AMD Threadripper Prices Undercut Intel's Core i9 By As Much As $1,000

AMD HAS REVEALED the prices for some of its Threadripper CPUs, using the same effective strategy that it executed for its mainstream Ryzen chips: set eye-popping discounts compared to Intel’s own Core i9 family, and probably earlier release dates, too.

- Mark Hachman

Recently, AMD disclosed the model numbers, price, and rough availability of both the 12- and 16-core AMD Threadripper chips, designed for the upper echelons of gaming and content-creation PCs:

The $999 16-core, 32-thread 3.4GHz Threadripper 1950X

The $799 12-core, 24-thread 3.5GHz Threadripper 1920X

Given that information, we also know the difference between what Intel and AMD will charge for their respective offerings. You’ll pay $700 less for a 1950X than for Intel’s 16-core, 32-thread Core i9-7960X, and a thousand dollars less than Intel’s 18-core, 36-thread Core i9-7980XE. On the lower end, the Threadripper 12-core 1920X costs $400 less than the 12-core Core i9-7920X, and $600 less than the 14-core Core i9-7940X.

AMD says that it will begin shipping Ryzen Threadripper CPUs and motherboards in early August. The company also confirmed that preorders of Alienware’s Area-51 (go.pcworld.com/a51) systems will begin on July 27.