The AMD social teams have been had at work this morning, teasing out images of the packaging for its upcoming Ryzen Threadripper retail processor.
The first image shows a window into the packaging with the Threadripper processor clearly visible behind it. The Ryzen logo dominates the plastic cover though there is a scene of "space" or maybe the Eye of Sauron in the background. The black construction looks to be foam that opens by splitting in half, across the Ryzen logo.
The second image shows the relative size of it all, with AMD CEO Lisa Su for scale. It looks kind of like an old-time portable TV and the depth of the packaging is definitely more substantial from the first image.
We are getting closer and closer to the official unveiling of this product family and AMD is doing a fantastic job of pulling the community along for the ride.
They have done such a
They have done such a marvelous job with Ryzen. At the same time, the eerie silence from the vega camp is just scary at this point.
Is that box paper or plastic?
Is that box paper or plastic? If plastic then maybe some case modder could turn it into a case for a custom Mini-ITX system. It’s not going to be big enough for any ThreadRipper based system but maybe a Ryzen 7 or 5/3 based system could fit /S. Those included cooler(Water) rumors are not so far fetched looking at that box.
P.S. Threadripper may look like a good deal for an affordable “Workstation” use but at 76 dollars more the Epyc 7401P at 24 cores/48 threads is a better deal at $1075.00, and the 7000 series Epyc SKUs get 8 memory channels and 128 PCIe lanes(Both single and dual socket Epyc SKUs get the same available PCIe specs). The Epyc workstation SKUs also get the 3 year warrenty also. So that and the fully tested and certified for ECC uasge on both the Epyc branded CPUs and Motherboards is a major selling point.
That’s 76 dollars for 8 more cores and 16 more threads for the 7401P over Threadripper’s 16/32, Epyc/7000 series’ 64 more PCIe lanes(128), and support for 4 more DDR4 memory channels(8 channels/16 DIMM slots usually) over Threadripper’s 4 memory channel support.
We can always ask AMD Ryzen
We can always ask AMD Ryzen on Twitter, but judging by the appearance, I’d say it’s some sort of polyurethane / plastic / vinyl wrap composite.
7401P maxes at 2.8 ghz all
7401P maxes at 2.8 ghz all core turbo boost, and 3.0 ghz ‘max boost’. TR will do up to 4.0 it looks like.. probably similar performance overall, with TR being better suited for workstation performance since ..
No! Not with TR’s 4 memory
No! Not with TR’s 4 memory channels vs Epyc/7401P’s 8 memory channels and most Workstation Workloads can make use the 7401P’s extra 8 cores/16 threads for rendering and even encoding(Software Encoding) workloads. High Clocks are only wanted for gaming, and maybe some other very limited workloads. And you can talk Threadripper and ECC memory until the cows come home, but ECC is NOT a Motherboard/CPU makers’ certified/fully supported(in the hardware, firmware, and software) functionality on any Threadripper motherboard/CPU SKUs.
ECC memory support has to come certified/tested in the CPU’s provided hardware/firmware and the Motherboard’s provided hardware/firmware. TR is not a workstation SKU, workstation SKUs come with certified ECC/3 year warrenty support and usually the Pro/Workstation SKUs are also assured will longer BIOS/Update/product availability/support periods from the CPU’s/Motherboard’s makers.
You can run “Workstation” workloads on Threadripper but you can not claim that Threadripper is a Real Workstation SKU. That Classification falls on the Epyc professional Branding/Professional certified for ECC support for any 1P or 2P Workstation usage on any Epyc Branded Professional Workstation SKUs.
Also the Epyc/7401P’s motherboards come with 16 memory slots across those 8 channels that is going to support a lot more total DIMM based memory(NVDIMMs included) and can be populated with the smaller capacity DIMMs(More of the more affordable lower capacity DIMMS) and still offer a total DIMM/Memory(at least 128GB and above across 16 DIMM slots using only 8GB DIMMs) than any Threadripper offering.
So the Epyc 7401P/MB’s 16 DIMMs can be used for some memory savings and the higher effective bandwidth that comes from having 8 memory channels. Added to that there’s the Epyc 7401P’s 128 PCIe lane support, double Threadripper’s 64 PCIe lane support.
It’s really a no brainer comparsion, 16/32 cores/threads Threadripper(TR) at $999.00 or the Epyc 7401P’s 24/48 cores/threads at $1075.00, and that’s just the core/thread count differences with the Epyc 7401P’s 128 PCIe lanes over TR’s 64 PCIe lanes, and Epyc 7401P’s 8 memory channels over TR’s 4. Epyc 7401P’s 3 year warrenty over TR’s 1 year, etc.
You can’t overclock EPYC. I’m
You can’t overclock EPYC. I’m not sure why you’re spending so much time trying to sell enthusiasts on a product that is not meant for the enthusiast market, when right there, Threadripper, there it is, the enthusiast product.
