AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X Available For Pre-Order

By Nathan Kirsch

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X is scheduled to be released tomorrow, but Amazon has already begun allowing pre-orders in some regions. If you live up in Canada the 3990X 64-core, 128-thread CPU is available to pre-order for $5,476.91 from Amazon Canada. That comes out to being around $4,120 when you convert the Canadian dollar to the US dollar. The suggested retail price for the Threadripper 3990X is $3,990.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X Processor Launch

Threadripper 3990X is based on AMD’s Zen 2 architecture and is built using TSMC’s 7nm FinFET manufacturing process. The 64-cores and 128-threads are running with a 2.9GHz base clock and a 4.3GHz maximum boost clock. The monster chip has an incredible 288MB of cache (256MB of L3 and 32MB of L2.)

All 3990X processors will drop into current sRTX4 motherboards that use the AMD TRX40 chipset. This high-end desktop (HEDT) CPU is rated at 280 Watts! A CPU cooler is not included with the 3990X, so you’ll need to invest in a good liquid cooler.

AMD spoke with Legit Reviews during CES 2020 and admitted that the customer base for the Threadripper 3990X is rather small. Regardless, doubling the core count for the people that need it will be appreciated! AMD is bringing this CPU to market for customers that are measuring their render times in about an hour to an hour and a half, per frame. If you render one second of footage per every 24 hours, this is the part for you. This part should also be good for high intensity compiling projects like doing Android or Unreal Engine or for those dealing with 8K lossless codecs. If you are not that kind of customer then one of the other AMD Ryzen Threadripper parts would be a better fit. AMD’s third-generation Ryzen Threadripper family, currently consists of the Ryzen Threadripper 3970X and 3960X.

Sampling of AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X was done thoughtfully by AMD, so expect to see fewer reviews than usual tomorrow. Those that did get a part will hopefully have some good benchmarks to check out. We’ve heard rumors than a single 3990X is able to crush two second generation Intel Xeon Scalable Platinum 8280 ‘Cascade Lake’ 28-core, 56-thread processors. Each Intel Xeon Platinum 8280 CPU costs around $10,000! AMD should be delivering a solid value to those in the workstation market. This is clearly not a part aimed at gamers and enthusiasts.