AMD set to slash FX CPU pricing on September 1

[alexruiz]

Those 8370E and 8320E look quite tempting.

Can a 8320E overclock to 8350 speeds and stay at 95W TDP?
I would say absolutely. The process is so mature that if you have bought a FX8320 recently and had the chance to compare it with a FX8320 from a year ago, you have already witnessed it. Newer batches overclock and/or overvolt easier than older ones.

Let's wait and see.
Thanks everyone on the info

 

[USER8000]

Life span or reliability over Intel chips? I've had AMD chips (as well as Intel) since the 486 days -- One brand isn't any less reliable than the other. I've actually had to replace more Intel chips under warranty over the years to be honest.... even though we had a pretty even split of Intel/AMD at the Non-Profit.

Agreed and even more interesting when you consider this too:

http://nepp.nasa.gov/workshops/etw2013/talks/Wed_June12_2013/1140_LaBel_%20AMD%20Processor%20Radiation%20Test%20Results.pdf

The old 32NM SOI process used also seems quite tolerant to even high doses of radiation(NASA tested Llano with a budget Biostar motherboard).

Plus plenty of P4 based systems still function today(or until recently) especially since many of these systems are(or until recently) are still in operation with many government agencies throughout the world.

Only some enthusiasts on forums seem paranoid about so called CPU reliability when CPUs by far are probably the most reliable component in your PC,unless you are overclocking or doing something stupid with them.

 

[SlowSpyder]

One things is to not believe their TDP claims. It's fair here, because they didn't provide the rest of the variables used to calculate TDP. Another thing is their maximum operating temperature they are committed on the spec sheet. Regardless of whether you are able to measure it, AMD chips must somehow measure and control it in order to activate these thermal protections. This metric doesn't allow for cheating, it doesn't depend on other variables.

So yes, I think AMD chips run cooler than Intel. But no, I don't think that has any meaning beyond operating at lower temperatures than Intel chips. It is still an extremely inefficient chip, it is still a power hog, it still demands a lot of noisy cooling, it doesn't have a reliability or life spam edge over Intel chips.

I also don't believe AMD TDP claims, 8350 breached their TDP specs by at least 10%, and I think this is the explanation for the 95W 8370E, it is in reality a "95W" chip, much like the 8370 is a "125W" chip except when talking to an AMD reseller, but I really can't see them fudging with their maximum operating temperature, they have no reason to do so.

Cooling an AMD CPU doesn't have to be noisy or difficult. Even the stock cooler is pretty beefy, copper base and four heat pipes. You can get the FX 9xxx CPU's with a AIO water cooler. Also, with voltage tweaking I can get my FX to be much more efficient than it is out of the box... it doesn't have to be a power hog.

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

Cooling an AMD CPU doesn't have to be noisy or difficult. Even the stock cooler is pretty beefy, copper base and four heat pipes. You can get the FX 9xxx CPU's with a AIO water cooler. Also, with voltage tweaking I can get my FX to be much more efficient than it is out of the box... it doesn't have to be a power hog.

So true -- as I mentioned in another thread, I've undervolted an FX 8320 while remaining at stock clock speed (3.5 Ghz). It is only drawing 27 watts more than my i7 3770k (also at 3.5 Ghz) with both providing similar performance under Linux.

 

[mrmt]

Cooling an AMD CPU doesn't have to be noisy or difficult. Even the stock cooler is pretty beefy, copper base and four heat pipes. You can get the FX 9xxx CPU's with a AIO water cooler. Also, with voltage tweaking I can get my FX to be much more efficient than it is out of the box... it doesn't have to be a power hog.

It is a power hog. As a matter of fact it was tested and validated to operate under those frequencies for a reason, the fact that you are breaching these specs doesn't make it more efficient, just showing that you are willing to incur in more risks like that of silent data corruption.

 

[Rvenger]

Everyone who adjusts voltage or overclocks run that risk but on the flip side, some motherboard manufacturers apply too much voltage to the CPU. Biostar is a perfect example. I had an A10-5800k which the stock voltage is 1.425v. Biostar post stock voltage was 1.47v. Asrock does it on the Haswell CPUs as well and its pretty annoying really.

 

[SlowSpyder]

It is a power hog. As a matter of fact it was tested and validated to operate under those frequencies for a reason, the fact that you are breaching these specs doesn't make it more efficient, just showing that you are willing to incur in more risks like that of silent data corruption.

