Update 6/2023: AMD may bring back HEDT ZEN4 CPUs product line. Also, mid-2023 AMD announced its high end EPYC server class (also nice for scientific workstations, HEDT, albeit expensive) product line.

below: 2022

R.I.P. Threadripper ($$ HEDT consumer-oriented high end desktop market, modest price over standard consumer ZEN $), long live threadripper Pro ($$$) and EPYC ($$$$) server CPUs

* not discussed further below ... Dell is going to offer (announced June, out later 2022) offers Dell Optiplex 7865 Tower with threadripper pro 5000WX ... RAM, drives, etc typical Dell overprice (list price -last JHU academic price quote I got was same as list), so I suggest purchase "minimal" 7865 (one RAM chip, small SSD) and buy components online -- I am especially curious about Highpoint SSD7540 ($1100 for PCIe4 card holds up to 8 NVMe gen4 drives ... claimed 28 GB/sec [PCIe4 x16 slot max is 32 GB/sec], that could be 8 TB each = 64 TB total ($13K) ... or start with more modest price NVMe 1TB [8TB on board] or 2TB each [16 TB on board]. ...

 ** have not looked at Levono TPro workstation prices ... as a Chinese company, don't trust (re: claims SuperMicro motherboards had Chinese spy chips in them).

       see https://www.tomshardware.com/news/threadripper-pro-5000wx-now-available-lenovo-exclusive ... May 2022 Lenovo currently offers a 40% discount

AMD originally announced the Threadripper Pro chips back in March, and as usual for this series of chips, they came exclusively in Lenovo's OEM ThinkStation systems. As such, AMD didn't release chip pricing. Last week AMD announced the Pro chips would come to other OEMs later this year and that they would come to retail as a standalone chip to also serve the DIY/enthusiast crowd — and that the company would unify the non-Pro and Pro versions of Threadripper. 

AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX SEP is $6,499 ... gm: ZEN3, 64 cores, 128 threads, 256MB L3 cache see https://www.amd.com/en/products/cpu/amd-ryzen-threadripper-pro-5995wx
AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5975WX SEP is $3,299 ... gm: ZEN3, 32 cores, 64 threads see https://www.amd.com/en/products/cpu/amd-ryzen-threadripper-pro-5975wx ... launch March 8, 2022
AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5965WX SEP is $2,399 ... gm: ZEN3, 24 cores, 48 threads see https://www.amd.com/en/products/cpu/amd-ryzen-threadripper-pro-5965wx

Here's the official Threadripper Pro pricing that AMD shared with us today, and it's clear that these chips are priced far above what we would expect for the traditional definition of the HEDT segment.

GM note: I suggest 5965WX would not break budget, and other money spent on GPU (RTX 4080 instead of 4090 - probably Sept 2022}, RAM, SSDs (Highpoint SSD7540 PCIe4 array card) ... all above (and future ZEN4 TPro equivalents} tiny prices compared to say fully loaded light sheet microscope, MICA (widefield + confocal), spinning disk confocal, point scanning confocal (optional STED), etc. ... Jeff Mumm's High throughput phenotypic screening platform $1.9M high end instrument grant https://grantome.com/grant/NIH/S10-OD026909-01A1 combined multimode plate reader, macro sampler/microfluidics, light sheet microscope, robotics, software integration }.

comparison: current prices on amazon -- see also table in first story below.

ZEN (not threadripper)

$548 ... AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 16-core, 32-Thread ... https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Ryzen-5950X-32-Thread-Processor/dp/B0815Y8J9N

$399 ... AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12-core, 24-Thread ... https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Ryzen-5900X-24-Thread-Processor/dp/B08164VTWH

Previous generation TPro or "T":

$9000 ...AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3995WX 64-core, 128-thread desktop processor ... https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Ryzen-Threadripper-PRO-3995WX/dp/B08V5HPXVY/

    Incredible 4.2 GHz Max Boost Frequency, with a Huge 288MB Cache

    Eight-channel DDR4 and 128 total PCIe 4.0 lanes, the most bandwidth and I/O you can get on workstation desktop processor

$4990 ... AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX 32-core, 64-thread desktop processor ... https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Ryzen-Threadripper-PRO-3975WX

      Incredible 4.2 GHz Max Boost Frequency, with a Huge 144MB Cache
      Eight-channel DDR4 and 128 total PCIe 4.0 lanes, the most bandwidth and I/O you can get on workstation desktop processor

$3392 ...AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X 32-Core, 64-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor ... https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Ryzen-Threadripper-3970X-64-Thread/dp/B0815JJQQ8

  ==> amazon might have mislabeled this (WX vs X) or rip off pricing ... table in story below lists as $1999.

