AMD Announces Second Generation 32-Core Threadripper CPU

When American multinational semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) first introduced its Threadripper CPU last year, the processor created serious competition for Intel’s HEDT business. AMD was now offering more CPU cores at better prices.

Intels’ Core i9-7980XE at $1,999, however, managed to maintain the company’s overall performance leadership. This may soon change.

When Threadripper was first introduced last year, the chip included two Zen die, with eight cores each, and two fake die to stabilize the package. This had many asking AMD to substitute the fake die with real ones and activate a 32-core CPU.

Meeting people's demands

During its Computex 2018 keynote this week, the company revealed a second-generation Threadripper CPU that finally met people’s demands, a year to the day after the first-generation was introduced. The new and improved Threadripper will feature up to 32 cores and 64 threads.

Set to arrive in Q3 2018, the chip's introduction will once again compete with Intel’s latest launch of a 28-core 5GHz chip set for Q4 2018. AMD also has other parts scheduled, such as a 24 core variant, that will be revealed before the launch.

"When we were bringing out 16-core, we already had on the drawing board the 32-core,"  AMD's Senior Vice President and General Manager of Computing & Graphics Business Group Jim Anderson said in an interview with Engadget. "That's one of the reason it can drop into the same TR4 socket, is because up front we had that in mind."

Anderson also discussed the competition with Intel "I think Ryzen has had a big impact on the industry, but the best thing about is is that it's driven innovation and competition back in the industry," he said.

“And that's good for everybody, and it's especially good for end users. I think having Intel react to us just benefits end users. I also think it's nice to see AMD back to its heritage of pushing the industry,” Anderson added.

40% of the gaming market

At the press conference, AMD also claimed its Ryzen CPU lineup has captured 40% of the gaming market. If true, this would be a particularly impressive accomplishment for a processor generation barely 18 months old.

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However, many blogs have been quick to point out that talks of competition are overrated. With the Threadripper 2 rumored to be sold for $2,000 and Intel predicted to be selling their chip at double that price ($4,000), the financial difference alone will place these products in different categories.

The second generation Threadripper will run on AMD's 12nm Zen+ architecture and feature higher clock speeds, better performance and improved boost found on all Ryzen desktop CPUs. Meanwhile, PC World revealed that this next generation of CPUs will also have the capacity to be air-cooled.