AMD Threadripper 9970X vs 9980X: Which CPU Should You Buy?
AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper 9970X is here with 32 cores, DDR5, 80 PCIe Gen 5 lanes, and TRX50 platform support. Ideal for creators and engineers.
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AMD on Friday rolled out its new Ryzen Threadripper 9970X processor, a 32-core, 64-thread chip built on the company’s Zen 5 design and TSMC’s 4-nanometer FinFET process. The CPU sits below the flagship 9980X in AMD’s high-end desktop lineup and targets professionals balancing single-thread and multi-thread tasks.
The Threadripper 9970X plugs into the TRX50 platform, which supports quad-channel DDR5 memory at up to 6,400 MT/s via AMD EXPO profiles and delivers 80 PCIe 5.0 lanes directly from the processor. Users can install up to 1 TB of RDIMM memory across four slots and employ Precision Boost Overdrive or manual tuning tools in BIOS and AMD Ryzen Master.
On power and thermal fronts, the 9970X carries a 350-watt TDP and reaches base and boost clocks of 4.0 GHz and up to 5.4 GHz, respectively. AMD’s figures show a peak package power near the 350-watt budget under sustained loads and a thermal ceiling around 95 °C, making robust cooling solutions a requirement for full-rate operation.
Benchmarks from AMD highlight the chip’s performance in synthetic and real-world tests. In multi-core rendering with Cinebench R23, the 9970X logged a 76,392-point score, while single-core tests registered 2,162 points. Compression workloads in 7-Zip ran at 405,409 MIPS (compression) and 510,336 MIPS (decompression), and JavaScript benchmarks such as Google Octane scored 130,279 points.
The TRX50 ecosystem offers broad I/O options, including support for up to 92 PCIe lanes on some motherboards, with 80 lanes from the CPU and additional lanes from the chipset. This layout enables multi-GPU arrays, high-speed NVMe storage arrays and 10 GbE networking cards without lane contention.
AMD has set the street price of the Ryzen Threadripper 9970X at US $2,499.00. The 9980X, by contrast, remains at -$4,999.00 for users who need twice the core count. AMD positions the 9970X as a cost-effective alternative for studios and developers who require high throughput without the expense of a full 64-core package.
The Threadripper 9970X will ship alongside updates to major TRX50 motherboards from partners including Gigabyte, Asus and MSI. Availability is slated for later this month, with retail and system integrator channels expected to carry stock in early August.