Yes, I am running my CPU out of spec. I am a bit of a hardware enthusiast, I do things like that. I can run my CPU at 1.225v, I still haven't found how low I can take it, still running factory 4.4GHz clocks. Some people are better off with an HP or a Dell, some people build and tweak their own hardware.

 

[boozzer]

well, shit, I think it is time for me to save up some moneys and get a 512mb ssd. seems to be the sweet spot in comparison to the lower capacities.

 

[Gs dewd]

I am going to side with the statements made by MiddleOfTheRoad in regards of the Fx and Wcg. I run a Wcg on 5 Rigs. 3 are Fx based (8350 @ 4.4, 8320 @ 4.4 and a 8150 stock) 1 Phenom II x6 1090t at 3.5 and a i7 920 at 3.5. The Fx 83xx's are of course pretty close in ppd. The 8150 and the Phenom are pretty close in ppd with the 920 Close to them just about a 100 ppd difference. Now the kicker is, the 920 rig is the only one under Linux. If I was to put the other 4 under Linux they would totally demolish the 920 as Linux itself is good for close to a 25% increase in ppd. I am in the process of building 2 more Fx rigs to crunch on and a third in the mix to replace the i7. Point of all this, these price cuts if they will apply to the 8320/8350 will matter to the WCg community. Users running multiple rigs just won't buy the fastest intel rig because it is just not cost effective.

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

It is a power hog. As a matter of fact it was tested and validated to operate under those frequencies for a reason, the fact that you are breaching these specs doesn't make it more efficient, just showing that you are willing to incur in more risks like that of silent data corruption.

Dude, they probably wouldn't sell them unlocked if AMD was worried about users running them at a different speed.

If I can run the CPU under prime and not get an error -- I'd imagine it is working just fine. Plus, I have never heard of anyone damaging a CPU by undervolting.... It's a silly thing to say -- considering AMD's Cool and Quiet more or less does the same thing automatically.

And if I can run the chip at the same clock speed at a lower voltage -- you bet I just improved its efficiency. My FX has been undervolted for nearly a year running projects on the World Community Grid -- I've never had a single result come back as being invalid. So that silent data corruption is just nonsense. AMD spec'd feeding the chips a lot of power to maximize their yields (and I would too if I was trying to maximize profits), but many of their chips don't need all that power to still function perfectly.

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

I am going to side with the statements made by MiddleOfTheRoad in regards of the Fx and Wcg. I run a Wcg on 5 Rigs. 3 are Fx based (8350 @ 4.4, 8320 @ 4.4 and a 8150 stock) 1 Phenom II x6 1090t at 3.5 and a i7 920 at 3.5. The Fx 83xx's are of course pretty close in ppd. The 8150 and the Phenom are pretty close in ppd with the 920 Close to them just about a 100 ppd difference. Now the kicker is, the 920 rig is the only one under Linux. If I was to put the other 4 under Linux they would totally demolish the 920 as Linux itself is good for close to a 25% increase in ppd. I am in the process of building 2 more Fx rigs to crunch on and a third in the mix to replace the i7. Point of all this, these price cuts if they will apply to the 8320/8350 will matter to the WCg community. Users running multiple rigs just won't buy the fastest intel rig because it is just not cost effective.

You'll gain a lot by moving the FX's to Ubuntu:
This is my FX 8320 at stock clock -- only change was OS:
I moved from Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit to Ubuntu 14.04 LTS 64 Bit

Windows 7:
8/6/2014 5:06:19 PM | | Starting BOINC client version 7.2.47 for windows_x86_64
8/6/2014 5:06:19 PM | | log flags: file_xfer, sched_ops, task
8/6/2014 5:06:19 PM | | Libraries: libcurl/7.25.0 OpenSSL/1.0.1 zlib/1.2.6
8/6/2014 5:06:19 PM | | Data directory: C\ProgramData\BOINC
8/6/2014 5:06:19 PM | | Processor: 8 AuthenticAMD AMD FX(tm)-8320 Eight-Core Processor [Family 21 Model 2 Stepping 0]
8/6/2014 5:06:30 PM | | Running CPU benchmarks
8/6/2014 5:06:31 PM | | Suspending computation - CPU benchmarks in progress
8/6/2014 5:07:02 PM | | Benchmark results:
8/6/2014 5:07:02 PM | | Number of CPUs: 8
8/6/2014 5:07:02 PM | | 1621 floating point MIPS (Whetstone) per CPU
8/6/2014 5:07:02 PM | | 5947 integer MIPS (Dhrystone) per CPU

