The next generation of AMD’s high-end desktop (HEDT) processors, the Ryzen Threadripper 9000 Series, goes on sale July 31. The Zen 5 chips will put some serious muscle into your PC—if your wallet can handle the price. The MSRPs start at $1,499 and top out at $4,999 for the first three CPUs in the non-Pro series.
AMD is targeting high-end workstation users with the Threadripper 9000 series. This means the CPUs will end up in plenty of corporate PCs—particularly workstations aimed at 3D content creation and software development. AI processing work is another target for AMD, and it’s encouraging customers to pair a Threadripper 9000 series CPU with its new GPU, the Radeon AI Pro R9700. That’s not something you can do just yet, however. As Videocardz points out, the GPU’s rollout has been mostly nonexistent. And the launch would have only seen the GPUs in pre-built systems anyway. It will be a while before you can pick up the new GPU to pair it with a Threadripper 9000 series CPU.
The cheapest of the three new CPUs is the Threadripper 9960X, which has 24 cores (48 threads), 128MB cache, and a base frequency of 4.2GHz that boosts to 5.4GHz. It goes for $1,499. The next step up is the Threadripper 9970X, with 32 cores (64 threads), a 4.0 / 5.4GHz clock, and the same cache as the 9960X. You’ll pay $1,000 more for those eight extra cores, compared to the 9960X.
The flagship Zen 5 Threadripper has 64 cores (128 threads), with the lowest clock of the three at 3.2GHz, though it still boosts to 5.4GHz. Its cache is 256MB, and it carries a much steeper price tag than its already-pricey siblings at $4,999.
The Threadripper 9000 series is compatible with the AMD TRX50 chipset, which supports 4-channel, DDR5-6400 memory and supports as many as 80 PCIe 5.0 lanes. Motherboards with this chipset also support the Threadripper Pro 9000 series CPUs, but you’ll want to go with the AMD WRX90 chipset to take advantage of Pro’s 8-channel memory support—and its support for 2TB of memory, to the TRX50’s 1TB max.
AMD also recently launched its Ryzen Threadripper Pro 9000 series CPUs, which target workstations, too. But the Pro series is designed for very high-end workstations that have support for octa-channel memory. You won’t see those CPUs in enthusiast workstations.