Nvidia's Grace server CPU proved to be a formidable contender to AMD's Threadripper 7000, as revealed by a 39-test comparison conducted by Phoronix.
The Linux-based test compared Nvidia's Grace server CPU with AMD's Threadripper 7980X and Threadripper Pro 7995WX, with the end result – spoiler alert! – revealing that Nvidia's new Arm-based chip is not far behind AMD's powerhouse.
Phoronix previously pitted the Grace-Hopper powered GH200, a workstation provided by GPTshop.ai, up against AMD's fastest processor, the EPYC 9754, and for this new test, it once again turned to the GH200 workstation.
Win some, lose some
The GH system includes both a Grace CPU and a Hopper-based H200 GPU. The Grace CPU boasts 72 cores, 480GB of LPDDR5X memory, and is based on the Arm architecture. Unlike the Threadripper 7000, which features multiple models and up to 1TB of DDR5, individual Grace chips are only available in CPU-GPU combo devices like the GH200 and the double-chip Grace Superchip.
Although, as Tom's Hardware points out, the Grace CPU lost more tests than it won, it still managed to beat the 7980X in 17 tests and the 7995WX in 15. The Threadripper 7000, with its more aggressive clock speeds and far greater L3 cache, holds many advantages over the efficiency-focused Grace chip. However, the Grace Superchip's TDP of 500 watts implies that a single Grace CPU could have a TDP of 250 watts or more, potentially making it more efficient than the 7980X and 7995WX, which are rated for 350 watts.
Despite not being designed for the same purpose, with Grace focusing on server efficiency and Threadripper on maximum workstation performance, the two chips' performances are both noteworthy. Nvidia has yet to disclose the TDP of a single Grace CPU, but the comparison suggests that a desktop CPU launch from Nvidia could lead to an epic battle with AMD's Threadripper.
In summing up, Phoronix says "For HPC workloads that are AArch64-tuned and can leverage the available system memory effectively, the GH200 could deliver great performance against these Zen 4 Threadripper workstations. But for software extensively tuned for x86_64 and/or not as heavily dependent upon system memory bandwidth, the Threadripper 7980X and Threadripper PRO 7995WX are excellent workstation options."
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