Back when AMD announced their leading-edge Ryzen Threadripper 1950X and 1920X, the company also tucked in an announcement that there would be a third, cheaper Threadripper: the 1900X. Now after about a month’s wait since the first two chips launched, the 1900X is finally hitting the streets.

AMD High-End Ryzen SKUs
  Cores/
Threads
Base/
Turbo
XFR L3 DRAM
1DPC
PCIe TDP SRP
TR 1950X 16/32 3.4/4.0 +200 32 MB 4x2666 60 180W $999
TR 1920X 12/24 3.5/4.0 +200 32 MB 4x2666 60 180W $799
TR 1900X 8/16 3.8/4.0 +200 16 MB 4x2666 60 180W $549
Ryzen 7 1800X 8/16 3.6/4.0 +100 16 MB 2x2666 16 95 W $499
Ryzen 7 1700X 8/16 3.4/3.8 +100 16 MB 2x2666 16 95 W $399

Of AMD’s Threadripper product stack, the 1900X is easily the most unusual of the chips. Whereas the 1950X and 1920X were the full-fledged version and the cheaper-but-still-thread-heavy-alterative respectively, the 1900X doesn’t really fit into either of those buckets. In fact with just 8 cores active, it has more in common with the Ryzen 7 1800X than it does the rest of the Threadripper family.

So why is AMD releasing an 8 core version of Threadripper when one Zeppelin die can accomplish the same thing at $100 less and almost half the TDP? Because while the 1900X may be a few cores short of a full Threadripper, it retains the platform’s immense I/O and memory bandwidth capabilities. In other words, 4 DDR4 memory channels and 60 + 4 PCIe lanes, offering twice the cumulative memory bandwidth and three times as many freely available PCIe lanes as AMD’s standard Ryzen processors. In fact other than cores, the only other thing it loses out on from the 1950X is L3 cache, with 16MB rather than the 32MB of its higher core counterparts. Conversely, its 3.8GHz base clockspeed makes it the highest base clockspeed of all of AMD’s Ryzen CPUs, standard and Threadripper.

It does bear mentioning that Threadripper’s multi-die layout does comes with the same potential caveats as the other SKUs, which is why the 1900X isn’t going to be equal to or better than the 1800X in all scenarios. However with a MSRP of $549, the 1900X is now the cheapest way to get a high-I/O x86 processor. So for tasks that require a more limited number of threads and a lot of I/O and memory bandwidth, the 1900X should fit comfortably in its niche.

As for reviews of the new processor, unfortunately AMD did not sample the 1900X in advance. We're angling to get one in soon, so please stay tuned for that.

Meanwhile also shipping out the door from AMD today is their Ryzen PRO processors. Announced back at the end of July, these are enterprise IT -focused versions of AMD’s standard Ryzen processors, offering longer support periods along with features such as enhanced security and added manageability features. Accordingly, AMD’s partners have started showing off their latest enterprise-systems, with Dell, HP, and Lenovo all set to begin shipping Ryzen PRO-equipped systems in the following weeks.

AMD Ryzen PRO Specifications
  Cores/Threads Frequency Cache TDP
Base Boost L2 L3
Ryzen 7 PRO 1700X 8/16 3.5 GHz 3.7 GHz 4 MB 16 MB 95 W
Ryzen 7 PRO 1700 3 GHz 3.7 GHz 65 W
Ryzen 5 PRO 1600 6/12 3.2 GHz 3.6 GHz 3 MB
Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 4/8 3.5 GHz 3.7 GHz 2 MB
Ryzen 3 PRO 1300 4/4 3.5 GHz 3.7 GHz 8 MB
Ryzen 3 PRO 1200 4/4 3.1 GHz 3.4 GHz
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  • Irwin Electronics - Saturday, September 2, 2017 - link

    Transcoding HD video for one. This process requires CPU power, memory, and disk IO, but does not require much GPU power. It will use every available core though. This is one area AMD has always beat Intel, even if by a narrow margin.
  • siberian3 - Thursday, August 31, 2017 - link

    why 180W cpu is it not alot for an 8 core?
  • Makaveli - Thursday, August 31, 2017 - link

    The 180 TDP is high but you have to remember this is a TR chip with access to quad channel memory etc. The cpu has to keep parts of itself active that probably uses more power than 1800X doesn't have to worry about.
  • bill.rookard - Thursday, August 31, 2017 - link

    Yup, it has all the PCIe, all the I/O, all the RAM support, and the higher base clock. In effect, it's the same as two highly clocked Ryzen 3's with the support logic.
  • The Hardcard - Thursday, August 31, 2017 - link

    You said why this is the one for me (down the road a bit.) Highest base clocks with 4 memory channels and all that I/O.

    It is too bad there seems to be some hard clock limit in the design somewhere, with the cores spread so far apart, it otherwise seems excellent for extreme overclocking.

    To my understanding, you only need PCIe x16 for high-end gaming. I want a system to put 4 GPUs in at PCIe x8 for video and 3D rendering and transcoding. My 1 box Frameripper.
  • Glock24 - Thursday, August 31, 2017 - link

    I'm interested in those Ryzen PRO CPUs ... Now where are those motherboards with remote management and ECC support?
  • nagi603 - Friday, September 1, 2017 - link

    "accomplish the same thing at $100 less "
    $549 vs $499 is $50 less.... although if you add the price differences in motherboards, it probably will be $100+
  • Endelite - Friday, September 1, 2017 - link

    "So why is AMD releasing an 8 core version of Threadripper when one Zeppelin die can accomplish the same thing at $100 less and almost half the TDP?"

    It should be noted that the Ryzen TR 1900X is only $50 more expensive than the Ryzen 7 1800X.
  • R7 - Saturday, September 2, 2017 - link

    Yes at first glance 1800X seems like a better buy exept with 1900X you get access to 64 PCI-E lanes vs 24, 128GB memory vs 64GB and NVME RAID support.

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