AMD Threadripper Pro 9995WX can run 400 copies of Doom or eight instances of Crysis simultaneously — CPU is so powerful that tester left 100 copies of the classic game running accidentally without realizing

PC enthusiast channel Level1Techs has shown off a new AMD Threadripper Pro system running 400 copies of Doom simultaneously. The feat involved four virtual machines, each running 100 copies of Doom. Despite this seemingly hefty classic gaming workload, Level1Techs' affable host, Wendell, accidentally left 100 copies of Doom running, and only noticed when a Cinebench 24 benchmark score was a little lower than expected, revealing just how powerful the chip actually is.

Can it Octa-Crysis?

Wendell kicked off his AMD Threadripper 9995WX Pro build analysis video with a great tease. “Can it run Crysis?” he asked, rhetorically. “Well, no, actually, because the original Crisis crashes when you have that much of VRAM, but you can run eight instances of Crisis because then each one gets 24GB of VRAM,” he explained.

Moreover, having “a system so monstrous that… it can just casually have eight discrete 24GB VRAM GPUs from just two physical cards is a marvel of modern engineering,” according to the TechTuber.

Thy will be Doomed four hundredfold

The jocular tech channel owner began a Doom-based Threadripper stretching session (~15 minutes in) by showing 96 copies of Doom running simultaneously, as well as the Cinebench 24 benchmark. The system barely broke a sweat. We guess, Wendell chose 96 Doom instances to tally with the 96 cores and 192 threads offered by AMD’s Threadripper Pro 9995WX.

For the biggest Doom-splosion you may have ever seen, though, at roughly 21 minutes into the video, Wendell shows off four hundred copies of Doom running simultaneously. “It actually works better if I run four virtual machines, each running 100 copies of Doom,” he observed. This still only used four or five of the processor package’s 12 chiplets, according to the genial creator.

Falcon Talon system specs

The system you see demonstrated and tested in the video comes with “96 cores of insane, insane workstation” power, which you can buy off-the-peg now, enthused Wendell. In addition to the CPU, we have already highlighted, the Falcon NorthWest Talon system that stars in the video is configured with 192GB of VRAM thanks to dual 600W RTX Pro 6000 GPUs.

As delivered, the Talon was configured with 256GB of RAM, but Wendell will also be checking the system with RAM kits as big as 512GB, and as small as 64GB in upcoming episodes. He noted that “dual-rank DIMMs populating all eight memory channels is your sweet spot for performance.”

Built on the Asus WRX90 Sage SE motherboard, and bristling with DIMM and PCIe slots, as well as lashings of other fast I/O, this system almost left the video host struggling to find appropriately stressful workloads.

Elsewhere in the build, as supplied, there was a SilverStone AiO to handle the CPU. As you can see, the case came pre-customized with some fun Level1Techs / Wendell artwork. Last but not least, the TechTuber seemed delighted that the system “doesn't have any RGB, as it should be.”

Overclocking, scaling

Wendell says he runs his Threadripper Pro CPU routinely overclocked, yielding an “uplift of around 18% across the board.” However, this OC means a jump from 350W stock to 700W TDP. That’s a considerable hike, but the TechTuber insisted that the system remained stable for sustained workloads.

Interestingly, it is also indicated that traditional benchmarks are “meaningless,” as they can’t take advantage of the thread scaling here. However, “some real-world projects with 12K textures… are making some jaw-dropping differences to the results.”

On an architectural level, this system benefits from how AMD has created the latest Threadrippers with “each Chiplet having its own path to the I/O die.”

A follow-up video will look at this system’s scaling in video effects type tasks compared a less powerful Threadripper system in the Tevel1Techs arsenal.

Who is this really for?

Workstations like this are not really for insane feats of simultaneous gaming, of course. Those buying such systems are more likely to task them with complex and demanding creative and/or AI workloads, or running oodles of virtual machines, benefitting from ample resources.

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