Cinema 4D: AMD Threadripper 7000 vs Intel Xeon W-3400

Introduction

On October 19, AMD announced their AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7000 Series and AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7000 WX-Series processors. The former is an exciting re-entry for AMD into the High-End Desktop (HEDT) market. At the same time, the latter represents their latest workstation offering, building on the existing Threadripper PRO 5000 WX-Series. Both CPU families are based on AMD’s Zen 4 architecture, which is currently powering their Ryzen 7000 line of desktop processors and Genoa, Genoa X, and Bergamo EPYC processors. This upgrade in architecture means they now support new technologies like PCI-e Gen 5.0 and DDR5 memory.

Even though it has been over a month since AMD announced these processors, the workstation-focused WRX90 motherboards are still in extremely short supply. As such, at the moment, we are only benchmarking the Threadripper 7000 Series HEDT processors within the TRX50 platform. Expect to see a separate review of the Threadripper PRO 7000 WX-Series processors in the near future.

In this article, we will examine the performance of the HEDT processors in Cinema 4D. In our Intel Xeon W-3400 review, we found that the Threadripper PRO 5000 Series CPUs slightly outperformed the new Xeon chips on a per-core basis. We expect that the new Threadrippers will further broaden that gap. Because there are so many CPUs to examine, we will break our analysis down into Intel vs AMD (AMD Threadripper 7000 vs Intel Xeon W-3400) and performance versus the previous generation (AMD Threadripper 7000 vs AMD Threadripper PRO 5000).

To learn more about how the new AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7000 Series processors perform in other workflows, we have compiled an overview in our AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7000 Content Creation Review article. That post also includes more detailed information on the CPU specifications and test results for various applications: Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects, Unreal Engine, Blender, and V-Ray.

In addition, although all the new AMD CPUs have a TDP of 350 W, TDP is rarely the whole story. To see how much power these chips use to complete tasks, check out our Power Analysis: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7000 article.

AMD Threadripper 7000 vs Intel Xeon W-3400 for Cinema 4D

To start our analysis, we wanted to look at how the new AMD Threadripper 7000-Series CPUs compared to Intel’s Xeon 3400 and 2400 series. This is the class of CPU that is ideally suited to CPU rendering, either in a workstation or a render server. If you are interested in the exact specs for each of these CPUs, we have a full breakdown in our main AMD Threadripper 7000 Series Processors Content Creation Review article.

The new AMD Threadripper 7980X does have a few more cores than the Intel Xeon w9-3495X, 64 vs 56. However, the performance difference is much greater than the specs shown on paper. In Cinema 4D, the Threadripper scores 78% higher than the Xeon. That translates to significantly faster render time. For every 4 frames the Xeon renders, the Threadripper will complete 7. This massive performance difference can lead to cost savings by being able to complete more work in a shorter amount of time or can be used to push the details and graphical fidelity of the project, allowing for better looking renders. 

Moving down to the 32-core Threadripper 7970X, there isn’t a great direct comparison with Intel in either price or core count. It is less expensive than either the 36-core Intel Xeon w9-3475X or the 28-core Intel Xeon w7-3465X, but the number of cores sits between the two. However, trying to line up a direct comparison is a little pointless, as AMD is significantly faster than either, 48% faster than the w9-3475X and 66% faster than the w7-3465X. The 7970X even outperforms the highest core count CPU Intel currently has on offer. 

Lastly, we can look at the 24-core Threadripper 7960X. Again, this doesn’t have a similarly priced competitor, but the Intel Xeon w7-3465X does have an identical 24-core configuration. AMD’s new CPU does have a $700 lower MSRP, meaning it is about two-thirds the price. Even though it is much less expensive, it performs 40% faster. That also put it ahead of the 36-core and 28-core CPUs from Intel. Only the top of the top-of-the-line 56-core w9-3495X was faster, though it does cost four times as much. 

Regarding CPU rendering, AMD’s new Threadripper line holds a significant lead over Intel, no matter how you pair up the CPUs. 

AMD Threadripper 7000 vs AMD Threadripper PRO 5000 for Cinema 4D

In the previous section, we examined how the new Threadripper 7000 series CPUs stack up against Intel’s Xeon 3400 and 2400 series CPUs, but we should also examine how they compare to the previous 5000 series CPUs. As we can see from the chart, the new CPUs offer significant improvement over the previous generation. 

On the high end, the 64-core 7980X sees a 35% improvement over the previous generation. The combination of the newer architecture, increased clock speeds, and the jump from DDR4 to DDR5 are the biggest factors driving this improvement. This is a very impressive generational improvement, enough for users currently on 5995WX to consider upgrading. 

Moving down the stack, the 32-core 7970X posts a 30% improvement over the 5975WX, while the 24-core 7960X is 26% faster than the 5965WX. These results are a very good generational uplift. This is enough of an improvement that users currently on a 5000 series Threadripper may consider replacing their systems. 

How Well Do the AMD Threadripper 7000 CPUs Perform in Cinema 4D?

AMD’s new 7000-series Threadripper CPUs show an amazing improvement over the previous generation, ranging from 26-35% faster. When comparing to the Intel Xeon 3400 and 2400, launched a few months ago, there is no competition. The top-of-the-line Threadripper 7980X is 78% faster than Intel’s highest core count offering, the Xeon w9-3495X, while also having a slightly lower MSRP. AMD’s dominance is seen at every CPU in this series. The 32-core 7970X isn’t just faster than the 36-core Intel, it is faster than the much more expensive 56-core Xeon. Even the new Threadripper 24-core is faster than every Xeon, except for one that costs four times as much. For CPU rendering, these new Threadripper CPUs are an easy choice.

Every application uniquely utilizes hardware, so our results here don’t necessarily translate to any other application. Our focus in this article centers specifically on Threadripper 7000’s performance in Cinema 4D. However, we recommend checking out our AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7000 Content Creation Review article, which includes a broad overview of results for several different applications. If you use other software packages, it also has links to our in-depth testing articles for content creation: Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects, Unreal Engine, Blender, and V-Ray.

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