Xeon Silver 4208 vs Ryzen Threadripper 3990X

Primary details

Comparing Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Silver 4208 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	34	993
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	9.21	18.58
Market segment	Desktop processor	Server
Series	AMD Ryzen Threadripper	Intel Xeon Silver
Power efficiency	17.00	7.88
Architecture codename	Matisse (2019−2020)	Cascade Lake (2019−2020)
Release date	25 November 2019 (5 years ago)	2 April 2019 (5 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$3,999	$417

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Xeon Silver 4208 has 102% better value for money than Ryzen Threadripper 3990X.

Detailed specifications

Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Silver 4208 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)	8 (Octa-Core)
Threads	128	16
Base clock speed	2.9 GHz	2.1 GHz
Boost clock speed	4.3 GHz	3.2 GHz
Multiplier	29	21
L1 cache	4 MB	512 KB
L2 cache	32 MB	8 MB
L3 cache	256 MB	11 MB
Chip lithography	7 nm, 12 nm	14 nm
Die size	74 mm2	no data
Maximum core temperature	no data	78 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	95 °C	no data
Number of transistors	38740 Million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	+	+
Unlocked multiplier	+	-

Compatibility

Information on Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Silver 4208 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	2 (Multiprocessor)
Socket	TR4	FCLGA3647
Power consumption (TDP)	280 Watt	85 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Silver 4208. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	no data	Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, Intel® AVX2, 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	-	+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0	no data	-
Precision Boost 2	+	no data
Deep Learning Boost	-	+

Security technologies

Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Silver 4208 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	no data	+
EDB	no data	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Silver 4208 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Silver 4208. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4-3200	DDR4-2400
Maximum memory size	256 GB	1 TB
Max memory channels	4	6
Maximum memory bandwidth	102.403 GB/s	115.212 GB/s
ECC memory support	+	+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Silver 4208.

PCIe version	4.0	3.0
PCI Express lanes	no data	48

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.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	50.29	7.08
Recency	25 November 2019	2 April 2019
Physical cores	64	8
Threads	128	16
Chip lithography	7 nm	14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	280 Watt	85 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and Xeon Silver 4208, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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