Packing tons of cores and double the threads, the first two installments of Ryzen Threadripper series left us all in shock and awe. The first generation Ryzen Threadripper series offered us an insane 16 core and 32 thread beast in the form of the Ryzen Threadripper 1950X, something that the HEDT market had never seen before, prompting Intel to release their own answer in the form of the Core i9-7980XE, an 18 core and 36 thread chip. But Intel's first spot in the core count race was short-lived with AMD releasing their second installment of the Threadripper lineup, featuring 32 cores and 64 threads on the Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX processor.
Once again, Intel tried to offer their best but couldn't keep up with the core count that AMD managed to deliver. Intel only managed to offer a 28 core and 56 thread chip known as the Xeon W-3175X. But once again, AMD not only won the core count war but the pricing war too since their 32 core chip was priced $1000 less compared to Intel's flagship part.
Now, AMD has officially announced the 3rd installment of the Ryzen Threadripper family. Once again, AMD is uplifting the performance of their Threadripper parts by utilizing 7nm Zen 2 cores which offer up to 15% better IPC than Zen+ and come in a unique chiplet architecture which was first introduced on AMD's 2nd Generation EPYC lineup known as Rome. We already showed you what the flagship 2019 Threadripper, the 3970X, performs like in its own review here which was done on the TRX40 Taichi from ASRock but for this review, I will be comparing the ASRock TRX40 Taichi with a different board. The board in question is the TRX40 AORUS Master which like Taichi, costs $500 US and packs a nice set of features so let''s get started.
AMD Threadripper vs Intel Core - More Than Just Core Wars
Before I start this review, let's take a quick recap of the core wars that's been going on since the beginning of 2017 between AMD and Intel. Prior to 2017, the industry was used to the annual 4 core mainstream and 8/10 core high-end desktop refreshes that Intel produced. Intel was also on top of the game since AMD's Bulldozer (and its various iterations) didn't pose major threat & Zen was still under-development.
So how did Intel go from the leader of the HEDT space to being crushed by AMD's mainstream chip platform? You are expecting me to blame Intel's reliance on 14nm for this issue and while it is a factor, it isn't as big as some other bad decisions that went into Intel's HEDT lineup starting with the 7th Generation Core-X series. You see, back in 2017, there was no AMD HEDT lineup and Intel was considered to be the bleeding-edge HEDT offerer in the market space. While AMD had started pushing Intel to offer more cores in the mainstream segment (e.g. four cores flagship on Kaby Lake vs 6 cores flagship on Coffee Lake), they weren't expecting or rightly put, weren't in the mood to innovate their HEDT lineup any time soon.
Then 1st Gen Threadripper happened and we all know how AMD caught Intel with their pants off. The problem wasn't that Intel didn't have the platform to compete against AMD, it's more to do with their laziness on how they wanted to continue offering 10 cores / 20 thread chips as flagship HEDT parts for years to come. You see, Intel had the technology to offer 12 cores and 24 threads back in their Ivy Bridge generation, 18 cores and 36 threads in the Haswell generation & same in the Skylake generation. However, knowing they dominated the market, the didn't see the reason to innovate the HEDT space anytime soon.
HEDT & Mainstream Segment Core/Thread Count Race:
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD HEDT | N/A | 16 / 32 | 32 / 64 | 32 / 64 | 64 / 128 |
| Intel HEDT | 10 / 20 | 18 / 36 | 18 / 36 | 18 / 36 28 / 56 (Xeon W-3175X) |
18 / 36 28 / 56 (Xeon W-3175X) |
| AMD Mainstream | 8 / 8 | 8 / 16 | 8 / 16 | 16 / 32 | 16 /32 |
| Intel Mainstream | 4/8 | 6 / 12 | 8 / 16 | 8 / 16 | 10 / 20 |
So what do you when your darkest nightmare comes true? Rush to rebadge Xeon parts which could've been done early on and don't give partners enough time to evaluate your new chips on their products, resulting in a botched launch. Intel's first Core-X lineup was a mess and that is why it took Intel 3 generations just to fix the problems of their first X-series lineup.
The 3 years of Threadrippers have also been building up to this moment. While Intel was fixing their X-series lineup, AMD was gaining at both fronts, the market and mind share. You have to sacrifice margins for market share gains and word of mouth to spread before you start hiking up prices for higher profits.
AMD's Threadrippers are repurposed EPYC chips just like how Intel's Core X processors are repurposed Xeon chips that couldn't pass the server-level qualifications. This was another factor which if Intel could've considered earlier on wouldn't get their HEDT lineup into so much trouble. AMD was willing to cut the profit margins offering the same core counts of their EPYC lineup on the Threadripper parts. Intel might have downplayed the fact that in the coming years, AMD's Ryzen Threadripper core count would match the EPYC lineup. This is a superb game played by AMD where their first-generation Threadripper had half the core count of EPYC Naples and only the second generation that launched a year later offered the full 32 cores. This is changing with 3rd generation as the Threadripper 3990X will be carrying 64 cores, same as the top-end EPYC chip.
