AMD Pushes Back 3rd Gen Threadripper & Ryzen 9 3950X Until November

[coder]

They'd be pretty satisfied with old DOS games if it weren't for the wanking over graphics quality. I mean who the hell still plays games for fun amirite.

Uh, no, not really. I like 2D shooters, and there are plenty of good ones on old systems (specifically 16-bit & 32-bit). But, as soon as you get into true 3D, a lot of older games are just too basic.

Low-res and lack of AA always bugged me. It wasn't until mostly later PS3 games that I felt the graphical quality was really good enough to be a non-issue. That said, Nintendo was always good at cartoony-style 3D, but then N64 even had tri-linear interpolation (though most games just used bi-linear).

[coder]

It's the single thread performance that counts.

Well, single-thread performance counts, but it's certainly not as if games don't use multiple cores. Even moreso, as we're transitioning from a baseline of dual-core to quad-core CPUs.

These guys claim that 60% of their players now have >= 4 cores:

https://worldoftanks.eu/en/news/general-news/update-1-4-concurrency/

(hint: don't specify your region, or it will redirect you to the main page)

[angrypie]

Hardcore gamers yearn for those 6 GHz single core CPUs, with no iGPU on chip, paired with ultra low latency low bandwidth RAM. It's the single thread performance that counts. Maybe even use a real time OS with no threading at all.

They'd be pretty satisfied with old DOS games if it weren't for the wanking over graphics quality. I mean who the hell still plays games for fun amirite.

[caligula]

Milking every single MHz out of the CPUs is kinda pointless when they already have an IPC advantage over current-gen intel. Also I don't think anyone should be buying 12- and 16-core CPUs only for gaming, 8-core (and even 6-core) Ryzens are already enough for that.

Hardcore gamers yearn for those 6 GHz single core CPUs, with no iGPU on chip, paired with ultra low latency low bandwidth RAM. It's the single thread performance that counts. Maybe even use a real time OS with no threading at all.

[angrypie]

Milking every single MHz out of the CPUs is kinda pointless when they already have an IPC advantage over current-gen intel. Also I don't think anyone should be buying 12- and 16-core CPUs only for gaming, 8-core (and even 6-core) Ryzens are already enough for that.

[LeJimster]

I know everyone is citing capacity as the reason for the delay. But I'm wondering if its due to not enough volume of chiplets capable of hitting the advertised boost speed. Maybe they want to avoid any more negative PR by making sure stable bios and adequate quality chips are available at launch.

I'm also wondering if the boost clocks will be even higher on threadripper. Looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

[coder]

So which box you want to get? I think Threadripper's looks very nice on the desk or shelf.

With the new I/O die, there's basically no downside (except cost) to going with Threadripper. Before, you'd take a hit of potentially being an extra hop away from DRAM - now, you're always 1 hop away.
:-/

So, now the only question is whether you need the extra capabilities enough to justify the price.

[microcode]

Gotta say, these Threadripper chips have been such great value. My 2950X has saved me so much time, it's comical.

[M@GOid]

My birthday is in November...hint, hint

So which box you want to get? I think Threadripper's looks very nice on the desk or shelf.

[coder]

I think I'll wait 6 more months before I jump on the 3xxx bandwagon as most of the early issues ought to be ironed out by then and intel will likely have introduced more competitive offerings putting price pressure on the 3900X I'm gunning for.

My hope is that they'll eventually release a 3750X, with a higher-binned die. I don't need more than 8 cores, but I'd like the boost speed to reach the same that's possible on their higher-end CPUs. I shouldn't have to buy more cores than I need, just to get the top boost speed.

2 undervolted and underclocked RX Vega 64s, I figure I can bide my time for now.

What did you use for underclocking, in Linux?

Edit: related: Radeon VII: a parting love letter to the era of true GPU compute?