AMD's Ryzen CPUs (Ryzen/TR/Epyc) & Vega/Polaris/Navi GPUs

The AMD Ryzen motherboards with PCIE 4.0 support have sparked a number of projects for PCIE 4.0, here's an article covering some of the SSD's:

PCIe 4.0 vs. PCIe 3.0 SSDs Benchmarked
Latest Drives From Corsair, Sabrent and Gigabyte Tested
By William Gayde on September 23, 2019
https://www.techspot.com/review/1893-pcie-4-vs-pcie-3-ssd/

"...The most striking difference between these drives and those from the previous generation are the huge heatsinks. The new controllers and NAND chips run hot, so to avoid damaging them, the manufacturers have strapped on some very beefy heatsinks.

The Sabrent unit even has 6 internal heat pipes. This is the first time we've ever seen integrated heatpipes on an SSD. The Gigabyte unit is encased in a hefty chunk of copper which makes it feel really solid and well built. The Corsair drive has several vertical fins made of what feels like aluminum. Despite being taller than the Gigabyte drive, it actually weighs much less.

Just like with CPUs and GPUs, thermal management is very important on high performance SSDs. Prolonged exposure to high temperatures and inadequate cooling can damage the drives. If you try to remove the heatsinks, the drives will thermal throttle very quickly. Even with the heatsinks on, the drives may still throttle if they are under sustained load for more than about 15 minutes."

Finally the makers are forced to provide additional cooling, still not enough, but it's a good first attempt, certainly better than a bare M.2 stick:

Check out the article for more details and photos...

 

I should note my Enermax 360 stopped cooling. Pump runs but the 1950x stayed at 0.54 GHz to stay cool and not overheat.

I replaced it with Coolmaster 360 for TR4. Now 28c idle, boosts to 4.05 GHz and much quieter. Very happy indeed.

Edit; all core 4.0 GHz 1.325 and still idles below 30c. Couple of runs of CB r-15 and got to 60c. Much better than the Enermax could ever do.

 

It may be nothing but a rumor, or it may be the beginning for AMD in a wider range of laptops, so it's a big deal if it comes to pass. Something to watch for on Oct 2nd:

Surface Laptop 3 specs leaked; might come with Octa-core AMD chip
By Mayank Parmar, September 23, 2019
https://www.windowslatest.com/2019/...cs-leaked-might-come-with-octa-core-amd-chip/

Microsoft is holding an event in New York City on October 2 to announce new versions of Surface hardware, including the Surface Laptop 3 which would be different from its predecessors...

A report recently revealed that the new version of Surface Laptop 3 might come equipped with AMD processors.

According to a leak price chart, Microsoft is now said to be developing multiple Surface Laptop 3 models and all the variants will come equipped with AMD processors rather the latest chips from Intel.

Microsoft is also expected to use AMD’s Picasso accelerated processing unit in the Surface Laptop 3.

The most high-end variant will use Octa-core chipset and 16GB of RAM, and Microsoft plans to offer this configuration with different storage options. The configuration will be priced at $1,999 and it could go up to $2,399 if you pick up the device with higher SSD capacity.

Surface Laptop 3 specs:

• Surface Laptop 3 with AMD Ryzen 5 3550U and 8GB of RAM for $999.
• Surface Laptop 3 with AMD Ryzen 7 3750U and 8GB of RAM for $1,099.
• Surface Laptop 3 with Hexa-core AMD CPU and 12GB of RAM for $1,599 $1,399.
• Surface Laptop 3 with less powerful Hexa-core CPU and $1,399.

It’s also worth noting that the AMD-powered Surface Laptop 3 will feature a 15-inch display."

Alleged Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 with AMD CPU benchmarked
By Mayank Parmar, September 24, 2019
https://www.windowslatest.com/2019/...ft-surface-laptop-3-with-amd-cpu-benchmarked/
Geekbench Source: https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/14044220

RUMOR -> It's real ! AMD Ryzen 5 Microsoft Surface (R) Edition (R5 3550u) & R7 3750u | 3dmark Time Spy
Submitted 1 day ago by _rogame
https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/commen...yzen_5_microsoft_surface_r_edition/?sort=best

RUMOR -> It's real ! AMD Ryzen 5 Microsoft Surface (R) Edition (R5 3550u) & R7 3750u | 3dmark Time Spy
Submitted 1 day ago by Hifihedgehog to r/Surface
https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/co...yzen_5_microsoft_surface_r_edition/?sort=best

I'd also like to see Ryzen 3700x / 3600x in gaming laptops with Navi, IDK if it's going to happen in time before Ryzen 4xxx releases, the vendors are cutting it kinda close to ship before the holidays.

