AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X, 3970X, and 3990X expected to be announced on November 5, require new TRX40 chipsets and new sockets

AMD has three new Threadripper processors lined up for a November launch, according to information obtained by Videocardz. These include the Threadripper 3960X, 3970X, and the 3990X. The Threadripper 3960X and 3970X will be unveiled on November 5 with review embargo lifting on November 19. The Threadripper 3990X will be officially launched during CES 2020 although, it will still be teased alongside the other two Threadrippers. The Threadripper 3980X can also be expected to be unveiled during CES 2020. 

The specifications of the 3rd generation Threadrippers are all speculation as of now, but there is some credible information doing the rounds online. This generation will also see the introduction of 280W TDP SKUs, up from the 250W ones seen in Threadripper 2. The base SKU will be the Threadripper 3960X with 24 cores and 48 threads with a 250W TDP. Next comes the Threadripper 3970X with 32 cores and 64 threads (250W) followed by the Threadripper 3980X with 48 cores and 96 threads (280W). Finally, the flagship SKU will be the Threadripper 3990X with 64 cores and 128 threads and a 280W TDP. Base and boost clocks are still not known at this point.

The Threadripper 3rd generation will also see a new socket and possibly, separate platforms for 'Enthusiast' and 'Workstation' use cases. Reports seem to indicate that Threadripper 3000 will not be backward compatible with the current X399 chipset and instead, will require a new TRX40, TRX80, or WRX80 chipset. The new chipsets will also be featuring a new socket with additional power pins required for PCIe Gen4. Check out the images below for specifications and thermal requirements of the chipsets as was revealed by GamersNexus last month. 

With such massive core counts, it will be interesting to see the kind of multi-core benchmark records the Threadripper 3000 series will be setting in the coming weeks. Although we've seen the 18-core Intel Cascade Lake-X Core i9-10980XE surpassing the Threadripper 2950X in Geekbench, we have also seen it fall significantly behind an alleged 32-core Threadripper 3000 processor in the same benchmark. Intel currently has no HEDT offerings to counter the extreme core counts expected in upcoming Theadripper processors and if priced right, AMD could have a winner once again.