AMD is also taking Intel's position, becoming the leader of the HEDT market but at the same time, not let this platform become stagnant. AMD is aware that eventually, Intel would have a response which is the next topic I want to shed light on so they want to stay on the high-ground whenever Intel tackles them but also try to maximize profits when there is no competition which we can get a slight hint of from the 3rd Gen Threadripper prices. AMD is easing up on the prices and only Intel themselves is to blame.
AMD is pushing the boundaries once again, making sure that the new Threadripper lineup is fully accompanied by an industry-leading platform. The new platform for Threadripper is called TRX40 and it is exclusively designed for 3rd Gen Threadripper processors and beyond.
The TRX40 HEDT platform would feature quad-channel memory, UDIMM memory support with 2 DIMMs per channel and up to 256 GB (EEC) of capacity. There would also be support for 64 Gen 4 PCIe lanes with 16 lanes switchable with the SATA interface. There also seems to be info regarding TDPs and we can also notice the segmentation here too. For the full details on each respective TRX40 motherboard, you can check out our roundup over here!
Once again, AMD's HEDT platform is made in a way that it can cater not only to HEDT consumers but also to the workstation community. In terms of features, the platform now supports up to 64 cores and 128 threads and there's no doubt that we will get more cores and threads on the same socket and platform in the future with future iterations of the Zen core. It can support chips with up to 280W TDP and can deliver full 72 PCIe Gen 4 lanes to users. The CPU itself also features 4x bandwidth versus the 2nd Generation Threadripper processors which had to communicate with the off-chip X399 chip.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper Generation Comparison:
| Family Name | AMD 1st Gen Ryzen Threadripper | AMD 2nd Gen Ryzen Threadripper | AMD 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU Architecture | Zen 1 | Zen+ | Zen 2 |
| Process Node | 14nm | 12nm | 7nm |
| Max CPU Cores | 16 | 32 | 32 (64 Expected In 2020) |
| Max CPU Threads | 32 | 64 | 64 (128 Expected In 2020) |
| PCIe Support | PCIe Gen 3.0 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | PCIe Gen 4.0 |
| Max PCIe Lanes | 64 | 64 | 72 |
| Max L2 Cache | 8 MB | 16 MB | 32 MB |
| Max L3 Cache | 32 MB | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Socket | TR4 | TR4 | sTRX4 |
| Chipset | X399 | X399 | TRX40, TRX80, WRX80 |
| Launch | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
The HEDT sTRX4 (LGA 4094) Socket - 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper Support
With the TRX40 platform, AMD is also slightly revising their socket. The TR4 socket has now been changed to the sTRX4 socket. The packaging of both sockets is the same but there are some major changes made to the pin layout. The pin count is still 4094 for the socket itself for the SP3 socket but the revised naming should be considered here. The sTRX4 SP3 socket has more pins enabled than the TR4 SP3 socket.
In the following pictures, you can see the difference between the TR4 and sTRX4 socket. Do note that AMD has implemented ID pin recognition to match compatible CPUs with their socket and in this case, the sTRX4 socket would only support 3rd Gen Threadrippers. The socket will prevent boot on any older processor by recognizing the pin configuration.
AMD sTRX4 SP3 Socket For 3rd Gen Threadripper:
AMD TR4 SP3 Socket For 1st/2nd Gen Threadripper:
Cooler Compatibility With The sTRX4 Socket
Since the socket hasn't changed, all coolers that were previously compatible with Threadripper CPUs would run fine with the 3rd Generation Threadripper chips. Despite that, new coolers are going to be available by various manufacturers since the new series have TDPs of up to 280W. Those require better heat transfer and cooling solutions and I will be testing my sample chip with a range of air and water cooling solutions.
AMD has officially announced the 3rd installment of the Ryzen Threadripper family. Once again, AMD is lifting up the performance of their Threadripper parts by utilizing 7nm Zen 2 cores which offer up to 15% better IPC than Zen+ and come in a unique chiplet architecture which was first introduced on AMD's 2nd Generation EPYC lineup known as Rome. The two parts launching today are the Ryzen Threadripper 3970X and the 3960X, their specifications are detailed below.
AMD has made significant changes to their CPU architecture which help deliver twice the throughput of their first-generation Zen architecture. The major points include an entirely redesigned execution pipeline, major floating-point advances that doubled the floating-point registers to 256-bit and double bandwidth for load/store units. One of the key upgrades for Zen 2 is the doubling of the core density which means we are now looking at 2x the core count for each core complex (CCX).
