AMD Threadripper 3970X Performance On Linux After Two Years

[phoronix]

Phoronix: AMD Threadripper 3970X Performance On Linux After Two Years

A few days ago it marked two years since the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X / 3970X launched. While we are eager to see next-gen Threadripper, for now is a look at how the open-source Linux performance has evolved for these still-impressive HEDT processors by comparing the Linux performance at launch to where it is today with the very latest upstream Linux software.

https://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=30726

[coder]

Wow, the main takeaway for me is that it's been on the market two years, without a successor! I get that the supply/demand situation has been crazy, but that's still surprising to read.

[mumar1]

Wow, the main takeaway for me is that it's been on the market two years, without a successor! I get that the supply/demand situation has been crazy, but that's still surprising to read.

Take it easy, no competition in sight ;-)

[ddriver]

Wonder if the zen 3 TR will skip straight to 3d cache chips, that will surely put it well ahead of its predecessor far more than the l3 cache unification / ccx expansion.

Zen 3 vs zen 2 is on average about 20% faster, maybe 15% on full pipeline saturation. V cache outta squeeze another 10-15%. It would be nice and logical to see the two improvements stacked together, given amd's one year hiatus in the segment.

[MastaG]

Wonder if the zen 3 TR will skip straight to 3d cache chips, that will surely put it well ahead of its predecessor far more than the l3 cache unification / ccx expansion.

Zen 3 vs zen 2 is on average about 20% faster, maybe 15% on full pipeline saturation. V cache outta squeeze another 10-15%. It would be nice and logical to see the two improvements stacked together, given amd's one year hiatus in the segment.

As a TRX40 owner I really hope so.
But I think it was said (or leaked) that we will only see Zen3 Threadrippers for TRX40 somewhere in February.
Zen3 + 3D cache will probably only make it into Epyc and non-Threadripper CPU's.

[kozman]

Man, there must still be so much perf from Zen being left on the table. This test will be interesting to see once io_uring work from 5.16 is factored in + the "Adjust NUMA imbalance for multiple LLCs". Michael, it'll be even more interesting to see this article revisited in April 2022 when Ubuntu 22.04 LTS gets minted.

[ddriver]

Zen3 + 3D cache will probably only make it into Epyc and non-Threadripper CPU's.

Why? TR is the smallest segment, and it comes at premium margins, seems fairly obvious choice and easy to prioritize.

Amd could easily have launched a new TR if it was vanilla zen 3. The timing strongly hints they are waiting for v cache.

Furthermore, if they launch 12 and 16 core ryzen with v-cache and it has pronounced enough effect on performance, it will make an even later launched vanilla zen 3 TR look diminished and with lackluster IPC.

I wouldn't be surprised if TR is v-cache skus entirelly. It is their halo product, top performance, to deny it the advantage of v cache defies all logic and reason. Why would amd want to diminish its top performance.

[schmidtbag]

Wow, the main takeaway for me is that it's been on the market two years, without a successor! I get that the supply/demand situation has been crazy, but that's still surprising to read.

AMD makes a lot less profit with TR relative to Epyc, so as long as they keep selling everything they make, they have no incentive to make TR variants. Even the Zen3 Ryzens aren't really getting any cheaper, even on Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals.

[jetwalsh]

I’d love to see updated comparison between this CPU’s performance and other AMD and Intel desktop CPUs.

[coder]

Why? TR is the smallest segment, and it comes at premium margins, seems fairly obvious choice and easy to prioritize.

I think AMD faced too much demand for high-binned Zen3 chiplets from Epyc and 5950X. Remember, Threadripper doesn't just need chiplets, it needs the highest-binned ones.

I wouldn't be surprised if TR is v-cache skus entirelly. It is their halo product, top performance, to deny it the advantage of v cache defies all logic and reason. Why would amd want to diminish its top performance.

At this point, it would seem to make sense. It's going to face strong competition from the Sapphire Rapids-generation Xeon W, and there's no sense in them immediately following a launch with a refresh to add the V-cache.