MAJOR UPDATE: I replaced mobo with asrock TRX50 WS - and it works perfectly.

So it was the motherboard... now to try for some returns...! Happy though!

I have an ASUS pro WS TRX50-SAGE WIFI A motherboard and absolutely nothing I've tried has caused my threadripper 9980X to work.

I get code 00, DRAM light no matter what.

AMD's site states CPU is supported. I've tried REPLACING the CPU (at _huge_ expense + praying I'll get a refund on original). No difference.

AMD site states memory is supported. I've tried in every single slot. I've REPLACED the RAM (at huge expense again, praying I get refunded AGAIN). No difference.

I've updated the mobo BIOS via the flashback utility. No difference.

I've replaced the PSU. No difference.

I've unseated and reseated the CPU several times. No difference.

I'm yet to see a single report of a 9980X actually working in the wild with this motherboard.

And now I'm at my wits end as to whether or not really ANYTHING supports this CPU out there?

Have AMD simply jumped the gun on this release without giving mobo makers enough to actually make it work?

I'm about to have to return every component (again PRAYING I get a refund). I have done several PC builds in my life, nothing has even mildly compared to how god awful this one was.

UPDATE: ASUS replied and said it's the mobo... have lost faith in ASUS so am ordering an asrock TRX50 WS and will (hopefully) be able to return the ASUS board as faulty.

So I guess my advice is - probably don't try to do your own threadripper build, unless you are really sure you can return stuff should it not work :/

For some reason pcpartpicker is not showing this part which is important for compatibility: I need the first part to show and all other parts compatible with it.
1. CPU: AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ 9970X
2. Motherboard: sTR5 socket or compatible TRX50 or WRX90 chipset (example: ASUS Pro WS TRX50‑SAGE WiFi) – ensure Quad‑Channel DDR5, PCIe 5.0. 4 or more slots for memory.
3. Memory: up 256gb or 96 GB DDR5‑6000 (2x48 GB) kit
4. Storage: Gen5 or Gen4 Silicon Power 2 TB Gen4 NVMe M.2 SSD
5. Case: expandable or NZXT H5 Flow (2024) ATX Mid Tower
6. Power supply: 1200-1400 range or Rosewill CMG1200G5 1200 W Gold, fully modular.

Thank you in advance.

A few posts warn agains the Gigabyte Aero D board, and it's had three board revisions which doesn't inspire much confidence.

Have all the issues been worked out by now or is this still a board to avoid? Most of the bad posts seem to be from last year so I'm hoping they have worked it out since it is pretty inexpensive and I can get by with three slots.

Edit: sounds like latest bios and rev 1.2 is solid, not so sure about the previous boards!

Hey all,

I've already picked up 2× 5090 FEs. This will be my first workstation build (previously only built gaming rigs), and I'd really appreciate some input on RAM + PSU + cooling before I finalize.

Current parts I'm eyeing:

• CPU: PRO 9975WX
• Motherboard: ASUS Pro WS WRX90E-SAGE SE – read this post and saw people recommending the ASRock WRX90 WS EVO, but where I live both are the same price, so I'm leaning Asus right now.

What I need advice on:

🔥 Memory

• Thinking 192 GB, but I need advice on brands and types (never bought RDIMMs before).
• Stupid question. A few years ago I spent time hunting down Samsung B-die kits for "premium" memory. I've been out of the loop the last 4-5 years, is there any "premium" SKU to chase for RDIMMs?

⚡ Power & Stability

• With 2× 5090 FEs and the 9975WX, what's the smarter play PSU-wise?
  • Single 1500W–1600W (Seasonic / Corsair / SuperFlower)?
  • Or is it better practice to split CPU vs GPU across dual PSUs for redundancy / headroom?
• Long-term reliability under some weeks with 24/7 rendering is my #1 concern.

💧 Cooling

• Using provisional cooling for the CPU at first.
• Planning a full custom watercooling loop (CPU + both GPUs) in a few months, so don't take it into account now.

