Lenovo ThinkStation P620 Threadripper 3995WX Benchmarks
February 12, 2021We decided to post the benchmarks for the Lenovo ThinkStation P620 AMD Threadripper Pro workstation (SHOP HERE) separately because our P620 video was getting way too long. We know attention can sometimes waver so let’s get to it.
Testing Applications
For testing, we’re running the standard Cinebench 2.0 and 3D-Mark applications. To make it just a little more entertaining we decided to test our Lenovo ThinkStation P620 AMD Threadripper workstation against the Lenovo ThinkStation P520. We will be doing a belated review for the P520, right after the P620.
Even though the P520 is slightly older than the P620 AMD Threadripper Pro, it is part of Lenovo’s latest generation. Aside from using the exact same case as the P520, everything else is different as the P520 is running a single Intel Xeon W-2225 CPU with 4 cores and 8 threads. We fully expect our Lenovo ThinkStation P620 to blow the proverbial doors off the P520. Do you think the WX on that AMD processor was like, “Intel W processors we’re going to X you out.” It’s actually for Extended Frequency Range, the extra MHz from boost, and we’re guessing W is for workstation. That said, 4 cores compared to 64 cores… SPOILER ALERT! There’s really no comparison. If anything we should have taken an 18-core W processor at the very least, which would have also lost, but that’s beside the point.
The P620 came with the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000, while the P520 is using NVIDIA’s Quadro RTX 8000 card. Both are better used for high-performance computing, analytics, and more data-oriented applications. So not really for gaming, but still. Can they game? You bet your ass they can!
Processor Performance
Using Cinebench 2.0 to test CPU performance, the AMD Threadripper 3995WX tore up the competition with a score of 22,843 points, compared to the W-2225 with a score of 1904 points, as expected. The next CPU is the Intel Xeon 8168, which also did not even come close at a score of 16,536 points. This really wasn’t fair to begin with because we didn’t use the same components in each system and not even the same core counts. Such is life.
This really wasn’t a contest. 64 cores compared to 4 cores! For CPU performance in this particular match up, the Threadripper Pro won by a factor of 12x. Another consideration is PCIe 4.0, but neither of these GPU cards is compatible with PCIe 4.0 so not a factor. Although AMD has released a new AMD Radeon RX 6800, which has been reported is 50% faster than the RTX 3090, but we don’t have that one.
AMD 3990x vs. AMD 3950x
Here are the statistics from two OTHER builds we did just recently. You can see those videos in our feed for a Custom build featuring the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990x with an Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti GPU, and our other custom build using an AMD Ryzen 9 3950X. Clearly the 3990x has a slight advantage even over the 3995WX! Both with 64 cores.
But again, there are definite differences between these CPUs, but both are really for development. Gaming performance, although very enticing, is not the main focus. The Ryzen 9 3950x also delivered some impressive numbers for CPU performance with a score of 8990. This was not supposed to be an in-depth CPU comparison, but there you have it.
GPUs in Lenovo ThinkStations
What’s interesting is the GPU performance, which we tracked using the 3D Mark application, specifically the “Time Spy” test. Outfitted with the RTX 8000, the P520 didn’t win that one either. The P520 posted a score of 10860, with the P620 running the RTX 6000 dropping a score of 11,249. But again, 3D Mark is a measure of GPU performance and not really influenced by CPU performance.
We did switch out the RTX 8000 and popped it into the Lenovo ThinkStation P620 just for a direct comparison of GPU performance across platforms, which produced a score of 11,623 or roughly 400 points better than the numbers on the RTX 6000, and almost 800 points difference compared to the P520 with that same card.
Testing the PNY GeForce RTX 3090 GPU
Just as we were about to package up the Lenovo ThinkStation P620 AMD Threadripper Pro workstation, we received a brand new PNY GeForce RTX 3090 GPU. This is what NVIDIA is calling their “BFGPU.” If you’re wondering if the name has any relationship to the SpaceX BFR (Big Fucking Rocket), it’s not. In this case, BF is for “Big Ferocious.” At least that is what they are telling us. Not sure we believe that, but this thing is huge! Three fans on a big card that straddles the entire width of the available space and not just a dual slot card but a tri-slot, which might piss off a few people by covering usable PCIe slots. Of course, we tested that in the P620 Threadripper.
Along with the 75W of power from the x16 socket, it also has two 8-pin power connectors at 150W each for a total of 375W of power. It actually only requires 350W. You might be surprised by the 3D Mark results, which had the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 first, then the Quadro RTX 6000, and lastly the PNY GeForce RTX 3090. Honestly, we were thinking the RTX 3090 might edge these Quadros out, but the fact of the matter is the Quadro cards are more for professional applications and about three times as expensive as the GeForce RTX 3090. GeForce is also really designed for gaming, and for this particular card bragging rights too. Just in case you are wondering if you can add this card into your GPU servers in the data center or cloud, forget about it. You might get a cease and desist letter from NVIDIA.
We’re not really sure any large analysis needs to happen here. The 64-core AMD Threadripper 3995WX beats the crap out of not only the 4-core Intel W processor, but also its big brother sibling, the Xeon Scalable 8168 Platinum CPU. We also learned those really expensive Quadro RTX cards are also great for gaming, but cost way too much to consider using—like 3 times as much! Even when compared to the new gaming GeForce RTX 3090!
Did this review solve any pressing questions you may have had? Probably not. What you should remember is IT Creations carries these Lenovo workstations and those GPUs, plus all the other stuff like memory, storage, and network cards.
If you’re interested in purchasing this server, click here! Or, if you’re interested in other servers or components, click here for IT Creations’ homepage.