 

The 3550u and 3750u do not look like anything special but the hexa-core could be interesting.

 

Lisa Su getting some kudo's

AMD @AMD
"AMD is proud to announce CEO and President Dr. Lisa Su has been named one of @FortuneMagazine’s 2019 Most Powerful Women in Business! Read her full #FortuneMPW feature here:" https://fortune.com/most-powerful-women/2019/lisa-su
https://twitter.com/AMD/status/1176184439409401856

On the list @ #44:
https://fortune.com/most-powerful-women/2019

"The market for the chips that run personal computers and servers depends on innovations that take years to develop into new products. Su, a chip engineer herself with an MIT Ph.D., has spent the past five years directing a massive bet to create cutting-edge processors that could finally make AMD competitive with larger rivals Intel and Nvidia. Now Su’s work is paying off.

Revenue jumped 23% last year to $6.5 billion, even as overall PC sales declined slightly.

Su says the company has reached a “significant inflection point,” as its just-released, latest-generation chips have leapfrogged Intel’s best, helping AMD’s stock climb 66% year to date.

Su is not just the first woman to head 50-year-old AMD but also the only woman CEO among all the major semiconductor makers."
https://fortune.com/most-powerful-women/2019/lisa-su

 

Rumors;
https://www.pcgamesn.com/amd/ryzen-9-3950x-delay-clock-speeds

 

Leaks, could these be designated for DTR's in the future?
https://www.thefpsreview.com/2019/09/26/amd-prepping-12-core-ryzen-9-3900-with-65-w-tdp/

 

Rumors as of yet... nothing confirmed.
TSMC has been having issues with meeting demands though due to many companies wanting their 7nm.
Plus, we cannot forget the delay which happened earlier this year due to a chemical spill which made a lot of their wafers unusable (it could have easily contributed to the current issues).

But yes, it is certainly possible AMD is delaying release due to not so great clock speeds... might be having issues with node maturity... perhaps switching to high performance 7nm process might help if low clocks are the problem?

 

makes you wonder what is required when pcie 5.0 SSDs x4 lanes become available rofl. we will definitely need a controller on 7nm or even 5nm otherwise heatsink will be yuge.

https://wccftech.com/exclusive-amd-...-to-take-out-nvidias-mid-end-mobility-lineup/

ITS COMING BOYS AMD GPU

 

The AMD 3900; https://hothardware.com/news/amd-ryzen-pro-3000-zen-2-cpu-security-for-businesses

 

TPM 2.0? Finally, it is only 3 years late for AMD.

See:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/device-experiences/oem-tpm

 

???
I was under the impression AMD already had this feature baked into their Zen uArch on a hw level... considering that Zen is far less susceptible to various security issues in comparison to Intel and suffers far less of a performance impact.

 

AMD is still playing catch up on a lot of things. Don't believe the marketing and online 'knownledge'...

They're beginning to be able to be taken seriously for business though.

 

Like Deks said, I'm pretty sure AMD had TPM 2.0 for a number of years. In fact their article from 2015 shows that their FX-8800 supported it as well. Also GuardMI articles cite TPM 2.0 from a number of years ago. I'd love to see your evidence that it doesn't have it.

 

Exactly, plus the article tilleroftheearth posted doesn't mention AMD at all.
Considering AMD themselves said they had it supported since FX-8800, it stands to reason Zen has it too... it would also explain why AMD has far better security than Intel and that it was mentioned on more than one occasion that AMD already has hardware implementation for this.
Intel on the other hand is questionable given how many security problems cropped up over the past few years (not to mention recently).