Oh, and everything else that will differentiate Threadripper enthusiast motherboards to whatever you can find that may or may not fit into an E-ATX chassis, may have way less visual appeal (PC enthusiasts tend to care about looks,) cost gobs more money (the total platform cost is something people are sensitive to here) and support the same level of consumer I/O options, etc.
No thanks.
Who cares about overclocking
Who cares about overclocking that most Workstation/NON-gaming Graphics rendering workloads do not need. Threadripper for 16 cores/32 threads at $999.00 is beat by Epyc/7401P with its 24 core/48 threads. Who cares aboout Threadripper for Non-Gaming rendering workloads when the Epyc 7401P beats Threadripper’s Quad-Channel memory with Octo-Channel memory and is offering the Epyc 7401P users twice the effective memory bandwidth ability. Epyc 7401P($1075.00) only costs $76.00 more than Threadripper.
Threadripper is not a good deal for Workstation workloads compared to the Epyc 7401P! So who cares about gaming. And even the folks who design all the models/textures for games are going to want the Epyc 7401P over any Threadripper. The gaming graphic artists will use the 7401P for rendering on higher polygon count/high resolution models the high resolution textures that will be rendered at 4K/higher with rendering settings on super-high that take minutes/hours to render for one model and produce the high resolution textures that are then skinned or baked onto the low polygon count games models for use in games.
Enthusiasts are not limited to gamers, there are rendering enthusiasts that use Blender 3D or Solidworks/etc. And getting 8 more cores/16 threads on an the Epyc 7401P(24 core/48 thread SKU) is way better than TR’s 16/32 core/thread offering! Ditto for Epyc/7401P’s 8 channel memory over TR’s 4 channel memory, Ditto for Epyc/7401P’s 128 PCIe lanes over TR’s 64 PCIe lanes. Even the Indipendent games developers are going to be attracted to that Epyc 7401P pricing that’s around $44.79 per Epyc/7401P core(24) compared to TR’s 62.45 per core(16).
For sure TR(16 cores) fustigates Intel’s high pricing, but the Epyc 7401P does likewise to TR on a per CPU core basis, and AMD has definitely got a Real Workstation Price/performance winner with that Epyc 7401P at 24 cores. Intel’s even higher margin Workstation SKUs are in real trouble against the Epyc 7401P. 128 PCIe lanes and Intel can not match that currently, or the 8 channel memory, and other Epyc/Epyc-7401P features.
Gaming Enthusiasts will not stop hearing about the Epyc 7401P/other Epyc offerings until gamers stop calling Threadripper, in any way, a Workstation SKU value. Enjoy your TR 4 channel memory gaming, but I’ll take the Epyc 7401P’s 8 channels and the 128 PCIe lanes. and I’ll bet even with the single socket workstation MB SKUs costing a little more that I can get a 24 core Epyc 7401P system build priced competative with a TR 16 core system build with the Epyc 7401P offering so much more in the extra features category.
Everyone who will buy
Everyone who will buy Threadripper and not EPYC for their desktop is pretty much everyone who will care.
Good luck cooling that thing without a jet engine.
By the way, 99% of people aren’t benefiting at all from quad channel memory, let alone the potential for 8-channel memory in specific applications that can benefit from that. Benchmarks will be higher, but real world? You’re really reaching for justification to spend your money on EPYC. If you want to buy it, go right ahead. I’m sure there will be limited options for you, and you’re going to pay through the nose, but the vendors will love you.
Jet engines produce a lot of
Jet engines produce a lot of heat, as they are heat engines. Memory bandwidth and byte/flop ratio is a big focus right now as well.
Wow, thanks for that insight.
Wow, thanks for that insight. You know I’m talking about the fan they have to use in order to cool it, but whatever bro.
As far as memory bandwidth, again, what’s really changed? Not much. It’s all just for benchmarks and a few applications that almost none of the enthusiasts who will purchase Threadripper actually run. For those who do, great.
Anyone can benifit from more
Anyone can benifit from more memory channels. It’s much lower cost to get the low capacity 4GB DIMMs and have them add up to say 64GB of memory if your motherboard supports 8 channels at 2 DIMM slots per channel. And that 24 core Epyc 7401P(155W/170W) is going to run cooler than any 16 Threadripper(180W) at its higher base and boost clocks, so no jet engine blower needed for the Epyc 7401P’s lower clocked 24 cores.
The 24 core Epyc 7401P SKU only cost $76 more than the top end Threadripper 16 core SKU. That 8 more cores and 16 threads than Threadripper’s(16) for not much more in cost.
The single socket Epyc motherboards will be about 450 to 550, and maybe less depending on the optional features. And that’s not so bad considering that the platform supports 128 PCIe lanes from the Epyc SOC, and the 8 memory channels. I wish there where DDR4 ECC memory with even less than 4GB available but I guess that only half of the 16 DDR4 mamory slots have to be populated at only one DIMM per channel(8 total DIMMS), ECC is costly.
