, the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X and 9970X, and today we can check out how they performed.
Product Name: AMD Threadripper 9980X and 9970X
Review Sample Provided by: AMD
Written by: Wes Compton
Amazon Affiliate Links:
9000 Series Threadripper?
AMD's latest generation of Threadripper CPUs formally went under the name Shimada Peak and is now the 9000 Series. These drop in between the mainstream Ryzen CPUs and the recently introduced Threadripper PRO WX Series of CPUs. These are focused on the HEDT or High End Desktop market, namely for enthusiasts, creators, and pro users who don’t need the extra pro features or the octa-channel memory that you can get with the WX-Series of CPUs. The new 9000 Series updates the Threadripper line with Zen 5 when compared to the previous Threadripper 7000 Series.
So what CPUs did they announce for the Threadripper 9000 Series? There are just three CPUs, and those all line up with the three CPUs from the previous 7000 Series. There are the Threadripper 9980X, 9970X, and 9960X. AMD sent over two of those three for testing today. But the way they break down is the 9980X is the new non-Pro flagship, and like the 7980X before it, it has 64 cores and 128 threads. In addition to the changes with the Zen 5 architecture, it has also increased the max boost frequency from up to 5.1 GHz up to 5.4 GHz. They have the same base clock at 3.2 GHz, and both L2 and L3 cache are still the same. The max non-OC memory speeds have increased from DDR5-5200 up to DDR5-6400, which is a huge increase. The Threadripper 9970X is like the 7970X with 32 cores and 64 threads, and like with the 9980X, it also has an increase in max boost frequency, this time from 5.3 GHz up to 5.4 GHz, and it also has the new faster non-OC memory speed support. Then the last CPU, the 9960X, matches up with the 7960X with 24 cores and 48 threads, and it has the same faster max boost and non-OC memory speed increases. One thing to note is that the base clock frequencies do increase as we drop down through the product stack. All of the new 9000 Series CPUs have 90 PCIe 5.0 lanes to the 48 lanes from the 7000 Series CPUs, but beyond that, they all share the same sTR5 socket, TDPs, and max current as well. The new CPUs are positioned in the same launch MSRPs as the previous generation, which puts the Threadripper 9980X at $4999, the 9970X at $2499, and the 9960X at $1499. All three prices will seem very high when compared to the Ryzen mainstream lineup, the 9950X3D, for example, launched at $699. But for someone looking at their options from the Threadripper Pro lineup, they look a lot more affordable. The Threadripper Pro 9965WX with 24 cores is $2899 to the $1499 of the 9960X here for example. The 9975WX with 32 cores is $4099 to the $2499 of the 9970X, and the Threadripper 9985WX is $7999 to the $4999 of the 9980X. There isn’t a 9000 Series CPU that matches up with the flagship Threadripper Pro 9995WX with its 96 cores, however.
AMD did send over a full setup for testing both of the CPUs and I wanted to make sure to show what we will be testing with. You can see the full list in the next section, but their test configuration came with a Crucial T705 1TB Gen 5 SSD. It isn’t an ultra-high capacity, but speed-wise wise it is a good match for the Threadripper CPUs.
For memory, they went all out with G.Skill's help. The kit they sent over is the G.Skill T5 Neo Series DDR5-6400 R-DIMM Memory Kit, which is a quad-channel 128GB kit running at 6400 MHz. They don’t have any heatspreaders but do have blacked out PCBs.
For the motherboard, AMD's kits could come with one of two motherboards, and our kit came with an Asus Pro WS TRX50-SAGE Wifi, one of three TRX50 boards that Asus has in their lineup. There is WAY too much going on with the board to touch on everything here, but I did want to show off the large heatsinks in three of the four sides of the huge sTR5 socket. It supports single or dual power supply configurations, which can be very important when you have a CPU pulling the power that these can pull on top of one or multiple GPUs.
Last up, all of that power creates a lot of heat. To keep things cool, they also sent over a Silverstone XE360-TR5 cooler. I haven’t built anything Threadripper for a while, and the size of the surface area for the cooler is always shocking when you are used to seeing coolers for AM5 CPUs. This cooler has the pump built into the radiator, so the water block end of the cooler looks a lot like a custom cooler with the large water block.
Of course, we received the 9980X and the 9970X Ryzen Threadripper CPUs as well, and I can’t skip over those. Each CPU comes in its black and grey box with orange trim, just like any Ryzen CPU, and at a quick glance, these boxes aren’t really much different than any normal Ryzen CPU that comes with an air cooler. Only these don’t have an air cooler. Inside the box, you have a thick foam insert that cradles the CPU, which comes in its own plastic clamshell on one side of the foam. Under that, you get a certificate of authenticity, which has the warranty and installation instructions. Along with that, you also get a cool AMD Threadripper case sticker as well. Then, around on the back of the foam, there are two components. You have the installation tool, which you will need to install the CPU into any sTR5 socket. Then, along with that is an adapter for Asetek coolers with their standard round mounting solution. This means that it is possible that you don’t need to get a Threadripper exclusive cooling solution, you may have a cooler that would already work. That said, the contact surface with those coolers is much smaller, so while it will work, it’s still not optimal.
I’ve said it already, but these are huge. Pictures don’t do them justice until you get one sitting next to an AM5 CPU, like in the pictures below. Like with all past Threadripper CPUs and other server CPUs, both the 9980X and 9970X come with an orange carrier frame already attached to help simplify installation. Neither of the CPUs looks any different from the other on the front or back, other than the branding. Like with all Ryzen CPUs, AMD has etched a large logo across the top of the heatspreader and then the model name below that. In the bottom half, you have a QR code with more detailed information like its serial number, its batch, and where it was manufactured. Of course, with the huge CPU size, it is all spread out, not packed in like on an AM5 CPU.
Where a standard CPU just has one clip and a basic cover on the CPU socket, to install these, you need the included tool, and there are a few extra steps. AMD has made it simple with each of the bolts being numbered, so you can use the tool to open up the CPU socket. Once open, you can remove the plastic insert that protects the socket. Then we want to also remove the plastic insert in the CPU tray. That is where you will slide the CPU with its carriage frame in. Once all the way down, you can latch the CPU down with the two small clips. Then the main bracket drops down, and you use the included tool to tighten each of the three screws down. The tool gives way when you reach the correct torque. While more complicated, it leaves less room for error, and I think inexperienced users might find something similar to this with the mainstream platform to be easier.
Before getting into testing, I ran CPUz just to confirm everything was good to go.
