AMD Threadripper 2 is Coming in August – Here’s Everything We Know
After one of the company's most successful CPU launches in recent memory with the Ryzen 2000 series, the company looks to give its enthusiast lineup of Ryzen Threadripper CPUs the same 2nd gen Ryzen treatment.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2000 Series & X399 TR4 Refresh Due in August
The Ryzen Threadripper 2000 series is set to launch this upcoming August alongside a collection of new TR4 socket motherboards. There's some conflicting information in the techsphere about these new boards. Some indicate that the X399 chipset could get an X499 replacement, whilst most reports indicate Threadripper 2 will see the release of a new set of motherboards on the current X399 chipset.
The extent of new feature additions to the upcoming X399 refresh will depend almost entirely on the creativity of motherboard makers, but word is to expect a lot of new goodies! We've even heard that M-ATX could get a lot more love, so stay tuned for that.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2000 Series CPUs - What to Expect
Higher Clock Speeds & Better Overclocking
Threadripper 2 will get the same Zen+ 12nm treatment we've seen with the Ryzen 2000 series. That means average clock speeds up to 300 MHz higher than 1st gen Threadripper in highly multi-threaded workloads. This means significantly higher multi-core clock speeds, in the mid to high 3 GHz range and single core Turbo in the mid 4 GHz range.
The Ryzen Threadripper 1950X has a base clock speed of 3.4 GHz and a Turbo + XFR of 4.1 GHz.
If 2nd gen Ryzen is any indication we can expect a Ryzen Threadripper 2950X to hit a core clock of 3.7 GHz+ and a Turbo of 4.35 GHz+. Better overclocking potential also goes without saying.
Cache Latency Improvements & Faster DDR4 RAM Speeds
In combination with the new L1, L2 and L3 cache latency improvements that Zen+ introduces Threadripper 2000 series should put on a good show of performance, especially in games where first gen Threadripper slightly lacked. Overall you can expect a 10% performance lead vs first gen Threadripper.
Zen+ also means support for significantly faster DDR4 RAM speeds thanks to a drastic improvement to the memory controller. 2nd generation Ryzen is able to reliably support DDR4 RAM rated at speeds nearly 1GHz higher than its predecessor and the same can be expected with 2nd gen Threadripper and the upcoming X399 motherboard refresh.
Threadripper is already a beast and this summer with faster clocks, faster RAM and lower latency you can expect to see the beast get leaner, meaner and badder.
AMD 2018 Chipset Lineup
| Wccftech | X399 Refresh | Z490 | X470 | B450 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CrossfireX/SLI | Quad SLI/CFX (Max 6 GPU Support) | Triple CFX/2-Way SLI | Triple CFX/2-Way SLI | N/A |
| PCIe Gen3 Lanes | 60 (With Threadripper CPU) 4 Lanes Reserved for PCH | 16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) | 16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) | 16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) |
| PCIe Gen2 Lanes | 8 PCIe Lanes (reserved) | 8 Plus Gen 3*4 | 8 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 6 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) |
| USB 3.1 Gen2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| USB 3.1 Gen1 | 13 (PCH+CPU) | 10 | 10 | 6 |
| USB 2.0 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| SATA 6Gb/s | 8 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| SATA Express | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| DDR4 DIMMs | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Overclocking Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| XFR2 Enhanced | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Precision Boost Overdrive | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| NVMe | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Form Factor | ATX, MATX | ATX | ATX, MITX | ATX, M-ATX |