Quad-Channel DDR4 and 88 total PCIe 4. 0 lanes

5000wx chips story near bottom --   "These prices are substantially higher than the full MSRP of AMD's previous generation Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3000WX parts. For example, the 32-core Threadripper Pro 3975WX sells for $2,749, and the 64-core Threadripper Pro 3995WX costs "just" $5,489."

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/shed-a-tear-for-hedt-amds-threadripper-pro-pricing-marks-the-end-of-an-era

Shed a Tear for HEDT: AMD's Official Threadripper Pro Pricing Marks the End of an Era

By Paul Alcorn published 3 days ago = 6/29/2022
 

The end of the HEDT era ... {HEDT = consumer-oriented high end desktop market}

AMD shared its official pricing with us for its Threadripper Pro 5000 WX-series processors, at the same time effectively marking the end of what we would consider the company's traditional HEDT lineup — AMD isn't releasing non-Pro Threadripper processors anymore, and Threadripper Pro pricing is far out of reach for the overwhelming majority of enthusiasts.   

AMD originally announced the Threadripper Pro chips back in March, and as usual for this series of chips, they came exclusively in Lenovo's OEM ThinkStation systems. As such, AMD didn't release chip pricing. Last week AMD announced the Pro chips would come to other OEMs later this year and that they would come to retail as a standalone chip to also serve the DIY/enthusiast crowd — and that the company would unify the non-Pro and Pro versions of Threadripper. 

·         AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX SEP is $6,499

·         AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5975WX SEP is $3,299 

·         AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5965WX SEP is $2,399

Here's the official Threadripper Pro pricing that AMD shared with us today, and it's clear that these chips are priced far above what we would expect for the traditional definition of the HEDT segment. 

AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 5000 WX-Series Specifications 

==> gm note - see web page for table

This is how Threadripper Pro pricing compares to both AMD's previous-gen Pro chips, the non-Pro Threadrippers, and competing models from Intel. As a reminder, AMD's Suggested Etail Price (SEP) is akin to an MSRP.

The 64-core 128-thread Threadripper Pro 5995WX weighs in at $6,499, a $2,509 markup over the last Threadripper that was positioned for what we consider a traditional HEDT platform, the 64-core Threadripper 3990X. That's also a $1,100 increase over the previous-gen Pro equivalent, the 64-core Threadripper Pro 3995WX.

For the 32-core Threadripper Pro 5975WX, there's a $1,300 markup over the previous-gen HEDT model, the Threadripper 3970X, and a $550 markup over the previous-gen Pro equivalent.

Finally, the 24-core Threadripper Pro 5965WX at $2,399 represents a $1,000 markup over the HEDT-geared 32-core Threadripper 3960X. (The previous-gen Threadripper Pro lineup didn't have a 24-core model.) Notably, the two lower-end Threadripper Pro models, the 16-core 5955X and the 12-core 5945X, won't be available at retail — you'll only find them in pre-built OEM systems.  

A Farewell Ode to HEDT

AMD's decision to unite the Threadripper and Threadripper Pro lineups into one family effectively brings an end to any enthusiast-geared HEDT processors from AMD.

Make no mistake, the Pro chips carry pricing premiums not only in the silicon but also in the platform. You'll pay more for the motherboards and shoulder the cost of populating eight memory channels as opposed to the four memory channels found on the non-Pro models. Sure, you could simply not populate four of the memory channels to save some cash, but regardless, you're still paying the premium for eight channels in the chip and motherboard pricing, so that seems a waste.