I'm not sure what you mean by marketing and 'online knowledge'?
We're talking about independent tests conducted by reputable websites that found glaring security holes in Intel which didn't even affect AMD (except for maybe some Spectre variants which had low probability of taking root in the firstplace, and that was solved with a microcode update for Zen1 and Zen +, whereas Zen 2 has those security measures already baked into its uArch on a hw level with increased security).

I think its Intel's advertising we're supposed to be wary of.
AMD lost 3% performance from software patches, whereas Intel lost 3x more (15%)... that's of course a lot more likely to show in servers/data centers, but regardless, it demonstrates that Intel didn't do a good job on the security front at all, and considering that businesses like to emphasize security, I cannot imagine why would they choose to stay with Intel at this point in time.

The main reason AMD is taken seriously in the business section is due to the strong performance and cost efficiency of their chips vs Intel, which also prompted them to take a closer look at their security implementations and are finding them far better than what Intel uses.

Meanwhile, upcoming Intel CPU's possibly won't have hw level mitigations for existing security issues as the company was eerily evasive about those particular questions.

As far as I know, those are the available facts we have to work with.

 

AMD has had 'glaring holes' too in its security.

See:
https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/pa-200

Hardware TPM 2.0 is different (i.e. better) than firmware-based TPM.

 

And AMD has had firmware based TPM 2.0 as well forever. I don't get what your point is or is trying to be...

 

That article is from 10/4/2017, come on tiller getting desperate to post old news as current?

 

I still don't see mention where AMD doesn't have TPM 2.0 support. I do find plenty of information on the integration of TPM 2.0 into firmware earlier than 2015, and TPM 2.0 hardware before that.

 

You're both missing the point.

No problem, blame anything/anyone except AMD.

 

LoL, blame them for? plenty of documentation showing implementation going back a ways, please show up where it is not being implemented.

 

I think the only one blaming someone for no reason is you. You've provided zero facts to back up your statements and then when we question it, you just say that we are missing the point. The point is AMD has TPM 2.0, has had it for YEARS in both the hardware and firmware, but yet you seem to think they recently got in the game.

I've owned probably 40 Intel systems in the past few years, sadly my last AMD system before my 1700x was an opteron 165. If you think I'm a AMD fanboy that is taking that stance, I think you need to re-think your argument.

 

Microsoft really is coming out with AMD based computers

Microsoft Takes Pole Position in Laptops based on AMD Technology
Blog Post created by jack.huynh Employee on Oct 2, 2019
https://community.amd.com/community...e-position-in-laptops-based-on-amd-technology

Microsoft Embraces AMD: Custom Ryzen 7 Surface Edition CPUs Debut in Surface Laptop 3 (Updated)
by Paul Alcorn October 2, 2019 at 9:10 AM
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/microsoft-amd-surface-laptop-3-surface-edition-ryzen,40531.html


Microsoft Surface Laptop: Now with a special edition AMD Ryzen chip
The new Surface Laptops feature not just Intel but also AMD processors.
By Gordon Mah Ung, Executive Editor, PCWorld
https://www.pcworld.com/article/344...ow-with-a-special-edition-amd-ryzen-chip.html

" Ryzen: Surface Edition
The Surface Laptop 15 is the eyebrow lifting laptop though. Microsoft called the new "Microsoft Ryzen Surface Edition" chip the result of a close collaboration with AMD. As such, it is "AMD's most powerful mobile CPU," Microsoft said, and in fact, the most powerful in its class.

Although Microsoft didn't detail it during its introduction, more details of the CPU can be found on AMD's site. The company said it is a Ryzen 7 3780U. The chip is said to be a 15-watt chip with Radeon RX Vega 11 graphics. AMD officials also told PCWorld the chip can boost to 4GHz and is built on Zen+ cores rather than the newer Zen 2 cores in Ryzen 3000 desktop chips.

CPU core count wasn't realized but it's likely a quad-core with symmetrical multi-threading for a total of 8-threads.

AMD didn't say it was a custom part, but the blog post by AMD's Jack Hyunh, who is a VP in the custom silicon group, means it's a part specifically created for Microsoft.

Battery life, which has long been a rock in AMD's mobile laptop's shoe, is claimed to be about 11.5 hours in the new Surface Laptop 3.

