Hong Kong hardware site HKEPC might have some fresh details on that 32-core Threadripper chip that you've all been salivating over. The site claims that the chip will be called the Ryzen Threadripper 2990X in an expansion of the current Socket TR4 CPU naming scheme.
HKEPC doesn't specify the source for its information, but does say that it comes from a Taiwanese motherboard manufacturer. The site presents the purported CPU-Z screenshot above as well as a Windows 10 Task Manager screenshot showing all 64 threads. Curiously, only half of the threads are loaded in whatever workload the site is applying.
The rumored 250-W TDP sounds high, but it's not bad for a 32-core CPU running at the speeds HKEPC purports to have seen. The site claims the chip will do 4 GHz single-core Precision Boost 2 speeds, 3.4 GHz minimum boost speeds across all four 12-nm Ryzen dies, and if all else fails, it'll hold a 3 GHz base clock. For reference, AMD's own 32-core, 64-thread Epyc 7601 has to hold to a 2.2-GHz base clock, a 2.7-GHz all-core boost speed, and a 3.2-GHz maximum boost clock to stay within a 180-W TDP.
Despite the CPU's power-thirsty nature at stock settings, HKEPC (or its source) already overclocked the Threadripper 2990X and claimed that it will do 4.12 GHz at 1.38 V. At that speed, the machine turned in a purported Cinebench R15 score of 6399.
HKEPC further claims that the 2990X will clock all the way up to 4.2 GHz using XFR, although this claim seems dubious. As implemented on AMD's second-generation Ryzen processors, Precision Boost 2 and XFR 2 work to raise all-core boost speeds, not peak single-core speeds. For example, the Ryzen 7 2700X can reach 4.35 GHz peak single-core speeds regardless of cooling—it's the chip's all-core speeds that are affected by the beefy heatsink needed to activate XFR. Second-generation Threadripper CPUs seem unlikely to use a different algorithm, and we would find it curious if the chip's peak boost speeds are actually lower than the Ryzen 7 2700X given AMD's past practice of binning dies for use in Threadripper CPUs.
We'd normally expect a few cheaper versions to accompany the release of the new Threadripper, but HKEPC says that AMD might cancel those plans after Intel's bombastic 5-GHz 28-core demo at Computex and will instead simply launch the 32-core version. If that ends up being the case, perhaps Threadripper 2 will come in at a lower price than what we might otherwise expect. HKPEC unfortunately doesn't illuminate that particular data point for us.
We do know that the upcoming chip will slot into existing X399-based Socket TR4 motherboards and that it's on its way at some point in the third quarter of this year. If folks like HKEPC are already overclocking them, we might be seeing these on store shelves sooner than later. Thanks to Videocardz for the tip.