AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X socket: Socket TR4

What the Threadripper 1950X is

The Ryzen Threadripper 1950X is a sixteen core, thirty two thread HEDT processor with a 3.4 GHz base, up to 4.0 GHz boost and up to 4.2 GHz on extended range. It carries 8 MB of L2 with 32 MB of shared L3 and a 180 W TDP on the 14 nm process. AMD announced it on July 31, 2017 and put it on sale August 10 with the first Threadripper launch.

Four Zeppelin dies with two active give sixteen cores for renders that scale across the whole package. It led the HEDT market for threaded work at launch against far costlier server derived rivals. The multiplier is unlocked for tuning on X399 boards.

There is no integrated graphics, so a separate card is required. The launch price was $999 AMD SEP. The non-X 1950 never shipped, so this X SKU stands alone at sixteen cores for the generation.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The 1950X fits Socket TR4, a 4094 contact LGA socket that shares its size with server SP3 but is electrically incompatible. X399 is the only chipset, with quad channel DDR4 and 64 PCIe 3.0 lanes total per AMD. Boards need a BIOS that lists first gen Threadripper.

X399 boards carry eight DIMM slots and large voltage regulation for 180 W sustained loads. A TR4 specific cooler is mandatory for full heat spreader coverage. Check the maker CPU list for the minimum BIOS per board.

The chip ships without any cooler. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1920X is the twelve core sibling on the same boards where clocks beat thread count.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory support is DDR4-2666 in four channels. Four matched sticks give quad channel speed, with room for a second set where the board has eight slots. ECC UDIMM support follows the board maker list rather than the chip alone, so this page omits the ECC row.

PCI Express arrives as version 3.0 with 64 lanes total per AMD, 60 usable plus 4 to the chipset. Multi GPU renders and NVMe arrays fit the lane budget of a flagship tower. Cooling needs a TR4 rated tower or liquid loop at 180 W.

Upgrade paths

On the same socket there is nothing above sixteen cores in Whitehaven, so growth means memory, storage or graphics rather than threads. Owners coming from mainstream Ryzen triple their threads in one drop-in while keeping DDR4 speed grades.

Moving past TR4 means a new board on a current HEDT platform. Owners usually add memory or a faster GPU before replacing the processor.