Super fast charging
Microsoft said the new 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 should offer all day battery life. Both laptops still feature Microsoft’s magnetic Surface connector for charging, but the company said it’s now able to charge a drained laptop from 0 to 80 percent in under an hour.

The 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 3 will start at $999, and the 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 will start at $1,199 with pre-orders available now."


I do hope Microsoft will continue to replace all of their laptop CPU's / GPU's with AMD components as they exceed Intels price / performance, on up the line to the top models, just like customers have done with their own builds:

AMD Ryzen CPUs are selling better than ever, leaving Intel in the dust
Ryzen 5 3600 alone is outselling Intel’s entire range of processors
By Darren Allan 2019-10-02 8:33:49Z
https://www.techradar.com/sg/news/a...ng-better-than-ever-leaving-intel-in-the-dust

"...This is going by the latest statistics from German retailer Mindfactory (as provided on a monthly basis by Reddit user Ingebor), which show that AMD secured 81% of processor sales for September. Obviously that left Intel only 19%.

That’s an all-time high for Ryzen, and even better than Ryzen 3000’s launch month when AMD hit a 79% share (it came close to returning to those levels last month, in August, with a 78% result).

You might think 78%, 79%, 81% – it’s all much the same – and of course you’re not far wrong, but it’s still pretty telling that AMD’s share continues to creep up a few months after launch."

And, since Intel have boxed themselves in to 14nm+++ ad nauseum, Intel only has price drops to keep things going. Intel certainly can't depend on 10nm low power CPU's to carry them through either. And, neither will the 9900KF/S's - marketing re-brand's - make a bit of difference.

 

x570 and x399 drivers update, (includes Threadripper 2nd gen (does not mention 3rd gen))
http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?t=34050043

 

Thanks to @Erik C. Stubblebine
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/asus-rog-gl702zc-owners-lounge.809882/page-180#post-10955775

MSI Youtube video source
MSI Gaming
Streamed live on Oct 2, 2019
MSI insider is going to have an exclusive look at our new X570 Unify motherboard. Besides that we will go a bit more indepth on VRM designs and talk about the latest AMD ABBA AGESA code.

MSI brings more BIOS updates with AGESA 1.0.0.3abba - AGESA 1.0.0.4 is scheduled for release in November - German
From Onkel_Dithmeyer am03.10.2019 at 15:29
https://www.planet3dnow.de/cms/5136...-3abba-agesa-1-0-0-4-soll-im-november-kommen/

"MSI has already some motherboards with the updated AGESA code supplied . Now the manufacturer has refilled again and has been able to provide eight more BIOS files since our last message.

Three more are, according to a press release will follow in October. In the " MSI Insider Show" on Youtube MSI has published more information, so for example, a new AGESA version 1.0.0.4 from November to contain more than 100 improvements.

AGESA 1.0.0.4 from November?
According to the show's moderators, AMD will release a new AGESA version 1.0.0.4 starting next week . This should provide more than a hundred "fixes", but these are not intended to be bug fixes, but rather enhancements and features. Already in the run-up to the presentation of the Ryzen 3000 processors, the motherboard manufacturers hinted at plans for further AGESA versions, which reached up to AGESA 1.0.0.7.

Now that the Max Boost theme seems fixed, you can focus on other things. For example, AMD itself had announced that there should be a consistent overclocking menu. MSI talks about availability for the motherboards in November, but maybe you can see individual beta versions earlier."

So lots more features probably held up to appease those worried about 25mhz-50mhz "fixes" - I think AMD would have reduced the complexity of the AGESA point add-ons focused on boost tweaks and left out any other changes that might get in the way of a smooth release of the boost re-tuning.

Given the complexity of the new architecture, tuning boost and OS focus on which chiplets to load how often and with what, this all was bound to happen, and I think new tuning will continue, but I think AMD will hold back changes in the future given the sting of that re-jiggering causing the boost kerfuffle.

Maybe AMD can work out a couple of AGESA distribution channels for boost / load / chiplet tuning - maybe pick a vendor / boards to pump out testing BIOS's to avoid wide-spread panic when trying out new algorithms.