- Improved Execution Pipeline
- Doubled Floating Point (256-bit) and Load/Store (Doubled Bandwidth)
- Doubled Core Density
- Half the Energy Per Operation
- Improved Branch Prediction
- Better Instruction Pre-Fetching
- Re-Optimized Instruction Cache
- Larger Op Cache
- Increased Dispatch / Retire Bandwidth
- Maintaining High Throughput for All Modes
Each Threadripper processor is made up of 4 Zen 2 dies which are interconnected through the 2nd Gen Infinity Fabric with an I/O die that acts as a central hub of the processor. Each processor has a total of 23.54 billion transistors on the entire package, which makes it one of the most densely packed chip designs ever developed.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X - 32 Zen 2 Cores, 64 Threads For $1999 US
The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X is the most powerful high-end consumer desktop processor of 2019. It will be featuring 32 cores and 64 threads along with 128 MB of L3 cache. The processor will be clocked at 3.7 GHz base and 4.5 GHz boost speeds. The processor would also feature 88 Gen 4 PCIe lanes coming right from the massive PCH die which we talked about in the previous month & would be supported by the sTRX4 socket which is featured on the latest TRX40 motherboard lineup from various manufacturers. The processor would feature a TDP of 280W and would be launching at a price of $1999 US on 25th November.
While the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X has the same core count as the Threadripper 2990WX, the new CPU would be based on the 7nm Zen 2 core architecture and is expected to deliver major gains, not only in single-core optimized workloads but multi-threaded applications. The processor is a beast of its own with lots of power stacked in one chip which truly makes for a semi-pro PC / workstation build that many mega-tasking enthusiasts should be excited about. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X offers significantly better performance than the competition across multiple content creations and compute-intensive workloads, including:
- Up to 90% faster performance in Cinebench R20 nT
- Up to 47% more performance in Adobe Premiere
- Up to 49% more performance in V-Ray
- Up to 43% more performance in Chromium Release 78 Compile
- Up to 36% more performance in Unreal Engine
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X - 24 Zen 2 Cores, 48 Threads For $1399 US
The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X is the second of the two chips that are part of the initial Ryzen Threadripper CPU lineup. The processor would feature 24 cores and 48 threads. The chip would feature 128 MB of cache, 88 PCIe Gen 4.0 lanes and a TDP of 280W, just like the 3970X. Its clock speeds are rated at 3.8 GHz base and 4.5 GHz boost. The Ryzen Threadripper 3960X would replace the Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX at a price of $1399 US which is $100 US more than the former chip but offers a lot more performance in single and multi-threaded applications.
The Threadripper 3960X would also hit retail stores on 25th November and would be a decent chip for those who are looking to enter the pro enthusiast space without touching $2K for a processor alone. The processor also seems to be perfect for those building a cheaper workstation solution as the same number of PCIe lanes and massive I/O of the other Threadripper parts is still available on it.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X - The 64 Core / 128 Thread Daddy of HEDT Chips
There's also one more chip, the daddy of all HEDT CPUs made to date. Meet the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X, the pinnacle of high-end desktop processors. Featuring a gargantuan 64 cores and 128 threads, this chip is a beast. The core and thread counts are simply astonishing unlike anything that we have seen before on the HEDT platform but AMD has pushed the HEDT hard and they are indeed bringing this supermassive chip to their TRX40 platform.
Unlike the rest of the Ryzen Threadripper 3000 processors, the 3990X has a proper announcement and launch planned in January 2020.
AMD 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper Processor SKUs:
| CPU Name | CPU Cores | CPU Thread | CPU Predecessor | Base Clock | Boost Clock | Cache | TDP | Price | Retail Launch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X/WX | 64 Core | 128 Thread | AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX (32 Core / 64 Thread) | TBD | TBD | TBD | ~280W | $2999? | January 2020 |
| AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3980X/WX | 48 Core | 96 Thread | N/A | TBD | TBD | TBD | ~280W | $2499? | January 2020 |
| AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X/WX | 32 Core | 64 Thread | AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX (24 Core / 48 Thread) | 3.7 GHz | 4.5 GHz | 128 MB | 280W | $1999 | 25th November 2019 |
| AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X | 24 Core | 48 Thread | N/A | 3.8 GHz | 4.5 GHz | 128 MB | 280W | $1399 | 25th November 2019 |
Both AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X and 3960X would come in brand new packaging, featuring a large cardboard package inside which a plastic container would be housing the processor along with the sTRX4 socket key. You can check out the packaging below:
AMD Game Mode and Creator Mode For 3rd Gen Threadripper CPUs Explained
Once again, like 1st and 2nd Gen Ryzen Threadripper CPUs, the 3rd Gen series will feature support in Ryzen Master, allowing users to switch between Game Mode or Creator Mode. There will also be options to switch between legacy mode which will disable the extra threads on the processors to avoid incompatibility in legacy or older applications. Both can be set through the Ryzen Master configuration utility which has now been updated to support 2nd Generation Ryzen Threadripper processors. The utility also provides other nifty features and configuration tool which can be used by overclockers to fine-tune their chips.
