Not WWE: AMD’s new 64-core “Threadripper” 9980X offers local AI alternative for $5K

AMD has launched its Ryzen Threadripper 9000 Series workstation processors, featuring the 32-core Threadripper 9970X ($2,499) and 64-core Threadripper 9980X ($4,999). The processors target enterprise developers building AI applications locally, offering a cost-effective alternative to cloud-based solutions while addressing security concerns and providing the computational power needed for large language models and intensive development work.

What you should know: These workstations bridge the performance gap between consumer PCs and enterprise servers, specifically designed for AI development, STEM applications, and content creation.

• The Threadripper 9970X delivers 32 cores and 64 threads, while the flagship 9980X offers 64 cores and 128 threads with enhanced thermal efficiency.
• Complete system costs range from approximately $7,200 for the 9970X configuration to $9,700 for the 9980X setup, including case and GPU upgrades.
• Both processors can run large language models locally, generating 5-7 tokens per second without GPU acceleration—fast enough for real-time text streaming.

Performance benchmarks: The 9980X dominates multi-threaded applications but shows diminishing returns in single-core tasks where the 9970X often matches or exceeds its performance.

• In V-Ray 6 testing, the 9980X nearly doubled the 9970X’s performance, demonstrating excellent scalability for applications that leverage high core counts.
• The 9970X outperformed the 9980X in PugetBench for Photoshop and GeekBench AI tests using ONNX and OpenVINO, proving it’s not just a budget option but better suited for certain workloads.
• Both processors maintained similar performance running Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct models locally, with slight improvements when using float16 over bfloat16 quantization.

Cost comparison with cloud services: Local workstations become cost-effective alternatives to cloud computing for sustained development work.

• ThunderCompute’s A100 instances cost $0.66 per GPU hour, while AWS charges $2.74 per GPU hour for comparable services.
• Both Threadripper processors consume 350W, adding approximately $0.0525 per hour in electricity costs at $0.15 per kWh.
• “An engineering team could see a cost benefit from a Threadripper workstation is just a few quarters with the additional flexibility of running non-AI workloads and the security of maintaining all data locally,” according to Caiden McGregor, a Tirias Research analyst.

Gaming performance: While not designed for gaming, both processors delivered solid performance in CPU-intensive games.

• The 9970X maintained comparable or superior frame generation across all tested games compared to the 9980X.
• Most games aren’t optimized for 64-core systems, which can result in higher latency and lower efficiency with the 9980X.
• Both processors paired with high-end GPUs like the Nvidia RTX 5090 guarantee steady framerates even at maximum performance settings.

What they’re saying: Industry analysts praise the processors’ versatility and positioning in the market.

• “The Threadripper 9980X processor is a beast that excels at high-core and thread-intensive tasks, whereas the Threadripper 9970X processor is the efficient little sibling that performs at equivalent or greater performance for less thread-intensive applications,” said Damian McGregor, a Tirias Research analyst.
• The processors continue AMD’s dominance since the Threadripper family’s 2017 introduction, setting new performance standards with the Zen 5 architecture.

Technical considerations: These workstations require specialized cooling and power infrastructure due to their high-performance demands.

• Each processor includes a calibrated torque wrench for straightforward installation with compatible ASUS TRX50 motherboards.
• Liquid cooling and high-quality thermal paste are required to support the processors’ performance capabilities.
• Users may need additional investments of $1,300-$3,000 for case and GPU upgrades to properly support the Threadripper systems.