AMD releases budget 8-core Ryzen Threadripper 1900X processor

AMD has released its 8-core Ryzen Threadripper 1900X processor, offering people who were put off by high price of the flagship 16-core Threadripper 1950X a chance to build a PC with all of the advanced Threadripper features for almost half the cash.

While we knew the entry-level Ryzen Threadripper 1900X was coming, AMD has now disclosed further information with the launch.

As we expected, the Threadripper 1900X will come with eight cores clocked at 3.8GHz, with a turbo that reaches 4.0GHz (and an XFR boost to 4.2GHz), and will cost $549 (about £420, AU$690) – almost half the Threadripper 1950X’s $999 (around £780, AU$1,260) asking price, and a fair bit cheaper than the mid-range Threadripper 1920X, which costs $799 (around £600, AU$1,000).

In fact, the price is within touching distance of the AMD Ryzen 7 1800X, which comes with eight cores and 16 threads, and costs $499 (£500, around AU$650).

Image credit: AMD

Image credit: AMD

Worth the upgrade?

So is the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1900X worth the $50 increase over the Ryzen 7 1800X? If you’re solely using your PC for gaming, then probably not, with AMD providing benchmark results that show the Ryzen 7 1800X and Threadripper 1900X are pretty evenly matched when it comes to frames per second performance in games – with the 1800X actually performing better in some cases.

Image credit: AMD

Image credit: AMD

However, as AMD is at pains to reiterate, Threadripper CPUs aren’t really aimed at gamers only – and the 1900X has access to all the advanced features of the Threadripper platform that the more expensive CPUs have, and which the Ryzen 7 series lacks.

This includes four-channel DDR4 2667 memory support (compared to Ryzen 7’s two channels), and 64 PCIe lanes. That’s an increase of 128% compared to Intel’s comparable 8-core Core i7 7820X, which features 5% less cache and is 8% more expensive. The 1900X also supports 8 DIMMS of memory for a huge 2TB of total RAM.

So, for people who value multi-tasking performance – the 1900X supports seven simultaneous PCIe devices like other Threadripper CPUs – AMD has offered a compelling choice with this affordable route into the Threadripper family.

Hopefully we’ll be getting our hands on a Threadripper 1900X soon to run our own benchmark tests, and see just how well this entry-level CPU performs.

NVMe RAID support

AMD has also announced a free update to the X399 platform – which Threadripper CPUs run on – which brings NVMe RAID support, allowing for incredibly fast data transfer speeds. This update includes NVMe RAID drivers, and supports bootable RAID 0, 1 and 10 modes for up to 10 devices.

The free update will be made available on September 25.

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Matt Hanson
Managing Editor, Core Tech

Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there's no aspect of technology that Matt isn't passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. Ever since he got an Amiga A500+ for Christmas in 1991, he's loved using (and playing on) computers, and will talk endlessly about how The Secret of Monkey Island is the best game ever made.