AMD probably needs to hire more gamers to sit there and game / benchmark all day on ALPHA level tweak / tunings of new Ryzen 3/4 CPU AGESA's. Anyone interested should apply to AMD directly.


AGESA 1.0.0.4 with more than 100 fixes = features / improvements (Source: MSI )

BIOS links in the article above...

AMD Ryzen CPUs Getting New Microcode With Over 100 Improvements Next Month tomshardware.com
Submitted 7 hours ago by InvincibleBird
https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/dcx0nz/toms_hardware_amd_ryzen_cpus_getting_new/

More sub-topics in that thread...

Extra:

DRAM Calculator for Ryzen v1.6.2 - LATEST September 5th, 2019 - What's New
https://www.techpowerup.com/download/ryzen-dram-calculator/

 

Max Boost theme? Nice spin.

Nothing fixed.

 

Was the new Surface Laptop 3 too popular because it's a new Surface laptop, or because it's a new AMD Ryzen based laptop?

Looking to pick up a new Surface Laptop 3?
A cracking model is already sold out
Adam Speight Contact via Twitter | October 3, 2019 5:37 pm BST
https://www.trustedreviews.com/news...-a-cracking-model-is-already-sold-out-3943918

"The Surface Laptop 3 was made available to pre-order as soon as Microsoft’s big hardware event ended. However, the most expensive Surface Laptop 3 you can buy is already out of stock.

The priciest Surface Laptop 3 is a 15-inch model in Black (Metal) and comes with an AMD Ryzen 7 3780U chip, 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage onboard. The total price adds up to £2599 ($2799)."

Another future AMD Ryzen Laptop CPU?

AMD Ryzen 9 3900 Tested: Unreleased 65W Processor Sets World Records
by Allen 'Splave' Golibersuch October 3, 2019 at 5:25 PM
https://www.tomshardware.com/review...erclock-65w-world-record-unreleased,6371.html

 

Some early numbers for the 3950x from Gigabyte at stock and all core 4.3ghz: R15 4384, stock 3932 - recommended OC voltage 1.30v-1.45v


Gigabyte Shows AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16 Core CPU Overclocked and Benchmarked
WccftechTV
Published on Oct 5, 2019
In their latest overclocking guide for X570 motherboards, Gigabyte has unveiled the potential overclocking sweet-spot for AMD’s flagship mainstream processor, the Ryzen 9 3950X.
https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-9-3950...

 

If the 32 core TR scales at 100%, wow...…….

 

I'll watch tomorrow. Busy day.

 

Well looking at that guide for overclocking the 3950x the package is like the 1950x at 184w under load. This probably means little to no overclocking of the 24 core if it hits the x399 with stock VRM's. TBH if I can get a 24 core running stock I would be happy.

 

3950x gets a placeholder;
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?InitialSearch=yes&N=0&Ntt=amd+3950x&c3api=4680,{creative},amd+3950x,e&msclkid=8b508d881b6f15fd053fd01323a8b3db

 

Now, should I wait to see how the 3950x roll-out goes, and pick one up a few months after release? Or get in early for the fun?

AMD / MB vendors pretty much need 3-6 months to iron out all the bugs and owners need that much time to figure out how to optimize the builds.

AMD Ryzen 9 3950X can overclock to 4.3GHz on all cores, blowing away Intel Core i9-9900K
Gigabyte’s water-cooled exploits detailed in overclocking guide
By Darren Allan 2019-10-07 T16:51:32Z
https://www.techradar.com/news/amd-...on-all-cores-blowing-away-intel-core-i9-9900k

"...So how fast can the incoming flagship chip be pushed over all its 16-cores with overclocking? As fast as 4.3GHz, it would seem, given Gigabyte’s setup which utilized an EK-KIT P360 water-cooling solution and the Aorus X570 Master motherboard. That’s a good chunk faster than the base clock speed of 3.3GHz, of course.

The firm found the 3950X reached a stable 4.3GHz using around 1.4V, and the overclock meant an increase in Cinebench R15 multi-threaded from 3,932 at stock to 4,384 overclocked, an 11% boost. Not too shabby, indeed.