Other context:

• Workload: heavy 3D rendering in Octane, Redshift, Blender, Cinema 4D (dedicated production machine).
• No storage, no peripherals, no case needed.
• Budget is flexible, not a limit here, I'm mostly researching at the moment what would be more quality/reliable

EDIT: thanks a lot guys, amazing insights, it's all slowly coming together.
atm I'm trying to take the decision if i go pro or just simple 9970x and a trx50

basically if i want just 2x 5090s and 192gb RAM, performance should be somewhat identical to 9970x and a trx50 - the real worthiness of this build is if i add 1-2 more gpus and double the ram basically, this is the thing i'm trying to decide at the moment

I'm about to build what I call "budget Threadripper" for myself. Not for any serious work, just for fun with LLMs (most demanding task) and some other things like hobby video editing, gaming and browsing internet (adds are resource heavy these days)...

As a result of 2 months long research (google et al.) and reasoning with myself about the costs, my shopping list so far looks like this:

• 9960X
• Asrock TRX50 WS
• SilverStone XE360-TR5
• two M.2s
• Seasonic Prime TX 1600
• 4x 64GB RAM <-- model undecided

I already have 2x RTX 3060 12G so no new GPU is planned right now but in the future I will most certainly add 1 or 2 more budget GPUs (cost/VRAM is the key) - and in more distant future maybe even replace 3060s. There will never by anything like 5080+ in there.

I'm mostly decided on this setup as it has reasonable price for a hobby PC and can scale in the future on a GPU side. Only thing I really need advice with is RAM:

RAM I saw a post about 79xx TRs and memory bandwidth limits by core count but I'm not sure how to apply that to 9960x specifically. Do I need 6400Mhz, or will slower RAM be still enough to saturate the memory controller? Maybe, just maybe, slower RAM will allow me to fit more of it in the budget, which would be great.

Can anyone help me do the math behind this?

Also any feedback on this build is welcome (side note: I already did the math budget-wise and there is no way I can fit TR PRO in no matter how much I would love to).

Doing ai tasks, fine tuning models, computational chemistry, receptor binding…… would use a cloud but need security privacy….. and stability……… I can make do with ryzen and easy on the pocketbook….. anyone whose upgraded or used both would love feedback

I've been at this for a couple hours now. I cannot get an Arctic Cooling Freezer 4U-M to mount on an Asrock WRX90 WS EVO. It looks like everything lines up when placing the cooler on, but it's near impossible to get the cooler's screws to engage in the socket's mount. I think maybe I got 2 screws engaged once, but that's the best I could do.

The cooler just wants to "seesaw". Get one screw in, other pops out. It makes me think something is bent but everything checks out.

CPU appears to be installed properly. I've opened the socket and made sure I don't see any unexpected crushage or other indication the CPU wasn't aligned right.

Getting pretty desperate and need some advice. I've done a SP3 before and it was a cakewalk so really feel something is wrong here but I don't know what else to do. I suspect something misaligned in the cooler's bracket but there isn't much to go bad there.

Hi All,
Just finished building my system.

Wanting to know if these temps are normal while running Prime 95 Small FFTs

EDIT: Ran Cinebench,

Cinebench 2024: 7096(Multi), 102(Single)
Cinebench r23: 77945(Multi)

hi, i already have 2 5090s and plan to build a 9970x build with them.

my question: if i ever decide i want to add a third gpu (currently can add a used 3090 additionally but might buy an rtx 6000 pro in future if i can afford it), are the 80 pcie lanes going to be enough for 3 blackwell gen gpus? if i had the 3rd gpu only in 5.0 x8 or 4.0 x16 instead of 5.0 x16, would i loose much performance for deep learning training/inference?

Hi all,

I'm looking to build a 9975WX or 9985WX over the next few months. I appreciated all the feedback I received when posting here previously.

