Adobe Photoshop: AMD Threadripper 7000 vs Intel Xeon W-3400

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TL;DR: AMD Threadripper 7000 Performance in Photoshop

In terms of Photoshop performance, the new AMD Threadripper 7000 processors are around 7-17% faster than the previous generation AMD Threadripper PRO 5000 WX-Series. They do support fewer memory channels and PCI-E lanes (neither of which are very important for Photoshop) than the PRO models, but in exchange, they are also about $650-1,000 less expensive. This gen-over-gen performance gain makes Threadripper 7000 about 20% faster than an equivalently-priced Intel Xeon W processor. However, keep in mind that if Photoshop performance is your only consideration, an Intel Core or AMD Ryzen CPU will be able to give you even more performance, and at a much lower price point.

Introduction

With the new Threadripper and Threadripper PRO CPUs that were announced on October 19, AMD is once again splitting their high core-count CPUs into two separate product families: the High-End Desktop (HEDT) AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7000 Series, and the even higher tier AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7000 WX-Series processors. Both CPU families are based on AMD’s Zen 4 architecture, which is currently powering their Ryzen 7000 line of desktop processors and Genoa, Genoa X, and Bergamo EPYC processors. This upgrade in architecture means they now support new technologies like PCI-e Gen 5.0 and DDR5 memory, but we also expect increased per-core performance, which should help in lightly-threaded applications like Photoshop.

Today, we will focus on the performance of the Threadripper 7000 Series (non-PRO) compared to the previous generation Threadripper PRO 5000WX and the Intel Xeon W-2400/3400 line. In our last Intel Xeon W-3400 review, we found that the Threadripper PRO 5000 Series CPUs outperformed the new Xeon chips, so we expect that the new Threadrippers will further broaden that gap. We will also include the Intel Core 14900K to provide some context for how AMD Threadripper compares to a more typical CPU choice for this type of workload.

Because there are so many CPUs to examine, we will break our analysis down into Intel vs AMD (AMD Threadripper 7000 vs Intel Xeon W-3400) and performance versus the previous generation (AMD Threadripper 7000 vs AMD Threadripper PRO 5000)

Decorative Image: Photoshop - AMD Threadripper vs Intel Xeon

To learn more about how the new AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7000 Series processors perform in other workflows, we have compiled an overview in our AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7000 Content Creation Review article. That post also includes more detailed information on the CPU specifications and test results for various applications: Lightroom Classic, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects, Unreal Engine, Cinema 4D, Blender, and V-Ray.

In addition, although all the new AMD CPUs have a TDP of 350 W, TDP is rarely the whole story. To see how much power these chips use to complete tasks, check out our Power Analysis: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7000 article.

Raw Benchmark Data

We design our benchmarks to cover a large swathe of workflows and tasks to provide a balanced look at the application and its hardware interactions. However, many users have more specialized workflows. Recognizing this, we like to provide individual results for benchmarks as well. If there is a specific area that comprises most of your work, examining those results will give a more accurate understanding of the performance disparities between components.

AMD Threadripper 7000 vs Intel Xeon W-3400 for Adobe Photoshop

Starting off, we want to point out the fact that both the AMD Threadripper and Intel Xeon CPUs come in well behind the significantly less expensive Intel Core i9 14900K. This is because Photoshop is a lightly threaded application, so it is more about the per-core performance, rather than the total number of cores. In other words, if Photoshop is the only thing you care about, you will likely want to stick to an Intel Core or AMD Ryzen CPU as you will get more performance at a much lower price. However, Photoshop is also one of the most common secondary applications used in the content creation space, so if you are a video editor, VFX artist, or motion designer, it is still very useful to know how these CPUs stack up.

Compared to Intel Xeon, the new AMD Threadripper 7000 processors come in about 20% faster on average. You may notice that due to how Photoshop works, the higher core count models from both AMD and Intel tend to perform slightly worse than the lower core count, less expensive models. This is common in this type of workload since when you add more cores, the performance for each core tends to drop a small amount.

AMD Threadripper 7000 vs AMD Threadripper PRO 5000WX for Adobe Photoshop

Comparing the new AMD Threadripper 7000 CPUs to the previous generation is a bit awkward since we are looking at two different classes of processors. The pricing between Threadripper 7000 and Threadripper PRO 5000WX is very different, as are the overall platform capabilities. However, the fact that Threadripper 7000 has fewer memory channels and PCI-E lanes than Threadripper PRO 5000WX shouldn’t be much of a factor for Photoshop users, so in most cases, the new Threadripper CPUs are simply faster – and cheaper – than the previous generation.

In terms of pure performance, we are looking at about a 7-17% performance gain over the previous generation, with the larger gains coming from the 64-core 7980X. This is largely due to how much of a performance higher core count CPUs tend to see in lightly threaded workflows like Photoshop, which AMD has greatly improved with Threadripper 7000. For example, where the 5995WX 64-core was 13% slower than the 5975WX 32-core, the new 7980X 64-core is only 7% slower than the 7970X 32-core. That change and the overall gen-over-gen performance improvements allow the 64-core model to see a larger performance gain than we expected.

How Well Do the AMD Threadripper 7000 CPUs Perform in Photoshop?

While there are a few niche Photoshop workflows that will benefit from an HEDT or PRO-level processor, in most cases, if Photoshop is your primary concern, you would be better served by an Intel Core or AMD Ryzen CPU. Not only are they significantly less expensive, but they are also around 15% faster than even the new AMD Threadripper 7000 processors.

However, Photoshop is one of the most ubiquitous applications for Content Creation in general, and is used to at least some degree by almost every profession. Because of this, it is still often important to have an understanding of how different processors will perform, even if it isn’t a primary performance consideration.

With that in mind, the new AMD Threadripper 7000 processors are around 7-17% faster than the previous generation AMD Threadripper PRO 5000 WX-Series. They do support fewer memory channels and PCI-E lanes (neither of which are very important for Photoshop), but in exchange, they are also about $650-1,000 less expensive. This gen-over-gen performance gain makes Threadripper 7000 about 20% faster than an equivalently-priced Intel Xeon W processor.

Every application uniquely utilizes hardware, so our results for Photoshop don’t necessarily translate to any other application. If your work involves other applications, we recommend checking out our AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7000 Content Creation Review article, which includes a broad overview of results for several different applications including Lightroom Classic, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects, Unreal Engine, Cinema 4D, Blender, and V-Ray.

Finding the perfect workstation doesn’t have to be complicated. Explore our solutions page for a curated selection of recommended systems for a multitude of applications and workflows, or visit our custom configuration page if you already know the ideal hardware for your needs. If you need assistance with tailoring a system to a unique workflow or have any other questions, we encourage you to reach out to our dedicated technology consultants.