Another thing worth noting is that in-game mode, Ryzen Threadripper processors will optimize to run with 8 cores, 16 threads. That means only 2 CCX or 1 die would be enabled, reducing latency. With memory access modes, users can select between UMA (maximum memory bandwidth) and NUMA (lowest latency) modes. While on the topic of Ryzen Master, it should be pointed out that a new updated version will be released on launch day, 13th August, offering more fine-tuning and control over the HEDT processors.
So what the Threadripper profiles do is that they optimize the chip for the specified workloads. For instance, the gaming mode will enable Local memory access mode and turn the compatibility mode to legacy. This will help reduce memory and core-to-core latency and overcome the thread count limitation in some of the legacy games which can endure bugs and issues with modern multi-core CPUs.
The creator mode, on the other hand, turns the memory access to the distributed mode and disables the legacy mode. This maximizes threads and total memory bandwidth for an unrestrained amount of CPU performance and will be the default profile for Threadripper processors.
AORUS has introduced its new TRX40 motherboard lineup which includes three products, the TRX40 AORUS XTREME, TRX40 AORUS Master and the TRX40 AORUS PRO WIFI. The board I am going to test today is the TRX40 AORUS Master, a $500 US high-end option for AMD's 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper processors.
The TRX40 AORUS Master comes with the updated 2019 looks that AORUS has featured on their motherboards. It carries a black and silver color theme with brushed metal surfaces and a very futuristic look which we should expect from AORUS motherboards. The motherboard also comes with AORUS's signature Fin Array heatsinks which are scattered across the motherboard, making use of large heat pipes to form a connection
The motherboard carries a 16+3 phase Digital VRM solution. The CPU socket is powered by dual 8-pin connectors and the whole VRM area is cooled off by several Fins-array heatsinks. These along with the added heat pipe transfer heat from the VRM area to the heatsink near the I/O which absorbs most of the heat and blows it off with a small PWM fan featured under the I/O cover. There are eight DDR4 DIMM slots that can support up to 256 GB of capacity with speeds of up to 4400 MHz (OC+).
The motherboard also comes with four PCIe 4.0 x16 slots (x16, x16, x16 electrical) and a single PCIe 4.0 x1 slot. The four full-length x16 slots are reinforced by steel shielding. There are three M.2 slots and 8 SATA III ports for storage devices included on the motherboard. Other than that, all M.2 slots can be seen hidden beneath their heatsinks which provide decent cooling. Additional ports include a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C front-panel connector, power on/off switches, a reset switch, DEBUG LED and a couple of USB 3.0 front panel headers. There's also active cooling on the PCH heatsink which also includes a nice design with cutouts to let the fan blow air outwards.
TRX40 AORUS Master Motherboard Features:
- Supports 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen Threadripper Processors
- Quad Channel ECC/ Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4, 8 DIMMs
- 16+3 Phases Infineon Digital VRM Solution with 70A Power Stage
- Advanced Thermal Design with Fins-Array Heatsink, Heatpipe with Extended Heatsink and NanoCarbon Baseplate
- AQUANTIA 5GbE LAN and Intel GbE LAN with cFosSpeed
- 3 Ultra-Fast NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 with Thermal Guards
- Onboard Intel WiFi 6 802.11ax 2T2R & BT 5
- 130dB SNR AMP-UP Audio with High-End ESS SABRE 9218 DAC, ALC1220-VB, and WIMA Audio Capacitors
- USB TurboCharger for Mobile Device Fast Charge Support
- RGB FUSION 2.0 with Multi-Zone Addressable LED Light Show Design, Support Addressable LED & RGB LED Strips
- Smart Fan 5 Features Multiple Temperature Sensors, Hybrid Fan Headers with FAN STOP and Noise Detection
- Front & Rear USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C Header
- Q-Flash Plus Update BIOS Without Installing CPU, Memory and Graphics Card
TRX40 AORUS Master Motherboard Gallery:
The TRX40 AORUS Master comes in a large rectangular box. The motherboard features Gigabyte's black and orange aesthetics with the large AORUS Eagle picture featured on it.
The front side of the package features various marketing labels such as AMD Socket sTRX4, TRX40, PCI Express 4.0 Ready, Quad Channel Memory, PCIE 4.0 NVME SSD-Ready, WiFi 6 Ready, Direct 19 Phase Digital Power & AMD Ryzen Threadripper. The product name is also prominently mentioned on the front.