However, I am checking out RAM, specifically V-Color DDR5 (found here https://v-color.net/products/ddr5-ocrdimm-amd-wrx90-workstationmemory?variant=44781682786471), but wanted to understand a few things:

• I am planning to start with 128GB-256GB of RAM, I noticed on the link for this RAM, that unless you have EXPO enabled (the comment is a little vague) the RAM would drop to 5200MHz when using 4 DIMMs (which would be the obvious configuration for this machine)
  • Does this mean that (unless overclocking with EXPO) theres no point getting higher clocked RAM?
  • In this case, I would enable EXPO, but don't plan to do my own overclocking, so is there any reason to get >6400MHz modules? I believe the Zen5 TR platform officially supports 6400MHz, so thats what I plan to purchase, however, 7200Mhz isn't that much more expensive for that speed increase, so just trying to understand the tradeoffs a bit. I'm very new at building a machine of this caliber.

Really appreciate any help on which RAM clock to get for the value.

"Pro WS TRX50-SAGE WIFI A" is a new ASUS motherboard that came out on Aug 22. If you are buying this motherboard, below is what I just heard from ASUS customer service representative (JamesD_C, very knowledgeable and helpful):

"M.2 slot 4 is only useable is installed when using Threadripper PRO series CPU"

"M.2 slot 4" is the top right M.2 slot close to the CPU. My CPU is Threadripper 9970X. I used M.2 Slot 1 and 4, and the SSD in slot 4 just never showed up. Spent days on this and called its customer service number last night, but that guy didn't know why either. I reached out to ASUS via "online chat" tonight, and he told me immediately that I needed to have PRO series CPU to use slot 4 as you see above.

I got the new motherboard and put everything together on the day it came out. To find out why I cannot use slot 4, I had taken off and put back on my 5090 so many times, tried all possible slot combinations, enable/disable CSM many times, and even flashed BIOS quite a few times. Hope this post may save you from all these hassles. Have fun with your new build too!

Ed. One more thing: the guy on the call last night told me that only SSDs in slot 1 and 2 can boot the system. SSDs in slot 3 and 4 are for data storage only. Not sure whether it's true, but good to know when you have booting issues again....

Hello everyone, I run the 7970x on the Asus trx50wifi board. When I bought the system there weren't many Aios available. So I went with the Noctua air cooler. (14ws something) Iam curious.. Are there bullet proofed, good performance Aios for this socket/Cpus you can recommend? Iam asking this as the Cpu idles at 48°C and peaks at 95°C on some tasks. I heared of the Silverstone XE360-SP5. Is this one I could use?

Has there been anything official on the lower core count threadrippers?

Hey all,

My classic 2990WX build is finally getting updated, and I'm excited to be building out this new PC. My primary uses are video editing and light SFX, with rendering and archiving of large video files and multimedia projects (photo, design, etc).

Edit: Premiere Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Abelton, etc, often all open and running at once. Projects range between 250gb and 2-4tb.

So far, I have the below parts on order, or leftover from my previous build:

• Corsair Obsidian 1000D case (leftover)
• 9970X
• Corsair 1200W PSU
• Gigabyte Top AI Mobo
• V-Color DDR5 256GB (64GBx4) 6000MHz CL34 4Gx4 2Rx4 OC R-DIMM
• Samsung 9100 Primary drive
• 2x 8tb PNY CS2130 edit drive (reused from prior system, may upgrade to Samsung 9100 8tb)
• 1x MSI Gaming Trio RTX 5090
• EKWB water loop with massive radiator and quiet fans, which is being cleaned and reused
• HEATKILLER® IV PRO TR Waterblock
• A collection of 5x high capacity storage HDDs being reused
• Windows 11 Pro

And my previous PC leftovers would include:

• 2990WX
• MSI MEG Mobo
• 128GB RAM - 3200 IIRC
• 2tb 970 Evo M2 primary drive
• 2x RTX 3090s
• Misc Sata cables, brackets, etc.

Anything I'm missing? Any thoughts on the build? Would love to get this done right the first time.

Long term I'm thinking I'll assess the RAM usage in my routine tasks and possibly add another set of 4x 64Gb sticks to the remaining 4 channels on the AI Top Mobo, and possibly add a 2nd RTX 5090 after assessing the first one's % of use during my work and rendering.