Gigabyte further observed that the temperatures witnessed during the overclocking session were “similar [to] what we were getting last year using a Ryzen 7 2700X”. So for this 16-core behemoth to be pushed across all its many cores and be performing in similar thermal terms to a 2nd-gen 8-core model is, well, quite impressive.

Also remember that the Ryzen 9 3900X recorded a Cinebench R15 result of 3,097 when we reviewed the chip, so that makes the incoming flagship something like 27% faster at stock speeds.

Even more telling is the comparison between the 3950X and an Intel Core i9-9900K, with the latter hitting 1,873 – so AMD’s chip is more than twice as fast [as the Intel 9900K]..."

iPhone 11’s popularity could mean you can’t buy the 7nm AMD Ryzen 3000 CPU or Navi GPU you want
Out of stock specter looms thanks to 7nm production being stretched at TSMC
By Darren Allan 2019-10-05 T11:59:27Z
https://www.techradar.com/news/ipho...e-7nm-amd-ryzen-3000-cpu-or-navi-gpu-you-want

Any chance AMD can employ Samsung's 7nm production?

 

MSI's new Alpha 15 brings AMD Navi graphics to its gaming laptops

https://www.techradar.com/news/msis-new-alpha-15-brings-amd-navi-graphics-to-its-gaming-laptops

Anyone remember how MSI stated before they don't have any intentions of using AMD in their laptops range?
Well, while this isn't technically Zen 2, its Zen+ APU with Navi.

It will be interesting to see how things develop and whether MSI continues integrating AMD hw in their laptops.

Looks like a good mid-range solution.
Question is, what will they price it at?

 

Give me MXM and ill test it for free.

 

I've read $999 with 8GB of RAM and $1,099 with 16GB of RAM, though no specifics on the CPU for either model besides being a Ryzen chip.

The RX 5500M needs to be noticeably faster than the GTX 1650 to make sense at those prices when you can get GTX 1660 Ti-based notebooks for around that (on sale).

Charles

 

If anybody has a 3900X whose boost speed they're not happy with, I'd be more than happy to take it off their hands

Boost, schmoost. It's still a whole lot faster than my 2700X.

 

From the article:

The MSI Alpha 15 is kitted with proper gaming laptop hardware. It can run up to an AMD Ryzen 7 3750H processor (CPU) for high performance, and it will use the new AMD Radeon RX 5500M graphics processor (GPU) with 4GB of GDDR6 VRAM. It comes with either 8GB or 16GB of memory (RAM).

The RX 5500M will be a step down from the desktop-grade RX 5700. It includes 22 computer units compared to RX 5700's 36, though it appears to have similar clock frequencies.


So, based on this piece of information, it appears we have some understanding of which APU's MSI intends to use.
As for the GPU, 22 compute units is about 40% less than what 5700 has... but we know that compute hw almost never translates to gaming performance, so we're kinda in the unknown in regards to actual gaming capabilities.

As for the price, I don't necessarily think it will be in the $999-1099 range.
It could be lower than that... by how much, not sure.
If laptops with 1660Ti exist in the price range you mentioned, then its very possible we could see prices for the MSI with 3750H and 5500m up to $800-900 (possibly between).

It is AMD after all, and usually, their hw, even when comparable to Intel and NV tends to be priced lower (though, pricing is almost always up to the manufacturer).

In regards to performance, the following article claims that RX 5500 is comparable to RX 590 in performance, which is somewhat behind a non overclocked 1660Ti (mileage may vary)... but would be in line or better than 1660.
So, RX 5500M would likely be either slightly behind or comparable to 1660.

https://www.pcgamer.com/amds-new-radeon-rx-5500-gpus-take-aim-at-1080p-gaming/#comment-jump

In that sense, the 5500M has slightly lowered clocks (about 200MhZ lower boost) than 5500... otherwise, its main hw specs remain the same as desktop 5500 (only change are the clocks).

So, yes, I would say the 5500M will be significantly faster than 1650... comparable to desktop 1660 (non-Ti) in performance.