The back of the box contains all the marketing details along with product specifications. The most interesting features that are highlighted by AORUS are the Direct 16+3 phase Digital VRM, A solid thermal design, full PCIe 4.0 design, WiFi 6 and 5 Gb Ethernet LAN.
Within the package are two containers, one houses the motherboard while the other houses the accessories. The accessories for the TRX40 AORUS Master motherboard include:
- - User's Manual, Installation Guide, Driver Disk
- - Sticker Case
- - 4 x SATA Data Cables
- - 1 x AORUS High-Bandwidth Bridge
- - 1 x AORUS WiFi 2.4/5 GHz Antenna
- - 4 x Screws for M.2 Sockets
- - 4 x Standoffs for M.2 Sockets
Once again, AORUS amazes with their uniquely designed aesthetics on the TRX40 AORUS Master. The motherboard carries a huge E-ATX form factor and looks very feature-rich out of the box with metal shielding used across all of the main components which give it a nice finish.
The TRX40 AORUS Master is a stunning motherboard that comes in an EATX form factor. The board is really huge and requires a lot of space just to install it. If you're building a Threadripper PC using the TRX40 AORUS Master, make sure your casing has enough room to support this massive beast.
The TRX40 AORUS Master comes with the updated 2019 looks that AORUS has featured on their motherboards. It carries a black and silver color theme with brushed metal surfaces and a very futuristic look which we should expect from AORUS motherboards.
The back of the motherboard carries a nice nanocarbon backplate which has thermal pads placed around the VRM section. The AORUS branding can be seen on the backplate too. There are some clear dual-sided cases available which you can get to really show off your motherboard from both ends if you are into that sort of a thing.
The board uses the sTRX4 socket to support 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen Threadripper CPUs. The socket has a plastic cover that slides in and out with ease. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors also slide in the socket with ease after removal of the protective cover. All TRX40 motherboards are shipped with this cover since we are talking about 4094 pins and one damaged pin can cause permanent damage to the board.
Right next to the socket are eight DDR4 DIMM slots which can support up to 256 GB (dual channel) memory. These slots are rated to support DDR4 DIMMs with frequencies all the way up to 4400 MHz (OC+) which is a huge increase from the AORUS X399 series which only supported up to 3600 MHz (OC+) DIMMs.
The motherboard packs a 16 phase design which runs off an Infineon XDPE132G5C 16-phase PWM controller and 16 Infineon TDA21472 70A power stages along with three additional phases for the memory and PCH. The board also uses a 2x copper PCB & uses higher quality components which emphasize quality over quantity, offering higher stability.
The motherboard makes use of four sets of heatsinks, two featured across the CPU, memory and VRM area, one featured on the audio PCB & one featured on the TRX40 PCH. The ones on the CPU VRMs and audio PCB are interconnected by a single heat pipe that runs through the large finned heatsinks.
Both the top VRM and lower audio heatsinks channel heat to the middle heatsink which has a wider aluminum finned heatsink block under the I/O cover. The fin array heatsink has been in use by AORUS since their X470 series of motherboards back in 2018. The design offers more cooling and better contact with the underlying components, effectively dissipating heat. The CPU side of heatsinks features a metallic color with silver and black color scheme which looks great along with the all-black aluminum fins underneath them.
The top I/O cover has an AORUS Eagle logo which is a nice touch to the AMD setup. The shield covers the entire I/O panel and looks great on this motherboard. There's also RGB on the I/O shield which surprisingly is the only RGB you get on this motherboard which, to be honest, is not necessarily a bad thing considering the board is just as good as to look as it is.
Right under the I/O cover is a small PWM fan that blows air towards aluminum fin heatsink block which I was just talking about. This ensures that the heatsinks stay cool and the heat doesn't build up on the motherboard.
The CPU is supplied with power through two 8 pin connectors. This will feed the CPU with up to 300W of power. AMD currently ships Ryzen Threadripper CPUs with TDPs of 280W.
Expansion slots include four PCI Express 4.0 x16 (x16/x16/x16 electrical), a single PCI Express 4.0 x1 and three M.2 slots. The board can support 4-way multi-GPU (CrossFireX / SLI). The M.2 slots are rated to support NVMe PCIe Gen3 x4 SSD. Following is the PCIe x16 slot configuration on the board itself:
- 2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x16 (PCIEX16_1, PCIEX16_2)
- 2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x8 (PCIEX8_1, PCIEX8_2)
- 1 x PCI Express x1 slot
The M.2 slots are hidden beneath M.2 heatsinks that come with thermal pads under them to get better contact with the aluminum heatsinks. The top M.2 slot can support SSDs up to 110mm and the M.2 slots at the bottom which feature a single extended heatsink feature support for up to 80mm SSDs. The storage configuration for the M.2 slots is listed below:
Integrated in the CPU:
- 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2260/2280/22110 SATA and PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSD support) (M2M)
- 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2280 SATA and PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSD support) (M2Q)
Integrated in the Chipset:
- 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2280 SATA and PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSD support) (M2P)
- 8 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
AORUS makes use of their Ultra Durable PCIe Armor on the TRX40 series motherboards. These not only make the slots more durable and solid but also increase signal stability since AORUS has featured more anchor points underneath the slots. One more thing, the single PCIe 4.0 x1 slot doesn't feature any of the said features.
