Threadripper 2990WX - 2950X & Wraith Ripper DIY Install

FrgMstr

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
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While you might be familiar with AMD Threadripper installation, we give you a full installation video from start to finish covering your 2950X and 2990WX CPUs along with the new Cooler Master Wraith Ripper air cooler install. We cover two different types of TIM installs and what we have found to work best for us. If you are thinking about building a new Threadripper system, we would suggest checking out our latest Threadripper Water Block review, as it has cumulative results from all the water blocks we have tested in the last year.

Check out the video.
 
tldr

I don't understand why won't they ship the cooler with the cpu. I mean the TR4 cooler market is so small, and the 250W TDP basically excludes most coolers. What choice is there actually, one or two ?

instead they ship coolers with their AM4 Cpus, where basically every universal cooler purchased in the last 10 years would be compatible and adequate. This just doesn't make any sense to me.
 
M76 said:
tldr

I don't understand why won't they ship the cooler with the cpu. I mean the TR4 cooler market is so small, and the 250W TDP basically excludes most coolers. What choice is there actually, one or two ?

instead they ship coolers with their AM4 Cpus, where basically every universal cooler purchased in the last 10 years would be compatible and adequate. This just doesn't make any sense to me.
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I have five air coolers here now. CM, Thermalright, and 3 from Noctua.

I don't see including that air cooler with the CPU as many folks are not going to want to pay for something they do not want or need. I doubt too many TR customers are going to buy that CPU thinking that a cooler is included.
 
Your TR install videos are wonderful. If I ever go TR I know what to watch to make sure I have a smooth install experience from CPU to TIM to Cooler.
 
Kyle, what kind of temp differences have you observed between your preferred TIM method and the usual ones, e.g. spread and dots vs X with viscous TIM?
 
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Since this is a second generation X399 board, was securing the screw with the CPU inside the socket easy? Because I had an ASUS Zenith Extreme board and trying to secure the screw with the CPU inside the socket was a pain in the ass and apparently it was a design flaw with most if not all TR4 boards.
 
And besides all that, that cooler is massive, and may not be optimal or even usable in every or even most situations. There are quite a few tr4 coolers available (maybe not 20, but certainly more than 5), and each has advantages or disadvantages depending on your situation.
 
M76 said:
If you got it, you'd have said: Yes it makes little sense that they include a cooler with the 2700X for under $300, but they didn't include a cooler with the $1800 2990.
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Please go make you own thread to further rant about this. Thanks.
 
That finger condom was slightly unsettling for some reason.

The part where you added the extra to the active cores was really informative, never thought about that. If the 12 core turns out to be good that bit is going to be put to good use.
 
workshop35 said:
That finger condom was slightly unsettling for some reason.

The part where you added the extra to the active cores was really informative, never thought about that. If the 12 core turns out to be good that bit is going to be put to good use.
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We have worked with that Prolimatech PK-1 for a year now with Threadripper. It is very viscous. We use it because of its high thermal conductivity. 10.2W IIRC. We tested all sort of install techniques last year. We had installs with other techniques that caused us to have install where we were not getting good flow across the live dies depending on the way we installed. This meant the difference between being able to overclock across all cores under full load or not. We actually worked with XSPC during this and shared information. The enthusiast install shown worked best for us, and XSPC's recommendation was to use the base install that we showed before applying the last dots of TIM down.

XSPC's testing was done with its own water blocks, and they hold down springs on its RayStorm Neo apply MUCH more pressure than some other kits on the market. We found our method to work well with all install kits across all blocks.

All in all, if you are using a thin, less viscous TIM, the application in the X seems to work well with all sorts of coolers. The higher end viscous TIMs show a lot of difference depending on the clamping pressure between the IHS and cold plate.

We worked with how was best to do this for months last year and feel as though for an enthusiast installation, our method is best. Of course, YMMV. I have come to find out over the years that arguing TIM install techniques is an endless cycle as everyone will tell you that you are "wrong." This is our 2 cents on it, and I would suggest that HardOCP has done more water block testing for Threadripper than any other site on the planet, you may need change. :)
 
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Good tips (as per usual!).
I just re-installed my 1950x in a new motherboard (Asus Zenith) due to compatibility issues and headaches with unRAID and my ASROCK Fatality board.
The ASROCK board was simple to tighten down the 3 screws wheras the Zenith required quite a bit of pressure applied to screw #1 to get it to start. I was a bit concerned and kept fidgeting with it as to not break anything but ultimately it worked. Wish I would have looked at [H] over the weekend and seen the updated vid 8)
 
I wonder if some would feel more comfortable using a heat gun to preheat the grease instead of powering on the board lol.. We have come a long way from the old days when a chip would instantly catch fire from doing that same thing:)
 
primetime said:
I wonder if some would feel more comfortable using a heat gun to preheat the grease instead of powering on the board lol.. We have come a long way from the old days when a chip would instantly catch fire from doing that same thing:)
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I think you can trust the CPU to save itself, while a newb with a heatgun might cook things? Dunno.

Bummed that the cooler has all that RGB crap hanging off of it.
 
workshop35 said:
That finger condom was slightly unsettling for some reason.
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In all honesty, I only bought those after getting totally mad Youtube reactions last year because I was spreading TIM with a bar finger. FWIW, I always clean my finger off with alcohol before spread with it. But having those finger cots has been nice. It is not uncommon for me to seat 5 coolers a day, and the finger cots have been nice to not have TIM staining my finger and stuck under my nails all the time. I bought a bag of 1400. I should be good for a while. Wish they were not pink however.
 
primetime said:
I wonder if some would feel more comfortable using a heat gun to preheat the grease instead of powering on the board lol.. We have come a long way from the old days when a chip would instantly catch fire from doing that same thing:)
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Tried the heat gun. CPU power just worked better. I honestly feel better and safer with the CPU power. At least then I can have my finger down on the CPU to gauge temperature. With the heat gun, you are blasting a lot of components that I would rather not, and you really can't tell how hot everything is getting.
 
primetime said:
is it more or less capable of being done same way on my 2700x? I cant help but feel i should be getting slightly better temps on my current rig setup
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Yes you can, but I do not think it is likely necessary. We find it to be needed with Prolimatech PK-3, which we use for AM4 testing. rgMekanic heats his up with the CPU IIRC. That PK-3 is like super thick. I do not use in on TR4 because it is still hard to get even across the entire IHS.
 
Greetings [H]orde and El Chingón,

I'm working on a Threadripper build (build log https://hardforum.com/threads/build...-passthrough-and-zfs.1973135/#post-1043982685)

I followed the extremely helpful video to a T and I got it booted up earlier today. However, 4 of the 8 ram sticks are not showing up in the UEFI. My suspicion is that the processor needs to be re-seated based on what I've been able to dig up. I remembered your offer of help in the article and was hoping you may have experienced this or had some wisdom to share with me.

Thanks in advance for the assist.
 
What thermal paste are you pairing up with the new CPU? As I'm moving CPUs to free up my good board for the 2950x, I actually emptied out another tube.
 
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