Ryzen Threadripper 3970X vs Pentium Silver N5000

Primary details

Comparing Pentium Silver N5000 and Ryzen Threadripper 3970X processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	2017	54
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	no data	24.25
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop processor
Series	Intel Pentium Silver	AMD Ryzen Threadripper
Architecture codename	Gemini Lake (2019)	Matisse (2019−2020)
Release date	11 December 2017 (6 years ago)	25 November 2019 (4 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$161	$1,999
Current price	$358 (2.2x MSRP)	$1605 (0.8x MSRP)

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Pentium Silver N5000 and Ryzen Threadripper 3970X basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores	4 (Quad-Core)	32 (Dotriaconta-Core)
Threads	4	64
Base clock speed	1.1 GHz	3.7 GHz
Boost clock speed	2.7 GHz	4.5 GHz
Bus support	no data	8 × 16 GT/s
L1 cache	224 KB	96K (per core)
L2 cache	4 MB	512K (per core)
L3 cache	4 MB	128 MB
Chip lithography	14 nm	7 nm, 12 nm
Maximum core temperature	105 °C	no data
Number of transistors	no data	19,200 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	+	+
Unlocked multiplier	No	Yes

Compatibility

Information on Pentium Silver N5000 and Ryzen Threadripper 3970X compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1 (Uniprocessor)
Socket	FCBGA1090	TR4
Power consumption (TDP)	6 Watt	280 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Pentium Silver N5000 and Ryzen Threadripper 3970X. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2	no data
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	no data	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
Speed Shift	-	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	-	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	-	no data
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	no data
Smart Response	-	no data
GPIO	+	no data
Turbo Boost Max 3.0	-	no data
Status	Discontinued	no data

Security technologies

Pentium Silver N5000 and Ryzen Threadripper 3970X technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

EDB	+	no data
Secure Key	+	no data
MPX	+	no data
Identity Protection	+	no data
SGX	Yes with Intel® ME	no data
OS Guard	+	no data
Anti-Theft	-	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Pentium Silver N5000 and Ryzen Threadripper 3970X are enumerated here.

AMD-V	no data	+
VT-d	+	no data
VT-x	+	no data
EPT	+	no data

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Pentium Silver N5000 and Ryzen Threadripper 3970X. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4	DDR4 Eight-channel
Maximum memory size	8 GB	256 GB
Max memory channels	2	4
Maximum memory bandwidth	38.397 GB/s	102.403 GB/s
ECC memory support	-	+

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel UHD Graphics 605	-
Max video memory	8 GB	-
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Graphics max frequency	750 MHz	-
Execution Units	18	-

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Pentium Silver N5000 and Ryzen Threadripper 3970X integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	3	-
eDP	+	-
DisplayPort	+	-
HDMI	+	-
MIPI-DSI	+	-

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Pentium Silver N5000 and Ryzen Threadripper 3970X integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution support

+

-

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Pentium Silver N5000 and Ryzen Threadripper 3970X integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX	12	-
OpenGL	4.4	-

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Pentium Silver N5000 and Ryzen Threadripper 3970X.

PCIe version	2.0	no data
PCI Express lanes	6	no data
USB revision	2.0/3.0	no data
Total number of SATA ports	2	no data
Max number of SATA 6 Gb/s Ports	2	no data
Number of USB ports	8	no data
Integrated LAN	-	no data
UART	+	no data

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.

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Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

Ryzen Threadripper 3970X outperforms Pentium Silver N5000 by 2488% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	1.58	40.89
Recency	11 December 2017	25 November 2019
Physical cores	4	32
Threads	4	64
Cost	$161	$1999
Chip lithography	14 nm	7 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	6 Watt	280 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Pentium Silver N5000 and Ryzen Threadripper 3970X, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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