Why to choose Threadripper?
After the announcement of the new Intel core i9 series as answer to the AMD Ryzen product family, AMD picked up the sleeve. With the announcement of the Ryzen Threadripper product lineup, everyone was happy to hear that they are able to compete with each other. It was quite long time ago since AMD was able to compete with Intel high end processors. I don’t know what magic did they perform, or what changes have they done, but the conclusion is clear. AMD is able to offer a product which can compete with the core i9 at a smaller price.
But exactly how much would a Threadripper PC would cost. Therefor I will present you 3 Threaripper computer builds you should check out. Before that I invite you to check out together the key specs of the new Threadripper processor lineup:
| PRODUCT LINE | MODEL | CORES | THREADS | BASE CLOCK (GHZ) | BOOST CLOCK (GHZ) | XFR (GHZ) | PCIE® LANES | TDP (WATTS) | SUGGESTED PRICE, SEP (USD) | AVAILABILITY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD RYZEN™ THREADRIPPER™ | 1950X | 16 | 32 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 64 | 180 | $999 | Aug. 10 |
| AMD RYZEN™ THREADRIPPER™ | 1920X | 12 | 24 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 64 | 180 | $799 | Aug. 10 |
| AMD RYZEN™ THREADRIPPER™ | 1900X | 8 | 16 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 64 | 180 | $549 | Aug. 31 |
As we can see in the table above we have 3 models available: 1900X, 1920X and 1950X, with core numbers increasing from 8 to 12 and 16. One important aspect which you need to take into account when building a PC using the new processors is that you need to purchase yourself a motherboard with the new X399 chipset. Below you can find 4 motherboards that AMD recommends for their Threadripper processors.
Productivity or gaming?
Probably your first thought when you are thinking of a high-end system is gaming. Well, the truth is a little bit different if we analyze the performance charts. While you can play games on these processors with ease, they are most good at productivity.
Why? Because most of the games are optimized for single core use. Even if you have all those 16 cores available, that doesn’t mean you will benefit of them. Mainly this is because of the previous arguments that I mentioned. Most of applications that will benefit of these powerful processors will be those optimized for multi-core processing. Therefore I really recommend these systems for photographers and videographers. With applications like Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, Sony Vegas will need the combination of high number of cores, high frequency and high quantity of RAM memory to process the data you are throwing at.
Next you will see 3 PC builds, one with the 1950X processor, one the 1920X processor and the last one with the 1900X processors. However if one component or the other are not within your budget or preferences. These can be easily exchanged to another one. Consequently the final price will vary according to the picked components.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X (16-core/32-thread) – $3500
The first PC build with AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X will set you of arround $3500. This is quite a lot of money for anyone, but what exactly would you get for this amount of money. The list of goodies contain:
| Component type | Component brand/model | Amazon link |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X (16-core/32-thread) | http://amzn.to/2wvtYSe |
| Graphics card | EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC Black Edition GAMING, 11GB GDDR5X, iCX Cooler & LED, | http://amzn.to/2x0cl04 |
| Motherboard | ASUS ROG ZENITH EXTREME AMD Ryzen Threadripper TR4 DDR4 M.2 U.2 X399 E-ATX HEDT Motherboard with onboard WiGig 802.11AD WiFi, USB 3.1, and AURA Sync RGB Lighting | http://amzn.to/2iOVJ58 |
| RAM | Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 DRAM 2400MHz (PC4-19200) C14 Memory Kit - Black (CMK32GX4M2A2400C14) | http://amzn.to/2es4RI5 |
| Storage 1 | WD 4 TB 3.5" Performance Hard Drive 128 MB Cache, 3.5" Internal Bare or OEM Drives, Black (WD4004FZWX) | http://amzn.to/2xEhtUG |
| Storage 2 | Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-75E500B/AM) | http://amzn.to/2wrNiS4 |
| Power supply | EVGA 1000 GQ, 80+ GOLD 1000W, Semi Modular, EVGA ECO Mode, 5 Year Warranty, Power Supply 210-GQ-1000-V1 | http://amzn.to/2grJdUL |
| CPU cooler (optional) | Corsair Hydro Series H115i Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler , Black | http://amzn.to/2vSH1vp |
| Case | Cooler Master Cosmos II - Ultra Tower Computer Case with Aluminum and Steel Body (RC-1200-KKN1) | http://amzn.to/2x06lUY |
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1920X (12-core/24-thread) – $3000
For the payed price you will get the Threadripper 1920X processor with 12 cores and 24 threads together with the GTX1070 and 32 gigs of RAM. If you want a higher model graphics card you can go with GT1080 or 1080 Ti. If you’re budget doesn’t let you purchase the previous card you could choose a GTX 1060.
