AMD’s upcoming Ryzen Threadripper 9980X has set a new record for the PassMark multi‑threaded CPU score despite its lower core count compared to the previous record holder. Of course, IPC can trump core counts and Zen 5 promises plenty in that regard, beating prior generation processors with ease. Meanwhile, single-threaded performance is a different story.
According to PassMark’s leaderboard, Ryzen Threadripper 9980X has reached an unprecedented 147,481 points in the multi-core test. This puts the brand’s 64-core 9980X ahead of all CPUs previously tested, including last-gen’s flagship, Threadripper Pro 7995WX and its 96 Zen 4 cores.
Compared to its predecessor, Threadripper 7980X, the newer 9980X is 8% faster. Looking further afield to consumer champions, the chip’s in an entirely different league, more-than-doubling the scores of Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Core Ultra 9 285K. That said, with four times the core count of the former, this is hardly surprising.
However, when it comes to single‑threaded performance, 9980X becomes more modest, scoring 4,594 points. This puts it behind its consumer-oriented siblings from the Ryzen 9000 series, which benefit from their higher clocks and thermal headroom.
As a reminder, Threadripper 9980X can only boost up to 5.4GHz, whereas the Ryzen 9950X3D can reach frequencies of 5.7GHz. The same goes for Intel’s desktop solutions, which strut their stuff in single-core tasks.
Assuming these scores are accurate, AMD’s Threadripper 9000 series could once more take the cake with its excellent performance and robust platform. Official AMD slides claim that next-gen Threadripper CPUs could deliver up to 25% gen-to-gen uplift in machine learning tasks, and 16% geomean IPC uplift in workstation benchmarks. Once more, professionals and enthusiasts seeking top‑tier multi‑threaded performance should be happy.
Ryzen Threadripper 9000 Series processors, including 9980X, will be available to purchase at some point this month. Expect review coverage of the CPUs to follow.
