AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2nd Generation release date, news and rumors
In April 2018, AMD launched its Ryzen 2nd Generation processors and completely blew the first generation out of the water in terms of performance, becoming the best processors you can buy in 2018. But, what about the high-end Ryzen Threadripper CPUs that put Intel on the Core X defensive in 2017?
Well, we’re expecting to see that follow-up in the second half of this year.
With AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2nd Generation, similar to the move from Ryzen to Ryzen 2nd Generation, we’re expecting a huge leap in performance – from better power management to higher clock speeds. This is thanks to the move to the same 12nm Zen+ architecture used in the recent Ryzen 2nd Generation processors.
And, at Computex 2018, we finally got a glimpse of what Ryzen Threadripper 2nd Generation has in store. AMD teased and benchmarked an incredible 32-core, 64-thread processor live during its keynote.
Just a week later, this nuclear processor would appear again as the rumored Ryzen Threadripper 2990X. This beast, according to a leak, rocks 32 cores in a single chip – and it’s apparently capable of 4.12 GHz. We don’t know when it’s coming out, but we can’t wait to get our hands on it.
There is still plenty to be revealed though, so be sure to keep this page bookmarked – we’ll keep it updated with any Ryzen Threadripper Generation 2 news that comes our way.
Cut to the Chase
- What is it? AMD’s next generation of high-end desktop CPUs
- When is it out? Rumored for Q3 2018
- What will it cost? Hopefully around the same price as the first generation
Ryzen Threadripper Generation 2 release date
Thanks to some information shared by AMD at CES 2018 and some new information at Computex 2018, we know that Ryzen Threadripper Generation 2 CPUs will be releasing some time in the second half of 2018. AMD said that we can expect the beastly 32 core Threadripper chip shown at Computex 2018 in Q3 2018.
And, in an interview with Forbes, Jim Anderson, Senior Vice President and General Manager of AMD, said that we can assume to get another three CPUs for the high-end – the same as the first generation of Ryzen Threadripper.
The original line of Threadripper CPUs launched in August 2017, and seeing as Ryzen 2nd Generation CPUs released on April 19, 2018 – just one month later than the March 2017 release date for the first gen – we expect to see the Ryzen Threadripper Generation 2 launch date to fall in line this September or later.
Ryzen Threadripper Generation 2 price
We don’t have much concrete information on the pricing of Ryzen Threadripper Generation 2, but we can still speculate based on the pricing of Generation 1. And, we can also look at the difference in cost from AMD Ryzen to AMD Ryzen 2nd Generation.
The prices of Threadripper are as follows, and we don’t think Threadripper Generation 2 is going to be wildly different:
- Ryzen Threadripper 1950X: $999 (£845, AU$1,359)
- Ryzen Threadripper 1920X: $799 (£689, AU$1,069)
- Ryzen Threadripper 1900X: $549 (£384, AU$629)
Ryzen Threadripper Generation 2 specs
Luckily, it looks like AMD is planning on staying with the same TR4 Socket for a while, according to a report from Anandtech, so anyone looking to upgrade once Threadripper Generation 2 drops shouldn’t have to worry about buying a new board. However, just as they did with Ryzen 2nd Generation and the X470 chipset – we’re expecting to see a new chipset for the new Threadripper chips that will optimize performance and power consumption.
More than likely, older motherboards will also need to be updated with a new BIOS that also may require you to boot them with an original Ryzen Threadripper CPU.
Initially we were expecting Threadripper Generation 2 improvements to follow in the footsteps of the improvements to Ryzen that led to the fantastic Ryzen 7 2700X. However, what we actually saw at Computex goes way further.
Because Ryzen Threadripper Generation 2 is using the same microarchitecture as the first generation, we thought we’d just get some higher clock speeds and better efficiency. We didn’t think we were going to get higher core counts. But, not only did AMD introduce a Threadripper chip with more cores, it showed off a 32-core behemoth at Computex. And, we’ve also seen a leak that suggests it doesn’t end there.
According to one early, unconfirmed report, AMD flagship 2nd generation Threadripper has 32 cores and 64 threads. What’s more impressive is that the CPU is apparently capable of running a 4.12GHz clock across all the cores. That’s insane. Some may point out that the 28-core processor that Intel showed off at Computex hit 5GHz, but we’re still not 100% sure of the particulars (i.e. cooling setup) surrounding that demo.
AMD didn’t share any information regarding clock speeds or even a model name, but we’re going to go ahead and assume that it’ll be the flagship Threadripper Generation 2 processor – which means we’ll be getting 2 more.
As for what the other chips are going to look like, your guess is as good of ours, especially now that AMD completely shattered our expectations. But, keep coming back to this page – we’ll update it as soon as we hear more information.