The TRX40 PCH is housed beneath a large heatsink with the AORUS logo & a text which says "Team Up. Fight On".
The TRX40 PCH heatsink has a nice cut-out design which also adds function since the large fan underneath it has to blow air outwards. The PCH fan can be controlled through the BIOS or the bundled Gigabyte software so you can set its speed to various modes or disable it for quieter function.
Storage options include eight SATA III ports rated to operate at 6 Gb/s. There are 8 SATA III ports next to the PCH heatsink that can support a total of 6 different storage devices at the same time.
AORUS is using a combination of Realtek ALC4050H + Realtek ALC1220-VB codecs for the rear and Realtek ALC4050H + ESS SABRE9218 DAC chips for front audio on this motherboard. All of these are part of the ESS SABRE HIFI audio systems which also includes audiophile-grade WIMA caps & an HD (gold-plated) audio jack for clean and clear audio quality. Some features of the ESS SABRE DAC 9218 include:
- Support QUAD DAC to deliver superb 124dB DNR and 112dB THD+N.
- True 2vrms outputs are capable of driving professional high impedance headphones and deliver professional line-level outputs.
- Analog Volume Control delivers 130dB SNR at low listening levels by reducing noise as the audio signal decreases.
- High-Res music Supports up to 32bit 192KHz PCM.
The motherboard offers 4 USB 3.2 Gen 1 front panel ports through internal headers and a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 header which can be used to connect the front panel. There are an ample amount of fans connectors including those for water pumps on liquid AIO coolers. A list of connectors available internally on the motherboard include:
- 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
- 2 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connectors
- 1 x CPU fan header
- 1 x water cooling CPU fan header
- 2 x system fan headers
- 4 x system fan/water cooling pump headers
- 2 x addressable LED strip headers
- 2 x RGB LED strip headers
- 3 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors
- 8 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
- 1 x front panel header
- 1 x front panel audio header
- 1 x USB Type-C
port, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 support - 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 headers
- 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
- 1 x noise detection header
- 1 x GIGABYTE add-in card connector
- 1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header (2x6 pin, for the GC-TPM2.0_S module only)
- 1 x power button
- 1 x reset button
- 2 x BIOS switches
- 2 x temperature sensor headers
- 1 x Clear CMOS jumper
- Voltage Measurement Points
The motherboard features a pre-mounted I/O bracket which is the industry standard nowadays. It features a nice matte black color scheme along with a AORUS logo. In terms of connectivity, TRX40 AORUS Master rocks a WiFi 6-AX200 with Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax, supporting 2.4/5 GHz dual band. There's also a 5 Gb Ethernet (Aquantia) LAN chip on the board along with a 1 GbE Intel LAN chip. I/O on the board include:
- 1 x Q-Flash Plus button
- 1 x Clear CMOS button
- 2 x SMA antenna connectors (2T2R)
- 1 x USB Type-C port, with USB 3.1 Gen 2 support
- 5 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red)
- 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
- 2 x RJ-45 ports
- 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
- 5 x audio jacks
TRX40 AORUS Master RGB Fusion 2.0 Gallery:
For this review, I had access to the Ryzen Threadripper 3970X processor. AMD did not provide us with any equipment or processors for this review. The motherboards were sent to us directly by AIBs and the rest of the equipment was also sent to us by our partners.
ASRock TRX40 Taichi & Threadripper 3970X Test Platform:
| Processors Used | AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X Intel Core i9-10980XE Intel Core i9-7980XE Intel Core i9-9900KS AMD Ryzen 9 3900X AMD Ryzen 7 3700X |
|---|---|
| Motherboard | ASRock TRX40 Taichi |
| Memory | G.SKILL Trident Z RGB Series 32 GB (4 x 8GB) CL16 3600 MHz |
| Video Cards | MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Lightning Z |
| Power Supply | ASUS ROG THOR 1200W |
| Cooling Solutions | Corsair H115i Pro AIO Liquid |
| Solid State Drive | Samsung SSD 960 EVO M.2 (512 GB) |
| BIOS Used | TRX4TC1.15 |
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit |
For overclocking, the maximum clock speeds I was able to achieve on the TRX40 AORUS Master were 4.2 GHz across all 32 cores and 64 threads with a fixed voltage supply of 1.311V. With the settings, we booted and stress-tested the processor for 1 hour in Prime 95 which ran stable.
