AMD Gen 3 Threadripper 3990 (64 cores, 128 threads)
AMD Gen 3 Threadripper 3990x (64 cores, 128 threads)
AMD isn’t quite done with their new lineup of Threadrippers. The much anticipated AMD Gen 3 Threadripper 3990x is due for release on February 7th, 2020, which has a whopping 64 cores and is capable of 128 threads. Imagine what you can do with all that raw power!
** Please scroll down to the bottom to read an important note about how Windows 10 cannot fully utilize all the computing power of the Threadripper 3990. The Threadripper 3990 really tested the limits of Windows 10 and now has exceeded some of its capabilities.
Price vs Value
Even though the 3990x comes with an impressive price tag of $4k USD, I think you’re getting a fair price for the technological advancement. Of course this is NOT a hobby machine and is targeted for professionals in the field, In the long run, it should be able to cut down on design time, save several work hours a day, and allow for quicker design iterations during development cycles. This machine is perfect for in-house animation studios or small VFX studios.
Technical Specifications for Gen 3 Threadrippers
Imagine if you’re a small studio trying to impress your clients with large production quality renders. Fast delivery isn’t the only factor you need to achieve. More iterations with the client will produce better communication and the end product will have a higher chance of a successful project. Remember just because it looks good, doesn’t mean that’s what your client ordered. Clients may not always be able to express their ideas within a small studio’s capabilities.
Production Time
“I want a 10min animation of explosions”
10min of animation @ 60fps = 36,000 frames
36,000 frames rendered at 1min/frame = 25days
It may sound simple, but try explaining why it takes 25 days to render 10min of animation and this is just rendering, who knows how long development will take? It will take at least a week or less maybe to get the scene setup correctly and then you have iterations back and forth with the client to ensure you’re both on the same page.
Threadripper 3990x (64 Cores, 128 Threads)
The Threadripper 3990x contains 64 cores and scores very well on Cinebench, exceeding all other rival CPU’s on the market today. I believe the 3990x is perfect for artists and entrepreneurs that have set out to make it on their own and need a powerful machine to do all in-house jobs.
Cost
You can always use a renderfarm to do the rendering for your project, but this will increase the cost of the project. How much will clients pay a small studio to produce 10min of animation?
Keep it Coming!
Two months ago on November 7th, 2019, AMD released their new Threadripper 3960 and 3970. Three months later, AMD is ready to release their new Threadripper 3990 and AMD is in the works of a brand new revamp of their Radeon graphic cards. I wonder if the new model of Radeon will be able to compete other major competitors like Nvidia?
Threadripper 3990 Exceeds the capabilities of Windows 10
The Threadripper 3990 is the first home consumer CPU equipped with 64 cores, which when hyperthreaded runs at 128 threads. Unfortunately this tests the limits of the Windows 10, because Windows 10 was never designed to run that many processing threads for a single application.
Windows 10 splits the 128 threads into 2 processing groups, each group runs the 64 threads. This is what Windows 10 does when it encounters a system with over 64 threads. Normally this wouldn’t be much of an issue, however when a program needs additional threads for processing, Windows will start searching for an available thread that is located in the same processing group as the application. This is the reason why a lot of users were having trouble maxing out all 128 threads on their system when they were doing their testing with certain applications.