AMD 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper Sharkstooth 32-Core, 64-Thread Zen 2 CPU Benchmarks Leak
What appears to be another third-generation AMD Ryzen Threadripper processor has made an appearance on Geekbench, this time wielding 32 physical cores and 64 threads to throw at workloads. The entry points to a "Sharkstooth" part with a 3.6GHZ base frequency and 128MB (16MB x 8) of L3 cache, along with 16MB of L2 cache.
The Sharkstooth nomenclature is interesting—it also appeared in a leaked UserBenchmark entry last month with what is also thought to be a third-generation Threadripper chip, albeit with 16 cores and 32 threads. We have also seen "Castle Peak" thrown around as a codename for the next round of Threadripper processors based on AMD's Zen 2 CPU architecture.
Naming aside, the 32-core/64-thread part posted a score of 5,677 in Geekbench's single-core test, and 94,772 in the multi-core test. Probably the best processor to compare these scores with is AMD's current-generation Threadripper 2990WX, as that is also a 32-core/64-thread chip. Sorting by the highest multi-core test, here's how things shake out between the two:
There is a clockspeed disparity between the Zen+ Threadripper 2990WX (left) and Zen 2 Threadripper CPU (right). That said, the third-gen part scored around 14.5 percent higher in the multi-core test. The disparity grows if going by the average score for a Zen+ Threadripper 2990WX, rather than the fastest.
We do not know for sure if we are actually looking at a third-gen Threadripper part. Assuming we are, it is very likely be an engineering sample, and depending on when it was made, the final specs could be different.
It will be interesting to see how high the cores and threads scale in the next round of Threadripper processors. AMD upped the ante by offering its third-gen Ryzen desktop processors in up to 16 cores, which encroaches into high-end desktop (HEDT) territory. AMD also yanked a reference to Threadripper in a recent roadmap presentation slide, leading some to speculate its demise. However, AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su set the record straight in a comment she made to a group of investors.
"It’s very interesting, some of the things that circulate on the Internet. I don’t think we ever said that Threadripper was not going to continue. It somehow took on a life of its own on the Internet," Dr. Su said.
"You will see more Threadripper from us. You will definitely see more.
Look, we love the high-end desktop market. I think we'll see that, both for content creators as well as workstation needs. Threadripper has done well. And so you will see more from us with Threadripper," Su added.
Dr. Su also alluded to higher core counts, noting "if mainstream is moving up, then Threadripper will have to move up, up—and that's what we're working on."
We may have to wait a couple of months to find out for sure, however, as AMD is expected to roll out new Threadripper chips in October.