 

The end of AM4 and SP3?;
https://tomorrowsnews.net/2019/10/0...us-will-require-new-processor-socket-in-2021/

 

AMD Surprise Launches Ryzen 9 3900 And Ryzen 5 3500X CPUs For System Builders Hothardware.com | Oct 08, 2019

Two processors that we've been hearing whispers about for the past few weeks have finally been made official. AMD today confirmed the release of both the Ryzen 9 3900 and the Ryzen 5 3500X. Both processors are aimed at AMD's OEM partners and will only be made available in pre-built systems, so don't expect to easily find them from your favorite retailer – at least not initially.

 

TRX40 board hint; https://www.tweaktown.com/news/6799...per-3000-motherboard-creator-trx40/index.html

 

https://twitter.com/ReHWolution/status/1181954537197854721

Looks like x399 is DEAD.

 

That was expected, Zen 3 was always expected to be the last CPU to reside in the AM4 socket through 2020. 2021 will bring Zen4 on the new AM5(?) socket.

But, that wouldn't mean that the AM4 socket and Zen 1 / 2 / 3 CPU's would stop getting support. Given the huge installed base of customers on AM4 I think AMD and vendors would still produce CPU's and Motherboards at least through 2021. With inventory of AM4 CPU's / Motherboards for AM4 that would persist for more than a few years after production ended.

I can still get CPU / Motherboard / components for 10 year old AMD builds so I wouldn't worry about long term support of AM4 builds either.

 

AMD TRX40 Chipset Not Compatible with 1st and 2nd Gen Threadrippers
Techpowerup.com | Oct 10, 2019

AMD is giving finishing touches to its 3rd generation Ryzen Threadripper HEDT processor lineup, and the first wave of these chips, starting with a 24-core model, will launch alongside the AMD TRX40 chipset. It turns out that the chipset won't be compatible with 1st and 2nd generation Ryzen Threadripper processors. The upcoming 3rd generation Threadripper chips won't be backwards-compatible with the AMD X399 chipset, either. We've been hearing from reliable sources rumors of this segmentation from AMD for a few days now.

The underlying reason between this restriction remains a mystery. We know that the EPYC "Rome" MCM is pin-compatible with first-generation EPYC "Naples" chips due to the fact that the newer chips are drop-in compatible with older servers via a BIOS update. The TR4 socket, too, is nearly identical to SP3r2, but for four out of eight memory channels being blanked out. It remains to be seen if for TRX40 motherboards, AMD re-purposed these unused pins for something else, such as additional PCIe connectivity or more electrical pins. We'll find out in November, when AMD is expected to launch these chips.

 

Even if the chips are pin compliant unless there are BIOS's out for the new generation CPU's it will be a no go. It very well could be that because of the TDP they use some of the present unused pins to deliver more power. Still I would have liked to upgrade.

 

Well, AMD lost a sell until 2021. I'm not being forced into a higher core count, likely between $1200-1400 plus a new board for $350-500. I maybe would have upgraded if a new board and a 16-core at $900 or less. And with PCIe 5 and DDR5 coming in 2021-22, plus 5nm and the 8 core single chiplet of Zen 3 likely getting ready for an active interposer, where the optimal size of cores per die were 8 to 16 for a 64 core chip, I'll just do my other upgrades in the meanwhile.

Next on the list since CPU is off is an 8x8TB raid 6 array. Next year is phones for the household and GPU. That leaves TV and system in 2021. I'm decently sure my TR will hold out that long. Plus Intel's offerings next year may be as flat as this year's, meaning next year is a bust (doubt I'd get the platform when better mem bandwidth is a year away). Let's hope they find a way to OC Epyc with Zen 4 or see how the workstation or TRX80 is (which 8 channels of DDR5 bandwidth sounds awesome, and I don't need 2 dimms per channel).

But, building that redundant storage array to move my old files from DVD storage, etc., sounds more useful (also allows for a 3x8TB raid 5 for my workstation).

Then I'd need a 10Gb switch for the server, the workstation, and the router (which the top speed should be able to saturate transfers to the 8x8 array using ReFS or ZFS, depending if I want to change my server from windows to Linux).

But those sound more useful than buying a new board and CPU, ATM.

 

Mobile news; https://www.neowin.net/news/amds-7nm-zen-2-based-mobile-cpus-will-reportedly-launch-at-ces-2020

 

3500x;

 

tl;dr - Linus got tired of waiting for the 3950x and built himself his first personal AMD machine in many years with a 3900x...and now he's going to enjoy it for a month before swapping in the 3950x... or he completely swaps out the AM4 for a ThreadRipper 3 build.

