Check out my first novel, midnight's simulacra!

TRX40

From dankwiki
Revision as of 14:35, 10 February 2020 by Dank (talk | contribs) (→‎Motherboards)
sTRX4 pin layout (courtesy HWBattle)

Third-generation AMD 7nm ThreadRipper processors make use of the 14nm TRX40 platform. It is not backwards-compatible with first- or second-generation ThreadRippers, though the primary difference is in pin layout (the number of pins has not changed). It utilizes LGA (Land Grid Array—FCLGA-4094 to be precise) and is speced at 15W. AMD recommends liquid cooling for the 32-core 3970x and 64-core 3990x.

I'm likely going with a Gigabyte Aorus Master plus a 3970x.

TRX40

The TRX40 chipset is built around the sTRX4 socket, and supports:

  • Quad-channel DDR4 w/ optional ECC
  • Up to 72 PCIe 4.0 lanes
    • The CPU provides 56 lanes, and the TRX40 chipset another 16.
    • AMD literature quotes "88 lanes". The 16-lane difference refers to internal uplink lanes. Kinda lame to quote them, IMHO.
  • Up to 12 USB3.2
  • Up to 4 USB2.0
  • Up to 20 SATA III
  • Up to 2 4x NVMe

Motherboards

I'm kinda bummed by at least the initial set of TRX40 motherboards. They all tout high-end audio implementations—largely because the chipset doesn't offer HD Audio capability(!)—but anyone who cares about their audio switched to an external DAC years ago IMHO. I'd like to see a few more x1 and x4 slots on these boards; no one has more than a 4x16+1x1 physical configuration. The introduction of 10GigE is nice to see, but I've already got cards for that (I must admit that this reclaims a slot). Almost all the onboard NICs are Intel or Aquantia, both manufacturers with much better Linux support than Realtek or, Allah forbid, Broadcom. In particular, everyone's offering Intel wireless (since the AX200 is the only mainstream IEEE 802.11ax aka WiFi6 chipset), which is lovely.

At these price points, there's absolutely no excuse for an unattached I/O shield. Firm that shit up.

The Gigabyte Aorus XTREME, ridiculous name aside, is an absolutely beautiful board.

Model MSRP Form NICs USB Store
ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme
x16/x16(8)/x16/x16(8) 		$850 EATX AQC-107 10GigE
I211-AT GigE
AX200 WiFi6 		4x 3.2G2 (back)
2x 3.2G2 (front)
3x 3.2G2 (back 2xA+C)
3x 2.0
4x 3.2G1 (back)
3.2G2x2 (back C) 		5x M.2 S3
8x SATA3
ASUS Prime TRX40 Pro
x16/x16/x16/x1 		$450 ATX 1211-AT GigE 6x 3.2G1 (back A)
3.2G2 (front)
4x 3.2G2 (back 3xA+C)
2x 2.0
4x 3.2G1 (back) 		3x M.2 S3
8x SATA3
Gigabyte TRX40 Aorus Pro WIFI
x16/x16(8)/x16/x16(8)/x1 		$400 ATX 1211-AT GigE
AX200 WiFi 6 		4x 3.2G2 (back 3xA+C)
3.2G2 (back A) 		3x M.2 S3
8x SATA3
Gigabyte TRX40 Aorus Master
x16/x16(8)/x16/x16(8)/x1 		$500 EATX AQN108 5GigE
2x IL211 GigE
AX200 WiFi 6 		4x 3.2G2 (back A)
3.2 Gen 2 (back C)
3.2 Gen 2 (back A)
3.2 Gen 2 support (internal C)
4x 3.2G1
2x 2.0 (back A)
6x 2.0 (internal) 		3x M.2 S3
8x SATA3
ASRock TRX40 Creator
x16/x16(8)/x16/x16(8) 		$450 ATX AQC107 10GigE
RTL8125-AG 2.5GigE
AX200 WiFi 6 		3x M.2 S3
8x SATA3
ASUS ROG Strix TRX40-E Gaming
x16/x16/x16/x4 		$550 ATX RTL8125-CG 2.5GigE
I211-AT GigE
AX200 WiFi 6 		4x 3.2G2 (back)
3.2G2 (front)
4x 3.2G2 (back 3xA+C)
8x 2.0
4x 3.2G1 		3x M.2 S3
8x SATA3
Gigabyte TRX40 Aorus Extreme
x16/x16(8)/x16/x16(8)
AORUS AIC 4xNVMe card 		$850 XLATX X550-AT2 2x10GbE
AX200 WiFi6 		5x 3.2G2 (back A)
3.2G2 (back C)
3.2G2 (internal C)
4x 3.2G2 (internal A)
4x 2.0 (internal) 		4x M.2 S3
8x SATA3
Gigabyte TRX40 Designare
x16/x16(8)/x16/x16(8)/x1
AORUS AIC 4xNVMe card
GC-Titan Ridge card 		$650 XLATX 2x I211-AT GigE
AX200 WiFi 6 		5x 3.2G2 (back A)
3.2G2 (back C)
3.2G2 (internal C)
3.2G2 (internal A)
2x 2.0 (back A)
4x 2.0 (internal) 		4x M.2 S3
8x SATA3
MSI Creator TRX40
x16/x16(8)/x16/x16(8)
MSI M.2 Xpander-Aero Gen4 card 		$700 EATX AQC107 10GigE
I211-AT GigE
AX200 WiFi 6 		3x 3.1G2 (back A)
5x 3.1G1 (back A)
3.2G2 (back C) 		3x M.2 S3
6x SATA3
ASRock TRX40 Taichi
x16/x16/x16/x1
Hyper Quad 4xNVMe card 		$500 ATX RTL8125-AG 2.5GigE
I211-AT GigE
AX200 WiFi 6 		2x3.1G2 (back A)
4x3.1G1 (back A)
3.2G2 (back C) 		2x M.2 S3
8x SATA3
MSI TRX40 Pro 10G
x16/x16(8)/x16/x16(8)/x1
MSI M.2 Xpander-Aero Gen4 card 		$500 ATX 2x I211-AT GigE
AQC107 10GigE 		3x 3.1G2 (back A)
4x 3.1G1 (back A)
3.2G2 (back C) 		2x M.2 S3
8x SATA3
MSI TRX40 Pro WiFi
x16/x16(8)/x16/x16(8)/x1
MSI M.2 Xpander-Aero Gen4 card 		$470 ATX 2x I211-AT GigE
AX200 WiFi 6 		3x 3.1G2 (back A)
4x 3.1G1 (back A)
3.2G2 (back C) 		2x M.2 S3
8x SATA3

Cooling

Third-generation Threadrippers are rated at 280TDP at a large 58.5mm×75.4mm geometry. As of February 2020, very few AIO coolers cover the entire IHS (integrated heat spreader). Noctua's 140mm NH-U14 TR4-SP3 HSF does provide full coverage. The Enermax Liqtech TR4 II AIO is similarly designed for this large socket (though you'll find many negative reviews regarding internal gunkification after a few months).

Waterblocks

Remember, any waterblock designed for TR4 will work fine with sTRX4. Only the pin configuration changed.

External links

Retrieved from "https://nick-black.com/dankwiki/index.php?title=TRX40&oldid=6733"