Ubuntu:
Tue 05 Aug 2014 03:22:41 PM EDT | | Starting BOINC client version 7.2.7 for x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
Tue 05 Aug 2014 03:22:41 PM EDT | | log flags: file_xfer, sched_ops, task
Tue 05 Aug 2014 03:22:41 PM EDT | | Libraries: libcurl/7.32.0 OpenSSL/1.0.1e zlib/1.2.8 libidn/1.28 librtmp/2.3
Tue 05 Aug 2014 03:22:41 PM EDT | | Data directory: /var/lib/boinc-client
Tue 05 Aug 2014 03:22:41 PM EDT | | Processor: 8 AuthenticAMD AMD FX(tm)-8320 Eight-Core Processor [Family 21 Model 2 Stepping 0]
Tue 05 Aug 2014 03:22:41 PM EDT | | OS: Linux: 3.11.0-19-lowlatency
Tue 05 Aug 2014 03:23:30 PM EDT | | Running CPU benchmarks
Tue 05 Aug 2014 03:23:30 PM EDT | | Suspending computation - CPU benchmarks in progress
Tue 05 Aug 2014 03:24:01 PM EDT | | Benchmark results:
Tue 05 Aug 2014 03:24:01 PM EDT | | Number of CPUs: 8
Tue 05 Aug 2014 03:24:01 PM EDT | | 2510 floating point MIPS (Whetstone) per CPU
Tue 05 Aug 2014 03:24:01 PM EDT | | 11344 integer MIPS (Dhrystone) per CPU

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

Here's another one -- Oh no! The dreaded Bulldozer! Somebody gave me this CPU with motherboard for free because it was "garbage." Just got it up and running over the weekend on BOINC. I got the system undervolted down to 94 watts so far at full load at stock clock. I guess I finally found something the Bulldozer "doesn't suck at" -- check out the benchmarks below. I never ran this box on Windows (to compare), but those numbers seem like a pretty good start.

These FX price cuts are going to make a lot of people happy who are involved in scientific computing (WCG, etc.) Especially with those new 95 watt versions.

Fri 22 Aug 2014 02:25:58 PM EDT | | Starting BOINC client version 7.2.7 for x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
Fri 22 Aug 2014 02:25:58 PM EDT | | Host name: AMD-FX6100
Fri 22 Aug 2014 02:25:58 PM EDT | | Processor: 6 AuthenticAMD AMD FX(tm)-6100 Six-Core Processor [Family 21 Model 1 Stepping 2]
Fri 22 Aug 2014 04:23:31 PM EDT | | Benchmark results:
Fri 22 Aug 2014 04:23:31 PM EDT | | Number of CPUs: 6
Fri 22 Aug 2014 04:23:31 PM EDT | | 2700 floating point MIPS (Whetstone) per CPU
Fri 22 Aug 2014 04:23:31 PM EDT | | 10533 integer MIPS (Dhrystone) per CPU

 

[mrmt]

Yes, I am running my CPU out of spec. I am a bit of a hardware enthusiast, I do things like that. I can run my CPU at 1.225v, I still haven't found how low I can take it, still running factory 4.4GHz clocks. Some people are better off with an HP or a Dell, some people build and tweak their own hardware.

It's not a matter of buying Dell or building your own hardware. Overclocking your PC will make it unfit for most professional duties. If you are just playing games, yes, overclocking is fine. If you are developing professional activities, then overclocking of any kind is a no-go.

 

[SlowSpyder]

It's not a matter of buying Dell or building your own hardware. Overclocking your PC will make it unfit for most professional duties. If you are just playing games, yes, overclocking is fine. If you are developing professional activities, then overclocking of any kind is a no-go.

Agree, I would not suggest anyone overclock if their livelihood counted on the work they do on their computer.

 

[mrmt]

If I can run the CPU under prime and not get an error -- I'd imagine it is working just fine. Plus, I have never heard of anyone damaging a CPU by undervolting.... It's a silly thing to say -- considering AMD's Cool and Quiet more or less does the same thing automatically.

No, it's not fine. AMD and Intel spends tons of money and time validating a chip design, why do you think that running prime95 and not getting any errors ensures the same reliability level of the validation process of the IHV? Sure, if this is your game machine, why not? But if you are using your PC for work, would you trust prime95 that much?

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

No, it's not fine. AMD and Intel spends tons of money and time validating a chip design, why do you think that running prime95 and not getting any errors ensures the same reliability level of the validation process of the IHV? Sure, if this is your game machine, why not? But if you are using your PC for work, would you trust prime95 that much?