I went AMD!!
Linus Tech Tips
Published on Oct 14, 2019
It finally happened... my personal rig is rocking an AMD processor!!


Intel's in trouble now.

 

Another EPYC Super Computer

1.5 Million Threads: AMD-Powered Archer 2 Supercomputer With 12,000 EPYC Rome CPUs
1.5 million threads of EPYC CPUs all under one roof.
By Niels Broekhuijsen 15 hours ago AMD
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/1...her-2-supercomputer-with-12000-epyc-rome-cpus

"What would you do with 1.5 million threads of computational horsepower? The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) center has an idea.

The Archer supercomputer system based in Edinburgh was first introduced in 2013 based on the Cray XC30 design and has since been in use by researchers in need of serious compute power. It was once among the top 20 supercomputers in the world, but that’s no longer the case and the time has come to replace it.

As such, the center announced that it has contracted with Cray to build the Archer 2 supercomputer, which will be based on AMD EPYC Rome processors.

The center will build the system out of 5,848 Shasta compute nodes ( deep dive here). Each node will contain two second-gen AMD EPYC Rome processors with 64 cores apiece, with each clocked at 2.2GHz (likely the base frequency).

This adds up to 11,969 CPUs, and a grand total of 748,544 CPU cores and about 1.5 million threads (we rounded that number up simply because we’ve always wanted to). [1497088 threads]

Depending on how it is measured, averaged out over a handful of benchmarks, the new supercomputer will perform an average of 11 times faster than its predecessor.

Spoiler: Full Technical Specifications

Full technical specifications as posted on HPC Wire below:

• Peak performance estimated at ~ 28 PFLOP/s
• System Design:
• 5,848 compute nodes, each with dual AMD Rome 64 core CPUs at 2.2GHz, for 748,544 cores in total and 1.57 PBytes of total system memory
• 23x Shasta Mountain direct liquid cooled cabinets
• 14.5 PBytes of Lustre work storage in 4 file systems
• 1.1 PByte all-flash Lustre BurstBuffer file system
• 1+1 PByte home file system in Disaster Recovery configuration using NetApp FAS8200
• Cray next-generation Slingshot 100Gbps network in a diameter-three dragonfly topology, consisting of 46 compute groups, 1 I/O group and 1 Service group
• Shasta River racks for management and post processing
• Test and Development System (TDS) platform, to be installed in advance
• Collaboration platform with 4 x compute nodes attached to 16 x Next Generation AMD GPUs
• Software stack:
• Cray Programming Environment including optimizing compilers and libraries for the AMD Rome CPU
• Cray Linux Environment optimized for the AMD CPU blade based on SLES 15
• Shasta Software Stack
• SLURM work load manager
• CrayPat as profiler
• GDB4HPC as debugger

The center will install the Archer 2 supercomputer in the same room as the supercomputer it is replacing, meaning there will be a period of downtime. Archer will be shut down on February 18, 2020, and Archer 2 will be booted up 78 days later on May 6, if all goes according to schedule.

However, after bootup, the system will first go through a one-month stress testing period before the service will be open to researchers. Some researchers might be allowed to access the system during this testing phase, but the UKRI did say that access would be ‘limited.’

The new win builds on an ever-expanding list of EPYC Rome supercomputer wins, including the recent announcement of the exascale-class Frontier supercomputer."

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3000-Series Naming Scheme Clues Surface
By Lucian Armasu 13 hours ago CPUs
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd-ryzen-threadripper-3000-series-skus-names

"...The Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO) may have given away a hint about the naming of AMD’s upcoming Zen 2-based Threadripper, as spotted by German site Computerbase.de.

AMD's next Threadripper line of CPUs, Threadripper 3000 or Threadripper 3, will be part of the “Ryzen 3000” family of product names. SATA-IO hinted that it should be named the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 39x0X, with the lower-case x representing a number larger than the "5" in the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X. That leaves us with only a handful of choices: Threadripper 3960X, 3970X, 3980X, or 3990X..."