AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors might finally get an HEDT update
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➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: HEDT is back?
📅 There hasn’t been an HEDT Threadripper for nearly three years
🤔 Rumor points to both HEDT and Workstation Thredripper chips
🤑 Will be ridiculously expensive either way
🧑🏭 These processors are meant for artists and scientists, not gamers
The best processors come in all shapes and sizes, but for the best gaming PCs, they typically look like the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X. However, for power users that want to push their computing to the next level, High End Desktop (HEDT) chips bring things to a whole other level. And, it looks like we might finally get our first HEDT chips from AMD since the Threadripper 3000 series.
The new processors have leaked via known tech leaker chi11eddog, who suggests both WS – workstation – and HEDT chips are on the way from Team Red. This is exciting, as the last couple AMD Ryzen Threadripper generations have been exclusive to workstations. Now that Threadripper may be coming to HEDT again, tech enthusiasts that don’t have 6-figure budgets can get their hands on this technology.
We don’t quite know when these processors will hit the market, but you can bet they’ll be expensive. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990WX, for instance, launched for a mind-blowing $3,999 back in 2020.
That price, however, got you a 64-core CPU. Prices for components have only gone up since then, so it’s likely that the price for the next-gen Threadripper flagship will be ridiculously high. We’ll just have to wait and see, though.
Who is this for?
It’s likely that you saw the $3,999 price tag and immediately wrote off ever getting a processor like that. That’s totally valid – you could almost buy three RTX 4080s for that much. But for the people that need a Threadripper, that price really isn’t that bad.
Where AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors – and likewise Intel Core X-series chips – the shine is in content creation and heavy data workloads. Scientists and artists are the target audience here, and the high-end computing power that these processors offer can save hours of time. When time is money, a $4000 processor starts to make a little more sense.
With that in mind, it’s kind of understandable why AMD decided to stick with workstation users with its last Threadripper series, dubbing it “Threadripper Pro.” After all, that’s who’s mainly buying these chips anyway.
While Threadripper chips can be and are used for PC gaming, you’re almost always better off going for a mainstream Ryzen or Core processor like the ones listed in our best processors buying guide. Because while a 64-core, 128-thread monster might get you bragging rights, these high core counts usually result in slower single-core performance. And that’s bad news for anyone that wants to play the best PC games. You’re almost always better off spending more cash on one of the best GPUs instead.