AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7000 Zen 4 And TR5 Platform Launch Window Confirmed

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ASUS has confirmed that AMD is launching a new lineup of Ryzen Threadripper 7000 CPUs in 2H 2023. The new platform (codenamed Storm Peak) will operate on AMD’s new Zen 4 CPU architecture and reportedly feature a new motherboard platform called TR5. The new lineup will be updated to the latest connectivity standards featuring DDR5 and PCIe Gen 5 support. Bringing it up to spec with the competition.

This is the first official news we’ve heard about a new Ryzen Threadripper platform in quite some time. Last year AMD announced that Zen 4 Threadripper would release sometime in 2023 or 2024 on its roadmap. But now, it appears the timetable has been updated to 2H of 2023. This is exciting because AMD’s Threadripper platform is the company's last CPU platform that is still running on previous-generation connectivity standards. The entire industry - including desktop, mobile, and server has already moved to DDR5 and PCIe Gen 5 connectivity. Even Intel has brought DDR5 and PCIe Gen 5 connectivity to the workstation market already, in the form of its new W-3400 and W-2400 CPUs.

The only specifications we know about Threadripper 7000 officially are the architectural change from Zen 3 to Zen 4, plus the addition of DDR5 memory support and PCIe Gen 5 connectivity as a result of the architectural changes. Any other specifications mentioned on the internet are based on rumors for now, but according to those rumors, AMD might be bringing back HEDT versions of Ryzen Threadripper with 64 PCIe Gen 5 CPU lanes and 4 channels of DDR5 support. The workstation models are rumored to feature the same 8 channels and 128 PCIe lanes as Threadripper 5000WX but be upgraded to DDR5 and PCIe Gen 5, as previously mentioned.

AMD CPU Roadmap
AMD 2023 - 2024 Roadmap

AMD has many incentives to bring back Threadripper HEDT in light of Intel’s new workstation processors. Intel's new workstation platform is split into two core factions for the first time ever, the W-3400 series and the W-2400 series. The W-2400 series is the closest rival to Ryzen Threadripper HEDT and features the exact same 64 CPU lane count and 4-channel memory support. Meanwhile, Intel’s W-3400 series is the company's “true” workstation platform, with all the bells and whistles, including 128 PCIe Gen 5 lanes and octo-channel DDR5 support.

It will be interesting to see what route AMD takes. It has a plethora of options to choose from, including copying Intel’s strategy of making two different workstation CPU tiers with separate vanilla workstation and HEDT platforms. AMD could also increase core counts beyond 64-cores and come out with up to 96-core variants if it really wanted to. Plus, it could even add 3D-VCache models into the mix, to accelerate memory-sensitive workloads such as simulation and gaming – the latter of which would be applicable for HEDT, as we have seen with the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, and EPYC Milan-X.

Whichever way AMD goes, the competition will be exciting to see. The 2nd half of 2023 is right around the corner, so we should see official specs for Ryzen Threadripper 7000 very soon.