AMD EPYC 7502 vs AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   If there are difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the comprehensive tests AMD EPYC 7502 vs AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X and understand which is better for games or normal use for programming, machine learning, rendering, streaming, video editing. Here is useful information from various benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A careful analysis of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in software tests such as PCMark 10, DaVinci Resolve Studio, SuperPi, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Prime95, 3DMark, UserBenchmark, Gears 5, Geekbench 5.2, PassMark, RealBench, VeraCrypt, WPrime, AIDA64, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, MATLAB, Dolphin Emulator, Blender, 7zip, Blender, Furmark, Handbrake.
   And how good the processors are in games:

Watch Dogs Legion
Overwatch
Cyberpunk 2077
Rainbow Six Siege
Fortnite
Fallout 76
Valheim
Valorant
Death Stranding
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone
Last Man Standing
Apex Legends
Halo Infinite
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
DOOM: Eternal
Red Dead Redemption 2
Grand Theft Auto V
Borderlands 3

After reading the results these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X or AMD EPYC 7502.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

EPYC 7502

66%

Ryzen Threadripper 3970X

69%

This parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Ryzen Threadripper 3970X is 4% better than EPYC 7502. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

EPYC 7502

73%

Ryzen Threadripper 3970X

65%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor currently available. And of course, this is a server processor, on which no one will run games. Because the cost of this processor reaches several tens of thousands of dollars. Therefore, if you think that the selected CPU has a little game result, just look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the final table below.
List of other games in which processors were compared: League of Legends (LOL), Control, Metro Exodus, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, DOTA 2A, Half-Life: Alyx, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Horizon Zero Dawn, NBA 2K20, Forza Horizon 4, Ghostrunner, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Microsoft Flight Simulator, Monster Hunter World, Battlefield V, Hitman 3, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	129.9	115.8
Valorant	147.7	131.6
Cyberpunk 2077	82.7	73.7
Apex Legends	138.8	123.7
Call of Duty Warzone	110.7	98.7
Overwatch	119.6	106.6
Red Dead Redemption 2	101.9	90.8
DOOM Eternal	73.8	65.8
Warzone	115.2	102.7
Assassin's Creed	124.0	110.6
Valheim	122.6	109.3

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The computers participating in the comparisons not only were the equipped with different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, FullHD or 4K. Therefore, the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. You will get more accurate information about how powerful the processor will be in games, if you compare it in one assembly with the video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

EPYC 7502

17%

Ryzen Threadripper 3970X

15%

To make a final resolution on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. It is clear that the newer the generation, the better the performance of the processor in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the EPYC 7502 is more energy efficient than the Ryzen Threadripper 3970X since it has less power consumption: 180W vs. 280W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. It is necessary to calculate so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

Let's say you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, programming, machine learning, video editing or video rendering, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the processor uses all threads and cores that it has to the maximum to reach maximum performance. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to find out whether the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that use only one core to run, and all the benefit of multi-core mode turns out to be unnecessary.

Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	AMD EPYC 7502	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
Cinbench 15 Single-core	160	209
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	6608	7398
Cinbench 20 Single-core	391	509
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	14007	17444
Cinbench 23 Single-core	740	1270
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	36424	47102

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	AMD EPYC 7502	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
Single-Core	2094	2686
Multi-Core	53430	64446

GeekBench 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	AMD EPYC 7502	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
Single-Core	939	1312
Multi-Core	41117	27290

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful will be the release date of the processor and the possibility of overclocking it. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same can be said about overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS even in the newest games. Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The economy are obvious!

	AMD EPYC 7502	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
Announcement date	October 01, 2020	November 25, 2019
Type	Server	Desktop
Socket	SP3	sTRX4
Core name	Rome	Castle Peak
Architecture	Zen 2	Zen 2
Generation	2	3
Turbo Frequency	3.4 MHz	4.5 MHz
Frequency	2.5 MHz	3.7 MHz
Cores	32	32
Threads	64	64
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	7 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	64000 millions	22600 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	180 W	280 W
Memory type	DDR4	DDR4
Max. Memory
Memory Frequency		3200
Memory bandwidth
L1 cache		2MB
L2 cache		16MB
L3 cache	128MB	128MB
Overclocking	Yes	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	100-000000054 100-100000054WOF	100-000000011 100-100000011WOF

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen Threadripper 3970X is 32% better than EPYC 7502 in terms of CPU frequency. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which AMD EPYC 7502 is better: 15
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X is better: 15
However, it should be understood that all the number in the article above do not mean that taking them into account you should entirely trust a simple comparison of these figures. Better to watch the video tests and read the reviews of of people who bought AMD EPYC 7502 and AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X before making a selection which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

• AMD EPYC 7502 specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X specs and review.