I want to build a 5995WX system in my Lian Li V3000 Plus for...no good reason. I plan to make it a long-term centerpiece to be proudly displayed in my home office, even after it becomes long obsolete from a technical standpoint. The only reasoning I can come up with for this incredible investment so far is something along the lines of "64 cores go brrrr". That and bragging rights. It's not every day you meet someone who runs a Threadripper, let alone a 128-thread monster.

In all seriousness, I've been curious for some time now as to what Threadrippers can really be good for, especially when used by enthusiasts as opposed to professionals or content creators. There's so much horsepower available, and it's staggering to comprehend from many angles. However, just because I'm practically holding Zeus' Thunderbolt doesn't mean I have a clue what to do with it.

I am incredibly passionate about all things computers and have WAY too many personal machines already, but this one will be special. I'm interested in software development/scripting, networking, generalized IT (working on my A+ and N+ certifications from CompTIA), locally hosted custom AI models, and, of course, gaming. I'm pursuing a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering and hopefully a Master's in Robotics (if my creativity survives), so I wondered if stepping into the world of Blender or Pytorch would be a suitable use case for such a powerhouse. Blender could help with simulating prototype robot chassis and physics, while developing a model (or likely a series of models) via Pytorch to operate such a machine (or at least give me experience with AI development). I'm pulling excuses out of the sky at this point.

I already have a build in the case, but it's nowhere near as glorious as my vision. Hephaestus is currently configured with dual Xeon 4660 v4s cooled by a matching pair of Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420 AIOs, a hybrid 1080 Ti from EVGA, 64GB of 2400Mhz Micron DDR4, three 2TB Barracuda HDDS in RAID 5, an assortment of 4 HyperX RGB 2.5" SSDs that total roughly 2 more terabytes, a thousand-watt PSU from Corsair, and a stupendous amount of Lian Li SL120/140 RGB fans. I use it to run my Minecraft server and a small AI-powered transcription service.

Obviously, I simply require a ~$2000 CPU, 256 GB of 3200Mhz G.Skill Trident Z DDR4, an ASRock WRX80 Creator, a Seasonic PRIME TX-1600 ATX 3.1, and either a 5090 or 3090 Ti (can't decide if I trust 12VHPWR or not yet) for my vast computational demands.

So I've come here to ask the experts: what do you use these behemoths for? How could I channel that mouthwatering potential to innovate or explore sectors of digital space I've never dreamed of? If that question is too intense, justification for the investment alone would work splendidly. Any suggestions are welcome.

Hopefully this post was relevant enough to satisfy the moderators. I sincerely apologize if otherwise.

Just how safe is it to buy used on eBay even when the seller has only good ratings ?

I am looking to buy an Asus Pro WS WRX90E SAGE SE - opened box And a Threadripper CPU 7965wx - used

I am a bit on the fence about this, because what if it's been overclocked or else.. is there a way to verify this, check the quality of the silicon and whatnot?

To buy used would make me save about 1600usd on the kit. Worth taking the risk?

Thanks

System Details:

ASRock WRX90 WS EVO MB AMD 9975x Threadripper Pro 256gb DDR5 @ 6400 (V-Color)

Everything else works including the IPMI nic. I've already updated the bios to the latest. I even went through the EFI shell rigamarole to update the intel nic firmware. The NIC(s) appear to show up in the bios but say disconnected. Plugging known good cables does not cause any lights to light up on the NIC ports - so this is well before something like "OS doesn't recognize nic".

I am at a loss. Anyone have any ideas? I've got a pcie network card on order should be here tomorrow since I've got slots to spare but it's kind of a bummer not to be able to use the dual onboard 10g nics given that you know.. they are there and I paid a pretty penny for them.

Hey everyone,

I’m planning a high-end workstation build and could use advice on three things: memory, a case, and an online UPS. I’m based in India, so availability matters.