3DMark Time Spy CPU Performance
3DMark Firestrike is the widely popular video card benchmark test for Windows that is designed to measure your PC’s gaming performance. While the overall benchmark is great, the utility also provides a good indication of the CPU performance.
Blender
Blender is the free and open source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, even video editing and game creation.
Cinebench R20
Cinebench is a real-world cross-platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s hardware capabilities. Improvements to Cinebench Release 20 reflect the overall advancements to CPU and rendering technology in recent years, providing a more accurate measurement of Cinema 4D’s ability to take advantage of multiple CPU cores and modern processor features available to the average user.
Cinebench R15
CINEBENCH is a real-world cross-platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s performance capabilities. CINEBENCH is based on MAXON’s award-winning animation software CINEMA 4D, which is used extensively by studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content creation. MAXON software has been used in blockbuster movies such as Iron Man 3, Oblivion, Life of Pi or Prometheus and many more.
Geekbench 5
Geekbench 5, the latest major upgrade to Primate Labs’ easy-to-use cross-platform benchmark, is now available for download. Geekbench 5 allows you to measure your system’s power more accurately than ever before.
HandBrake
HandBrake is a tool for converting video from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs.
PCMark 10
PCMark 10 is a complete PC benchmarking solution for Windows 10. It includes several tests that combine individual workloads covering storage, computation, image and video manipulation, web browsing and gaming. Specifically designed for the full range of PC hardware from netbooks and tablets to notebooks and desktops, PCMark 10 offers complete Windows PC performance testing for home and business use.
POV-Ray
The POV-Ray package includes detailed instructions on using the ray-tracer and creating scenes. Many stunning scenes are included with POV-Ray so you can start creating images immediately when you get the package.
SuperPI
Super PI is used by many overclockers to test the performance and stability of their computers. In the overclocking community, the standard program provides a benchmark for enthusiasts to compare “world record” pi calculation times and demonstrate their overclocking abilities. The program can also be used to test the stability of a certain overclock speed.
7-Zip
7-Zip is free software with open source. It can backup your data and reduce the size of email attachments, decompresses RAR, ZIP and other files downloaded from the Internet and create new archives in RAR and ZIP file format.
Ashes of The Singularity
Stardock's Ashes of the Singularity RTS title is a new take on the historical genre. The game incorporates several things that many pc gamers have been curious about and anxious to try for themselves such as Explicit Multi-Adapter Support and full Asynchronous Compute under DirectX 12 API. We tested the game at 1440P with 4x MSAA on Crazy Settings under DirectX 12.
Battlefield V
Battlefield V brings back the action of the World War 2 shooter genre. Using the latest Frostbite tech, the game does a good job of looking gorgeous in all ways possible. From the open-world environments to the intense and gun-blazing action, this multiplayer and single-player FPS title is one of the best looking Battlefields to date. The game was tested at max settings at 1440p.
DOOM
In 2016, Id finally released Doom. My testing wouldn’t be complete without including this title. It's a hell fest featuring fast-paced FPS action and tons of demons to kill. The latest title is based on both Vulkan and OpenGL APIs that take advantage of the latest multi-core and multi-GPU upgrades.
GTA V
GTA V is one handsomely optimized title for the PC audience. It's scalable across various PC configurations and delivers an impressive frame rate. Rockstar did an amazing job with the PC build of GTA V and it comes with a large array of settings that can be configured by PC gamers. We tested the title at 1440P with everything set to Ultra and 4x MSAA.
Mass Effect Andromeda
Being a huge fan of the Mass Effect series, I was highly anticipating the arrival of Andromeda to store shelves. Now that it’s here, I put the fastest gaming card to the test. Using Frostbite, the latest Mass Effect title looks incredibly gorgeous and the open-world settings on the different planets immerses you a lot.
Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus continues the journey of Artyom through the nuclear wasteland of Russia and its surroundings. This time, you are set over the Metro, going through various regions and different environments. The game is one of the premier titles to feature NVIDIA’s RTX technology and does well in showcasing the ray-tracing effects in all corners. The game was tested at Ultra setting with RTX settings turned off at 1440p.
Shadow of The Tomb Raider
Sequel to The Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of The Tomb Raider is visually enhanced with an updated Foundation Engine that delivers realistic facial animations and the most gorgeous environments ever seen in a Tomb Raider Game. The game is a technical marvel and really shows the power of its graphics engine in the latest title.
Sid Meir's Civilization VI
Civilization VI is the pinnacle of the series. It's featured huge, sweeping changes, and nothing was left out. Everything has found a purpose, they all work together in tandem but also have a reason to stand alone. It uses a more fleshed out engine that now supports DirectX 12 capabilities. We tested the game with every setting maxed out (4x MSAA, 4096x4096 shadow textures) at 1440P in DirectX 12.