It’s nowhere near as expensive for the Epyc systems compared to Intel’s systems and the Epyc 7401 CPU SKU is really not that much more expensive than Threadripper if you shop wisely for the memory and the motherboard. It’s going to run around $2200 for the Epyc 7401P + Motherboard +Memoty(8 DIMMS at 4GB per DIMM unregistered ECC memory at 32GB total).
Thanks for sharing your
Thanks for sharing your insight. Convincing.
As long as amd get the sale, meh 🙂
(The suffix P on the sku btw folks, means single socket processor.)
I have not seen any details of what cou is kosher with what mobo version? will a 1p cpu work w/ a 2p mobo? will a 2p cpu work in a 1p mobo? etc.
A nagging thought is amd will produce a multi gpu ~epyc mcm designed to run in the second socket of an epyc 2p mobo, which would make a kick ass workstation.
I think I begrudge the cost of a premium mobo less than that of a cpu. cpuS are an easy upgrade e.g.
No I do not think that the
No I do not think that the Epyc 7401P($1075) is going to work on an Epyc 2P motherboards and that the 2 socket equivalent the Epyc 7401(NON P) version costs $1850.
The great thing about AMD’s Epyc Platform is that both the P and the non-P SKUs still offer 128 total PCIe lanes. with the 2 socket Epyc SKUs giving up half of thir 128 lanes each over to inter socket Infinity Fabric communication. So 2 of the Non-P Epyc CPUs have 256 total lanes combined minus each CPU SKU’s 64 lanes each, given over to the Infinity Fabric, which still leaves 128 total lanes across both 1 socket or 2 socket Epyc platforms.
The 24 core Epyc 7401P(24 core) appears to be the Price/performance sweet spot for single socket Epyc systems with more cores than Threadripper at only $76 dollars more for the 7401P.
I’m seeing a few 2 socket Epyc Motherboards in the $600-650 price range so maybe the single socket Epyc motherboards in the 450 to 550 range and maybe lower(I hope). The ECC memory cost is what is going to add more costs for any Epyc single socket system, but having those 8 memory channels available at 2 DIMM slots per channel will give users more memory configuration options using the 4GB Lower Cost ECC memory SKUs. So maybe 32 GB of memory using 8/4GB DIMMs across the 8 memory channels with each channel’s other DIMM slot empty to start with the cost for 32GB of ECC memory running aroud $500.00.
There is still not much ECC memory offered specifically tuned for Zen/Epyc currently but that should change. The Epyc 4701P supports memory speeds of 2400MHz/2666MHz, so that’s probably going to run in the $500-$600 range for ECC memory if not more.
Couple things:
1.
Couple things:
1. Threadripper will support ECC memory, as will the motherboards announced so far from Asus, Gigabyte, and Asrock.
2. For most workloads threadripper’s per-core clock speed will almost certainly be a bigger advantage than the additional Epyc cores. We’re talking about a 2+ GHz difference per-core. Almost no one outside of the server market will benefit from buying the Epyc 7401 over the Threadripper 1950X.
I hope the box include a nice
I hope the box include a nice cooler… otherwise, what a waste of packaging material for something that is so tiny and doesn’t ever need to be stored after use.
rumor has it they come with
rumor has it they come with water cooling would be interesting if its a 120 or 140 rad closed loop.
The obvious choice of
The obvious choice of packaging should have been CLOTH, which you RIP OPEN. They missed a marketing opportunity…
Maybe a cloth(static
Maybe a cloth(static electricity proof) bag over the CPU tray inside that big box and an included actual sewing thread-ripper with which to rip the threads that secure the cloth bag that covers the plastic Threadripper CPU tray. There is still time for AMD to do that maybe.
In the happy shipping accidents category also, maybe some lucky person will, due to a not so good AI running the automated shipping/packaging management system, recieve an AMD Threadripper instead of the sewing thread-ripper that they ordered for their Grandmother!
Grandmother to grandson: What’s this Advanced Micro Devices name on this thread-ripper, Billy?
Little Billy: It’s nothing Nana, just some cross-marketing! Doorbell rings, it’s the delivery man again with a ThreadRipper Motherboad(The Same Defective AI).
Little Billy: SCORE!
… I suddenly feel the need
… I suddenly feel the need to order some… sewing supplies…
There is a very faint
There is a very faint ‘unlocked’ under Threadripper..
The big question is, is there
The big question is, is there room for the rumored included liquid cooler in that make up bag?
yes imo.
If so of course, TR is a damn sight cheaper that it seems. A cheap such cooler is ~100usd, & if vega FE factory liquid cool is any indicator, its a radically new, better & quieter cooler.