When it comes to pushing the limits of hardware, some experiments are meant to showcase performance, and others just turn into pure spectacle. The latest demonstration from Level1Techs falls into both categories, with AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper Pro 9995WX at the center of the action.
This monster of a CPU packs 96 cores and 192 threads, designed for professionals who need overwhelming multi-threaded performance. But instead of being tested with high-end rendering workloads or AI simulations, the chip was tasked with something a little more nostalgic: running the classic game Doom—400 times over.
To make this possible, Level1Techs host Wendell spun up four virtual machines, each with 100 instances of Doom running simultaneously. What’s more surprising is that the Threadripper didn’t even break a sweat. In fact, Wendell accidentally left 100 copies of the game running in the background and only realized it when a Cinebench 24 score came back slightly lower than expected. That small dip highlights just how much untapped horsepower the 9995WX has.
Of course, no high-performance hardware test would be complete without the classic “can it run Crysis?” line. Wendell pointed out that the original game actually crashes when given access to that much VRAM, but he was still able to run eight separate instances of Crysis at once. Thanks to dual RTX 6000 GPUs, the system had 192GB of video memory to divide across workloads—another sign of how overbuilt this workstation truly is.
The Falcon Northwest Talon system used in the test came equipped with 256GB of RAM (with options to expand to 512GB), an Asus WRX90 Sage SE motherboard, and plenty of PCIe connectivity. The Threadripper Pro 9995WX itself supports up to 128 PCIe 5.0 lanes, offering unprecedented flexibility for GPUs, NVMe storage, and specialized add-in cards. This means the system isn’t just for wild experiments—it’s meant for demanding real-world tasks like video production, AI training, and advanced simulation.
Running the chip at stock speeds already delivers record-breaking results, but Wendell pushed things further with overclocking. With the CPU dialed up, performance rose by nearly 18 percent across workloads. The tradeoff was power consumption, which jumped from around 350 watts to roughly 700 watts, but stability held firm during extended tests.
Interestingly, he also noted that traditional benchmarks fail to capture the real-world value of so many threads. Projects involving massive 12K textures or complex simulations show much more dramatic gains than standard synthetic tests.
No one is buying a Threadripper Pro 9995WX to run hundreds of copies of Doom—or even eight versions of Crysis—at the same time. But this experiment is a perfect illustration of the processor’s brute force capability. In the hands of professionals working with 3D rendering, AI workloads, or dozens of virtual machines, it is less a gimmick and more of a game-changing productivity tool.
The Ryzen Threadripper Pro 9995WX is not just another CPU. It’s a workstation-class engine capable of workloads most people would never even imagine, and the Doom experiment proves just how extreme its headroom really is. For those who truly need the fastest, most scalable desktop platform available, this chip sets a new benchmark for what’s possible.
One place to explore custom Threadripper workstation builds is GamerTech, who are already preparing to integrate the new 9000-series Threadrippers into their lineup: https://gamertech.ca/pages/workstations
