AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X, 12C/24T, 3.50-4.30GHz, tray

These processors aren’t cheap by any means, but the Threadripper 2920X and 2970WX are good values in the current landscape, relative to other HEDT processors and we look forward to seeing how AMD continues to optimize the platform moving forward.

The demographic that will be purchasing a 12-core part is small(er). See, if you are on the lookout for Threadripper, really 16 cores are the least you'd consider right? That doesn't make Threadripper 2920X less impressive though. While it might serve a small install base, the ones that do need a few more cores and threads and are on a tight budget, hey for them it can make a lot of sense. This proc is excellent for video editing with fairly high turbo bins and most software supporting up-to 16 threads. It offers good value, however, it has to be said that the 9900K from Intel will remain close thanks to the high clock frequencies. Gaming wise things are a no-brainer, the 2920X in game mode might be sufficient and very decent, however, if you pair it with an enthusiast-class graphics card team blue has the better offering. Then again, most people that build a thread ripper system will not be assembling it to play games on. AMD offers choices with Threadripper 12, 16, 24 or 32 cores with that amount doubled in threads. The platform overall remains mighty and impressive. For us though the 12-core part is a little bit in a gray zone where 'just' 8 or 16 cores somehow make more sense? For those that need a few more cores and threads for their workloads though, we can certainly recommend it.

he Threadripper 2920X is a much better all-rounder than the 2970WX. It doesn't require any tweaking to reduce the core count for gaming, but has enough extra cores than similarly priced rivals that it chomps through high workload tasks effortlessly. That pricing has to be mentioned as AMD have gone super-aggressive with the price of the Threadripper 2920X, a mere $649 MSRP at time of review. This places it below the i7-7820X which it comfortably out-performs, and not that much more than the i9-9900K which when you take streaming into account it absolutely obliterates. Because it isn't stretching the limits of the amount of threads currently designed applications and games are expecting, and because the lower core count means that you can push the clock speed a little higher than its bigger brother, means that it's a seriously great chip no matter what your expected usage. Because it's just as happy crunching numbers as it is feeding your GPU with data for gaming and that very attractive price point means it wins our coveted OC3D Enthusiast Award.

...the 2970WX slots in neatly below the 2990WX and, at £1,200, offers multi-core goodness that is outside the capabilities of the £2,000 Core i9-7980XE.

In conclusion, the Ryzen Threadripper 2920X is an incredible value proposition for professionals on a tight budget, and serves up performance rivaling Intel processors that are several hundred Dollars pricier. It will play your games just fine, with all the eye-candy you want, although, if gaming is your machine's predominant occupation, you're recommended to seek out far better tailored platforms such as the i7-9700K. With cores counts as high as 8, chips such as the i7-9700K and 2700X are powerful enough to game and stream in tandem, and you don't really need an HEDT platform for this job.