In an effort to compete with Intel, which is believed to release HEDT processors of its own based on “Sapphire Rapids,” AMD will create Ryzen Threadripper processors based on the “Zen 4” architecture. AMD will equip its processors with raw CPU core-count, going as high as 96-core/192-thread, while Intel’s chip tops out at 60-core/120-thread and has a constellation of task-specific hardware-accelerators. These chips have been given the codename “Storm Peak” by the company.

It’s a very different story how AMD markets these CPUs. The business only targeted the workstation-HEDT market under the “WX” brand extension for its Ryzen Threadripper 5000 series, which is based on the “Zen 3” architecture. Currently, it is anticipated that it will be able to accomplish something similar by producing Ryzen Threadripper 7000WX series SKUs that are initially sold only through pre-built workstation manufacturers like Lenovo, with a retail-channel launch anticipated about 6 months later.

Storm Peak’s staggering I/O specifications, even for a workstation-only processor, include up to 160 PCI-Express Gen 5.0 lanes, which can connect up to 10 graphics cards at full x16 bandwidth, as well as a plethora of PCIe Gen 5 x4 NVMe SSDs and other high-bandwidth devices. For these CPUs, AMD is anticipated to create a unique chipset and CPU socket, which might be an SP5 variant.