Forget the expensive Threadripper Pro 9995WX - here's the Zen-5 96-Core EPYC I'd go for and it's a massive 55% cheaper

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9995WX is unquestionably an impressive piece of hardware. However, for those without such deep pockets who are willing to consider alternatives, AMD’s 5th Gen EPYC 9655 (Turin) is, for me, the smarter choice - and it's currently priced at $5500 new on eBay.

Look, the Threadripper PRO 9995WX, with its 96 cores and 192 threads, is the most powerful workstation chip AMD has ever released. Built on the 4nm Zen 5 architecture, it’s aimed at professionals handling the heaviest creative, simulation, or AI workloads, but it doesn’t come cheap. The processor has recently gone on sale for $11,699 at Newegg, and it’s priced even higher elsewhere.

So, for me, the AMD EPYC 9655 (Turin) is a great cheaper option. Also based on Zen 5, it offers the same 96-core, 192-thread configuration, but at a much lower cost.

AMD EPYC 9655: $5,500 at eBay

AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper Pro 9995WX offers 96 cores and top-tier workstation features but costs $11,699.

The AMD EPYC 9655, also built on Zen 5 with 96 cores and 192 threads, is available for just $5,500.

It supports 12-channel DDR5, 384MB L3 cache, and PCIe 5.0, with a 400W TDP.

Yes it lacks Pro features, but it delivers similar raw performance, making it a strong value option for experienced builders and custom workstation users.

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Currently listed new on eBay for $5,500, that’s more than 50% less than the Threadripper PRO 9995WX while offering many of the same core features.

The EPYC 9655 has a 2.6GHz base clock and boosts up to 4.5GHz. All-core boost hits 4.1GHz, making it suitable for workloads that benefit from high sustained throughput.

It carries 384MB of L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory across 12 channels, pushing up to 614GB/s of memory bandwidth per socket.

It supports PCIe 5.0 with 128 lanes and has a default TDP of 400W.

Like the Threadripper Pro 9995WX, it’s unlocked. It runs on the SP5 socket, with support for both single- and dual-socket server platforms.

It’s built for data centers, but it can be used in custom workstations as long as the platform supports it.

While it lacks AMD’s Pro features such as enterprise security and workstation-specific manageability, it still delivers extreme compute performance.

For system builders who don’t need the added layers of software and firmware validation, it’s a great alternative.

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For more top picks, take a look at our round-up of the fastest CPUs you can buy.