AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X

Third-generation Threadripper is the new king of cores

- JARRED WALTON

MY NAME IS JARRED, and I have a problem: I’m addicted to extreme hardware. Show me the latest shiny new tech, and I can’t help but feel giddy. Today might be too much for my aging body, as I’m about to quadruple the number of cores and threads relative to my everyday work PC. AMD has thrown down the gauntlet with the third round of Threadripper, delivering many of the fastest benchmark results I’ve ever seen.

Intel’s response is telling. It slashed prices on its 10th-gen Cascade Lake-X parts. It’s still not enough—at least, not if you’re after maximum multithreaded performance. AMD and Intel have now swapped positions in terms of pricing, with the Threadripper 3970X occupying Intel’s former two-grand slot. At least the platform and hardware justify the cost.

WARP SPEED