AMD's decision to eliminate the non-Pro Threadripper family wasn't all too surprising, though. AMD's previous-gen Threadripper halo, the 3990X, cost a whopping $3,990 and was really a specialized chip for professional users anyway, as opposed to what we would consider a HEDT chip in the traditional sense. Luckily, there were still Threadripper models with lower core counts and pricing that made them within reach of some enthusiasts, but even then, AMD itself was already blurring the lines between HEDT and mainstream PCs.

more 2022 links (URL hints at article title)

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd-ryzen-threadripper-pro-5000x-benchmarks

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/threadripper-pro-5000wx-now-available-lenovo-exclusive

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/ryzen-threadripper-pro-5000-cpus-will-hit-the-diy-market-later-this-year

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/threadripper-pro-5000wx-cpus-arrive-in-china-64-cores-for-dollar7000   {ZEN3 CPU}

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd-on-track-to-release-ryzen-7000-cpus-in-september     {ZEN4 CPUs, autumn 2022}

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/memory-supplies-improving-ada-rdna3

Visikol blog 8/2022 Blocking Buffers (see web pagefor example image) - please cite original source if you find useful

https://visikol.com/blog/2022/08/16/blocking-buffers-immunofluorescence

Reducing the nonspecific binding of secondary antibodies in immunofluorescence workflows is critical to generating high quality data from tissues that action items depend on in the drug discovery process. This is accomplished by using a blocking buffer that is made of normal animal serum containing proteins that bind to reactive sites of the tissue’s antigens, physically blocking the binding of secondary antibodies to those antigens. The primary antibody is still able to recognize and bind to specific antigens on the tissue after blocking, because the blocking buffer binds to antigens on the tissues with less affinity than the primary antibody, outcompeting their overall strength of the hydrogen bonds. Understanding these principles while immunolabeling will generate higher quality and more relevant data sets for researchers. When deciding which type of animal serum to use, the host species of serum used in the blocking buffer should match the host species of the secondary antibody that is used to detect the primary antibody. If the serum used in the blocking buffer was made from the host of the primary antibody, large amounts of nonspecific binding would occur as the secondary antibody would bind to the tissue’s antigens.

Blocking buffers are used during standard immunofluorescence workflows after the tissue has been fixed, sectioned, rehydrated and antigen retrieved (to expose antigens after fixation). In addition to the different types of serums that can be used in the blocking buffer, the buffer the serum is diluted in can change as well. Tris-Buffered Saline (TBS) and Phosphate-Buffered Saline (PBS) can be used to make blocking buffers. However, if you are using phosphorylated antibodies for antigen detection, PBS should not be used as the phosphate group in the buffer can bind to the proteins reducing the overall expression of the signal. While tissue specific optimization is required to determine the concentration of normal animal serum in the blocking buffer, commonly, buffers contain 1% to 6% of normal animal serum in them. Blocking buffers need to be free of impurities as this can reduce expression of the signals.

Blocking buffers are routinely used at Visikol while performing our highly multiplexed immunofluorescence workflows. After stripping the antibodies off using EasyPlex, the blocking buffer is reapplied to the tissue to repeat the workflow by reducing the nonspecific binding of the secondary antibodies. This method allows Visikol to be agnostic with the antibodies used, and to continue to label the tissue with new antibodies for as long as the tissue remains on the slide.

If you’re interested in learning more about our multiplexing services, please reach out to a member of our team today!

**

GM note: "... by reducing the nonspecific binding of the secondary antibodies. " -- I suggest that a better approach would be to eliminate the need for ANY secondary antibodies, that is, use direct labeled antibodies (or DNA-PAINT approach of 1stAb-oligo + dye-oligo, of two single stranded oligonucleotides complementary to each other). The ideal primary antibody (1stAb) would be a highly specific nanobody (VHH nanobody with custom C-terminal to load fluorophore or fluorophores) or if not made yet, scFv (recombinant single chain Fragment Variable, sequivalent to an Fab), Fab (classic 'cut down' primary antibody -- ideally recombinant, though scFv probably better protein).