PC Tech AMD Threadripper 2 Thread — 2990WX Suffocated on memory bandwidth (2950X is great though)

[Reputator]

 

The 2990WX kicks ass in just a handful of tests, but in applications that use all the threads WHILE needing memory, it completely chokes. The 2950X with half the CPUs doesn't have this problem and so can often beat its larger brother in many productivity tests (and games).

[cusideabelincoln]

Well I wasn't expecting those results, but then again I didn't know half of the cores of the 2990WX weren't directly connected to a memory controller.  

[TwinIon]

I think this is the money quote from the Anand Review:

Quote

 

In order to take the full advantage of this setup, the workload has to be memory light. In workloads such as particle movement, ray-tracing, scene rendering, and decompression, having all 32-cores shine a light means that we set new records in these benchmarks.

In true Janus style, for other workloads that are historically scale with cores, such as physics, transcoding, and compression, the bi-modal core caused significant performance regression. Ultimately, there seems to be almost no middle ground here – either the workload scales well, or it sits towards the back of our high-end testing pack.

 

 

[Reputator]

I don't think AMD could have done it any other way, but it's definitely a disappointment and Intel has a real opening here to offer better all-around performance with their monolothic die approach (for the price of a car).

[Dre801]

I was only Interested in the 12-16 core models.  The 32 core is very, very niche.

[Massdriver]

I look forward to seeing what they bring to the table with zen 2!