A recent shipping manifest has unveiled a brand new 96-core Ryzen Threadripper CPU known as "Shimada Peak." This CPU is expected to feature Zen 5 CPU cores and maintain a setup similar to AMD's current Zen 4 Threadripper flagship. It is likely that this new CPU will be compatible with existing DDR5 HEDT motherboard platforms such as TRX50 and WRX90. The architecture of the Shimada Peak CPU seems to be in line with AMD's previous 96-core Threadripper and EPYC models, consisting of twelve 8-core CCDs and a single IO die. The main changes are expected to be in the CCDs.
The release of the Shimada Peak series is not expected to happen soon. Considering that the previous generation was launched in October 2023 after a significant delay, a similar timeline may be followed this time. AMD has not provided any information about its Threadripper roadmap. Reports indicate that AMD is gearing up to introduce several new products soon, including the Ryzen AI 300 PRO, EPYC Turin, and Instinct MI325X. The next major showcase is anticipated to be at CES, where products like Kraken or Strix Halo are expected to be revealed.
While the gaming performance improvements of Zen 5 have been modest, there have been significant gains in workstation and server applications. Benchmarks from Phoronix and our reviews have shown substantial performance enhancements in Machine Learning, Database, HPC, and cryptography workloads compared to Zen 4. These improvements make Zen 5 Threadripper and EPYC CPUs attractive to specialized users.