Watch Dogs 2
Watch Dogs 2 once again takes us on a hacking tour, but this time in the city of San Francisco. Using a very evolved version of the OPUS engine the developers should have a better grasp of things this go around than they did with Watch Dogs. The new engine incorporates several NVIDIA Gameworks technologies and is seen as one of the most graphics-intensive titles to launch this year. We tested the game on a mix of Ultra and high settings at 1440P (Temporal Filtering Disabled).
The Ryzen Threadripper 3000 series makes use of a chiplet design rather than a single monolithic die. All dies are connected through the infinity fabric interconnect & is used to thermally manage the load on different dies. The 3rd Gen Threadrippers also make use of a 7nm process node which leads to energy savings through higher efficiency.
The AMD 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper processors feature a TDP of 280W. Overclocking would lead to higher power consumption than the stock clocks & we have listed our power numbers for both in the chart below.
For cooling, I used the Corsair H115i Pro AIO cooler which is fully compatible with the 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper lineup and sTRX4 socket. These coolers come with a larger surface area that makes full contact with the huge IHS on the Threadripper chips. This huge contact allows for better heat transfer to help cool the processor effectively. Following are the results o 3rd Generation Ryzen Threadripper CPU in thermal benchmarking:
The Ryzen Threadripper chips come with liquid metal thermal paste on each of the four dies that are featured on the chip interposer. This refined thermal interface offers much better heat transfer than Intel's TIM and the Indium based solder design means that all air gaps are removed and the chip itself is tightly packaged so that the IHS can fully unload the heat from the dies and pass it straight to the cooler itself.
The TRX40 AORUS Master is another high-end motherboard and the second one I am reviewing that falls under the $500 US price category. Rather than going feature-rich outside of the board, the TRX40 AORUS Master packs it all on the motherboard itself. It has the looks of a gaming high-end motherboard but features of an enthusiast workstation-class design with a solid 16+3 phase VRM and an aluminum design aesthetic that runs across the entirety of this motherboard.
AORUS packs its impressive fin-array design and tops it off with a PWM controlled fan that keeps the VRMs running chilled. To their credit, ASRock features a dual-fan design on the VRM heatsink which at the expense of extra noise output does make a whole lot of difference and ASRock did it on an ATX form factor whereas AORUS had the advantage of an EATX sized motherboard. The VRM heatsinks still perform great, delivering decent overclocking results when all 32 cores were cranked up.
In terms of pricing, the Ryzen Threadripper 3970X will cost you $1999 US. A proper setup to go along with including a TRX40 motherboard, at least 32 GB quad-channel memory and a high-end liquid cooler would set you off for around $1200 US with the cost break down listed below:
- TRX40 AORUS Master Motherboard With WiFi6 & 5 GbE LAN ($499 US @ Amazon)
- G.Skill Trident Z Neo 32 GB (4 x 8GB) Quad Channel DDR4-3800 Kit ($558.61 US @ Amazon)
- DeepCool Castle 360EX Anti-Leak AIO Liquid Cooler TR4/AM4 ($156.06 US @ Amazon)
All three components combined, you are looking at at least $3200 US for the CPU, Motherboard, Memory, and cooling when building a 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper setup with 32 cores and 64 threads. The graphics card, storage, casing, fan costs are all extra. But even considering the $3200 US, that is pretty decent for a 32 core & 64 core thread PC with performance that even most of the workstation setups won't have.
Some of the key advantages that the TRX40 AORUS Master has over the ASRock TRX40 Taichi is that it comes with more PCIe Gen 4 x16 slots, more onboard M.2 slots, and offers Aquantia 5GbE LAN compared to ASRock's 2.5GbE LAN. The AORUS Master also rocks 2 extra SATA ports which are a much-needed addition on enthusiasts boards like this as storage heavy-users are known to rock multiple HDDs for large chunks of data alongside good M.2 SSD support. ASRock has a slight edge in the M.2 department where they offer a fantastic Quad Hyper M.2 AIC which lets you add four more M.2 SSDs for a total of 6 on the board. This costs you another PCIe x16 slot, leaving you with just 2 for expansion. Both motherboards offer WiFi 6-AX200 and superior audio output with AORUS slightly edging out the ASRock Taichi in the audio department with its high-end ESS SABRE solution.
Both the TRX40 AORUS Master and ASRock TRX40 Taichi are solid $500 US motherboards for AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3000 series processors. Both run and overclock the flagship 3970X like a boss but AORUS has packed a very neat design that makes use of stunning aluminum fun design, a high-end audio system, a brilliant aesthetic choice and a best-in-class audio system that makes you want to go with AORUS's TRX40 Master motherboard!
The post AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X 32 Core, $1999 US CPU Review With TRX40 AORUS Master Motherboard by Hassan Mujtaba appeared first on Wccftech.
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