| Component type | Component brand/model | Amazon link |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1920X (12-core/24-thread) | http://amzn.to/2wAw8Ai |
| Graphics card | Gigabyte AORUS Gaming Box GTX 1070 Graphic Card GV-N1070IXEB-8GD eGPU | http://amzn.to/2wAiEEM |
| Motherboard | ASUS PRIME X399-A AMD Threadripper TR4 DDR4 M.2 U.2 X399 EATX HEDT Motherboard with USB 3.1 Gen2, AURA Sync RGB Lighting and 3D Printing Mounts | http://amzn.to/2vEIkmo |
| RAM | Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 DRAM 2400MHz (PC4-19200) C14 Memory Kit - Black (CMK32GX4M2A2400C14) | http://amzn.to/2exbaKt |
| Storage 1 | WD 4 TB 3.5" Performance Hard Drive 128 MB Cache, 3.5" Internal Bare or OEM Drives, Black (WD4004FZWX) | http://amzn.to/2vYynLE |
| Storage 2 | Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-75E500B/AM) | http://amzn.to/2vYzBqx |
| Power supply | EVGA 1000 GQ, 80+ GOLD 1000W, Semi Modular, EVGA ECO Mode, 5 Year Warranty, Power Supply 210-GQ-1000-V1 | http://amzn.to/2wxTPL5 |
| CPU cooler (optional) | Corsair Hydro Series H100i v2 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler, Black | http://amzn.to/2vEFCNs |
| Case | Phanteks Enthoo Luxe PH-ES614LTG_BK Black Aluminum Exterior/Steel Chassis/Tempered Glass Panel, Full Tower ATX Case | http://amzn.to/2wz3nFS |
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1900X (8-core/16-thread) – $2300
While for the last CPU build we see a price difference of $700 you might wonder what is the reason. Firstly you will get only the 8 core version of the Threadripper together with only 16 GB of RAM and only 2TB of storage. Related to the graphics card I have picked a GTX 1060.
| Component type | Component brand/model | Amazon link |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1900X (8-core/16-thread) | http://amzn.to/2wyrODf |
| Graphics card | ASUS GeForce GTX 1060 6GB Dual-fan OC Edition VR Ready Dual HDMI DP 1.4 Gaming Graphics Card (DUAL-GTX1060-O6G) | http://amzn.to/2exIfG4 |
| Motherboard | ASUS PRIME X399-A AMD Threadripper TR4 DDR4 M.2 U.2 X399 EATX HEDT Motherboard with USB 3.1 Gen2, AURA Sync RGB Lighting and 3D Printing Mounts | http://amzn.to/2xJcySB |
| RAM | Corsair Vengeance RGB 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 2666 (PC4-21300) C16 - Intel 100/200 Series PC memory CMR16GX4M2A2666C16 | http://amzn.to/2vYsUEO |
| Storage 1 | WD Black 2TB Performance Desktop Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD2003FZEX | http://amzn.to/2wAfwbX |
| Storage 2 | Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-75E500B/AM) | http://amzn.to/2exyXtB |
| Power supply | EVGA 1000 GQ, 80+ GOLD 1000W, Semi Modular, EVGA ECO Mode, 5 Year Warranty, Power Supply 210-GQ-1000-V1 | http://amzn.to/2x4iJ6D |
| CPU cooler (optional) | Corsair Hydro Series H100i v2 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler, Black | http://amzn.to/2vELJ4E |
| Case | Corsair Carbide Series 200R Compact ATX Case for H55, H60, H75, H80i (CC-9011023-WW) | http://amzn.to/2xJzBfZ |
Final thoughts
I have presented you a total of 3 PC builds using AMD’s latest Threadripper processor lineup. You can choose and customize these builds according to your wish.
While the prices are
higher than we would expect for a PC with AMD processor in it, I think that none of the builds will let you down. If your mainly want a PC
for gaming purpose I think that the Ryzen 7 line-up would be a better option. Please don’t get me wrong. Although the benchmarks clearly state high fps counts on Threadripper processors, they will be behind Intel’s i9 processor. This is because it is optimized for single core processing. But if you want to go with AMD it’s fine for me.
These systems are very good at productivity and places where you need a lot of cores and processing power. Video editing, 3D applications is the field where these processors are the best. While I would have liked to add the new AMD Radeon Vega64 video card the prices right now are higher than of the GTX.
I invite you to share your opinion in the comment section. Do you consider that the presented PC builds are an overkill or expensive compared to a similar Intel PC?
[…] 3 Threadripper computer builds you should check out […]
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