Xeon Platinum 9242 vs Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
Primary details
Comparing Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Platinum 9242 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 34 | not rated |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 9.19 | no data |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Server |
| Series | AMD Ryzen Threadripper | Intel Xeon Platinum |
| Power efficiency | 16.99 | no data |
| Architecture codename | Matisse (2019−2020) | Cascade Lake-AP (2019) |
| Release date | 25 November 2019 (4 years ago) | 2 April 2019 (5 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $3,999 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Platinum 9242 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 | 64 (Tetrahexaconta-Core) | 48 (Octatetraconta-Core) |
| Threads | 128 | 96 |
| Base clock speed | 2.9 GHz | 2.3 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 4.3 GHz | 3.8 GHz |
| Bus type | no data | DMI 3.0 |
| Bus rate | no data | 4 × 8 GT/s |
| Multiplier | 29 | 23 |
| L1 cache | 4 MB | 3 MB |
| L2 cache | 32 MB | 48 MB |
| L3 cache | 256 MB | 71.5 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 7 nm, 12 nm | 14 nm |
| Die size | 74 mm2 | no data |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | 95 °C | no data |
| Number of transistors | 38740 Million | 8,000 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | + | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | + | - |
Compatibility
Information on Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Platinum 9242 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 | 8 |
| Socket | TR4 | Intel BGA5903 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 280 Watt | 350 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Platinum 9242. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® AVX-512 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| vPro | no data | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| Speed Shift | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| TSX | - | + |
| Precision Boost 2 | + | no data |
Security technologies
Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Platinum 9242 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Platinum 9242 are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | - |
| VT-d | no data | + |
| VT-x | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Platinum 9242. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4-3200 | DDR4-2933 |
| Maximum memory size | 256 GB | 2 TiB |
| Max memory channels | 4 | 12 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 102.403 GB/s | 281.6 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | + | + |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Platinum 9242.
| PCIe version | 4.0 | no data |
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 25 November 2019 | 2 April 2019 |
| Physical cores | 64 | 48 |
| Threads | 128 | 96 |
| Chip lithography | 7 nm | 14 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 280 Watt | 350 Watt |
Ryzen Threadripper 3990X has an age advantage of 7 months, 33.3% more physical cores and 33.3% more threads, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 25% lower power consumption.
We couldn't decide between Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Platinum 9242. We've got no test results to judge.
Note that Ryzen Threadripper 3990X is a desktop processor while Xeon Platinum 9242 is a server/workstation one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Platinum 9242, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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