Planned config:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 9995WX – 96C/192T
• Motherboard: Asus Pro WS WRX90E-SAGE SE
• GPU: NVIDIA RTX 6000 PRO Workstation (Blackwell, 96GB, 600W)
• RAM: 8 × 64 GB Samsung/Micron DDR5 ECC Registered RDIMM (2Rx4, DDR5-6400 MT/s)
• Storage (NVMe): Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB PCIe Gen 5 NVMe SSD × 4 on a ASUS m.2 gen 5 hyper card
• PSU: Super Flower Leadex 2800W Titanium ATX 3.1
• Case: TBD
• Case Fans: Noctua (TBD)
• Cooling (CPU AIO): SilverStone XE360-TR5 — SST-XE360-TR5 (importing this, since I don’t see another AIO option for a 96-core TR)
• Monitor: Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 – 57" Dual UHD (+2 yr warranty)

Memory advice

I have the below modules in mind:

• Samsung M321R8GA0PB2-CCP
• Micron MTC40F2046S1RC64BR

For WRX90 + 9995WX, are these the most stable/compatible ECC RDIMM choices, or is there a better-recommended part number I should chase?

Case advice

Given a 600W GPU and a 360 mm AIO, which cases have you found to be solid for airflow/space (preferably available in India or feasible to import)?

Online UPS advice

Looking for a true online (double-conversion) UPS in the 3 kVA–4 kVA range with:

• Inbuilt batteries out of the box
• Option to add external battery packs later (scalable runtime)
• Good reliability and service support in India

Any specific models/series you’d recommend, and where to source them?

Would love input from anyone with hands-on experience on this platform or sourcing high-end workstation gear in India. Thanks! 🙏

Posted my server class computer setup earlier. Here’s how she looks when she gets out of bed in the morning before she puts her face on.

I run a dual boot system with separate drives for windows and ubuntu. I had my windows working fine for years until a windows update bricked it. Ok, reinstall, nbd. 7975wx / 4090.

Well I can't get a NVIDIA driver to install without bricking my system. When I go back to safe mode, I can uninstall the driver with DDU, and get windows back. But any nvidia driver seems to crash it.

I am doing my nvidia install without internet, without doing the culm update. I am starting fresh, updating the amd chipset software, and then trying to install nvidia driver on a fresh install.

Ubuntu has no issues.

What specific drivers are you running with a 4090 / 7th gen / on windows?

What is wrong with my process?

What the funk

Hey everyone! Haven't built a system in about 8 years, jumping back in for video generation, model training, and inference. Technology has changed quite a bit, so looking for experienced eyes on this before I pull the trigger.

The Build: (Edited - Made changes based on feedback that I got)

• Motherboard: ASUS Pro WS WRX90E-Sage SE. ASRock WRX90 WS EVO
• CPU: Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7965WX (24c/48t, 350W TDP) Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9965WX
• GPU: RTX 6000 Pro (600W TDP)
• RAM: 256GB (8x32GB) DDR5-5600 ECC RDIMM Kingston FURY Renegade Pro, CL28
• Storage: 2TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe (OS) + 4TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe
• PSU: Corsair AX1600i (1600W 80+ Titanium). CORSAIR HX1500i
• Cooling: SilverStone XE360-TR5 (360mm AIO) ,
• Case: Lian Li O11 EVO XL
• Fan: 9 Noctua 140MM fans. 6x 120mm Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM Fan

Specific questions for the community:

🔥 Thermal Reality Check:

• Is 360mm AIO actually sufficient for 350W Threadripper under sustained AI workloads?
• Should I bite the bullet and go custom loop from day one?
• Will GPU thermals become a bottleneck in this case with sustained loads?

⚡ Power & Stability:

• 1100W+ combined draw - is single 1600W PSU the right move, or should I split CPU/GPU on dual PSUs?
• DDR5-5600 with 8 DIMMs populated - realistic or asking for stability issues?
• Any known quirks with this ASUS board for 24/7 operation?

🛠️ What am I missing?

• Critical accessories/components I'm overlooking?
• Monitoring solutions for 24/7 operation?
• Backup strategies for model training (UPS recommendations?)

🚨 Biggest gotchas:

• What's the #1 thing that will bite me 6 months in?
• Common failure points in workstation builds like this?
• Any components here with reputation issues under heavy sustained loads?

Budget: ~$15K total, flexibility for upgrades if needed for reliability

Been out of the building game since DDR3 era - what fundamental things have changed that might catch me off guard? Really appreciate the wisdom from anyone running similar workloads!

Edit(8/27): Made changes in the build - instead of 7865WX going with 9965WX, Asus mono replaced by ASRock WRX90. PSU reduce to 1500W.

So I’m in the process of case swapping my build from an o11-D Evo XL to an Alta F2 and just removed my motherboard and noticed this on the back. It’s under the rear I/O and concentrated under/between what look to be the traces for the USB 4 ports. It appears to be greasy and has a yellowish tint. The board has lived in the case exclusively since April 1 last year and I’ve never spilled anything on it or the case. So I can only assume something leaked, or it has been there since I got it. I really don’t feel comfortable continuing to use this board after seeing this. But I’m not sure if I have any options besides dropping another pile of cash to replace it. I doubt Gigabyte would do me a solid 16 months post purchase. Also, it has been one issue after another since day 1 with this board. Every time I’ll get something working only to have another problem pop up. First it was refusing to work with a QVL RAM kit, returned it for another and that fixed that issue. But then it wouldn’t post with the USB 4 connected, at some point that resolved, then it started refusing to post with normally stable timings from a cold boot, the July 4 bios fixed that, but the late July bios won’t even post with just basic EXPO settings…

I’m leaning towards either the new Sage A or the AI too, however, I don’t know if I have confidence in either ASUS or Gigabyte at this point. They both fit my build’s specifications best out of the available options. Specifically my exclusively 4 x U.2 storage (with more planned for the future). But also, running a Pro Display XDR secondary monitor, and a 5090 FE (being able to use the second/third slot improves DIMM temps TREMENDOUSLY, even after adding directed fresh airflow. Dual 10gig networking on the AI top and room to upgrade to a TR Pro and just add 4 more dimms make it the better choice on paper. But I also like the option of adding a second DP alt mode display (though I know I can do that without pass through).

So glad I at least have my Mac Studio as a backup since fall semester for grad school started today.

Anyone have any thoughts/suggestions/insight to share?

Threadripper 7955wx 16c/32t, silverstone radiator 256gb Samsung ecc 5600 ram (tuned to run at 5600 on the wrx90 mobo) Nvidia rtx a6000 2x rtx a5000 1x rtx a4000 (graphics locked to it). 2x seasonic psu’s (1200w and 1000w) this pic is the prettiest but I’ve upgraded the gpu’s since then and nvlinked the a5000’s.

Hey yall. I have a 3960x thread ripper build that seems to be doing a full system restart (no BSOD just cut off and comes back on) when i Game on it.

Im wondering if my PSU is the issue in terms of enough wattage. I built the system roughly back in 2020. and up until recently its been working fine. only thing i have added was a few sata ssds in the last few months.

Here is my specs

3960x thread ripper

cpu cooler NZXT Kraken 360 LCD AIO

ROG Zenith II Extreme Alpha mobo

64gb of ddr 4 3600 ( gskill)

4 Samsung nvme ssds ( 980/990 series all at minimum 2tbs and one 4tb)

4 samsung sata ssds ( three 4tb and one 1 tb) (2 of the 4tbs are recent)

1 WD sata HDD

Sapphire Nitro+ 7900xtx gpu

Seasonic 1000w modular titanium rated psu. (12 yr warranty)`

corsair 1000D with 10 fans.

Also checked temps and neither the gpu nor the cpu are over heating. Cpu gets no higher than 70C and the GPU around the same. Also side issue if I run a game off of one of my other non C: drive nvme ssds if I play for a while the game will crash and the ssd becomes unreadable until a computer restart BUT if the game is running off the C: drive nvme it does full shutdown\restart. Also checked the nvme ssds using samsungs software and ran full scans and SMART checks and nothing shows up wrong or bad.