Yeah, clearly it's not fine (sarcasm).

AMD hates people who do it obviously -- especially when they sponsor an overclocker, issue a press release bragging about World's Fastest Overclocked CPU on Guinness Book of World Records and / or.......

"Watch “Team AMD FX” secure the Guinness World Record and read a recap of the action. "

http://www.amd.com/en-us/press-releases/Pages/amd-showcases-worlds-2011sept13.aspx

Seriously???????? It don't add up.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say AMD is actually advocating the "tuners."

 

[mrmt]

Yeah, clearly its not fine (sarcasm).

AMD hates people who do it obviously -- especially when they sponsor an overclocker, issue a press release bragging about World's Fastest Overclocked CPU on Guinness Book of World Records and or.......

"Watch “Team AMD FX” secure the Guinness World Record and read a recap of the action. "

http://www.amd.com/en-us/press-releases/Pages/amd-showcases-worlds-2011sept13.aspx

Seriously???????? It don't add up.

And what does this have to do with overclocking being reliable or not?

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

And what does this have to do with overclocking being reliable or not?

He just finished saying:
"AMD and Intel spends tons of money and time validating a chip design, why do you think that running prime95 and not getting any errors ensures the same reliability level of the validation process of the IHV?"

So he was implying that AMD is against overclocking -- which is quite the opposite.

They sponsored a team to overclock and then bragged about the success of "Team AMD FX." So the manufacturer is pretty much advocating it.

There is absolutely no evidence to back what he says. It's would be almost impossible to prove -- since many products produced by Intel and AMD over the years were for all intents and purposes "Factory Overclocks." If what he said was true, the AMD FX 9590 would crapping out errors and bad data. His opinion has holes in it bigger than Candlestick Park.

And as for the actual topic, for the record I'd like to say that I'm thrilled that were getting some price cuts!

 

[ShintaiDK]

They sponsored a team to overclock and then bragged about the success of "Team AMD FX." So the manufacturer is pretty much advocating it.

Yet warranty is void as soon as you overclock.

Hell, AMD even voids the warranty is you use another cooler.
http://support.amd.com/en-us/search/faq/147

 

[Gs dewd]

You'll gain a lot by moving the FX's to Ubuntu:
This is my FX 8320 at stock clock -- only change was OS:
I moved from Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit to Ubuntu 14.04 LTS 64 Bit

Oh I know buddy. 2 of the rigs have to stay under Windows as 1 is my main rig (8350) which I game on also and the other (Phenom II x6) is the backup for that rig. But the 8320 and 8150 can go to Ubuntu as they are along with the 920 dedicated crunchers. They where built for that purpose only and they also have HD7xxx graphics for that just in case we get gpu wu's again.


Oh My 8350 Under win7

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

Yet warranty is void as soon as you overclock.

And how exactly do you think they can tell (beyond letting it catch on fire)? And how can they tell if you use a different cooler (after you remove the thermal paste)?

My best friend "popped" his FX 4100 (which was mildly overclocked) -- AMD replaced it under warranty with an FX 4300. As long as you don't bend the pins, AMD will usually swap it under the 3 year warranty.

The overclock was not intentional. My best friend made the mistake of selecting "Optimized Settings" within the MSI bios -- He wasn't aware that the Genie was overclocking his computer.

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

Oh I know buddy. 2 of the rigs have to stay under Windows as 1 is my main rig (8350) which I game on also and the other (Phenom II x6) is the backup for that rig. But the 8320 and 8150 can go to Ubuntu as they are along with the 920 dedicated crunchers. They where built for that purpose only and they also have HD7xxx graphics for that just in case we get gpu wu's again.


Oh My 8350 Under win7

Is that overclocked? Those are pretty awesome benchmarks for Windows 7.

 

[Gs dewd]

Is that overclocked? Those are pretty awesome benchmarks for Windows 7.

Yeah running @ 4.4 just like my 8320. Both are under water so the run right about 40c under full load Wcg is the ultimate stability tester LOL. 100% load 24/7/365.

Oh and here is the 1090t LOL

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

Yeah running @ 4.4 just like my 8320. Both are under water so the run right about 40c under full load Wcg is the ultimate stability tester LOL. 100% load 24/7/365.

Well, this gives you an idea of running BOINC under Linux versus Windows on an AMD FX:
Ubuntu = 8320 @ 3.5 Ghz 2510 floating point MIPS (Whetstone) / 11344 Integer
Windows 7 = 8350 @ 4.4 Ghz 3172 floating point MIPS (Whetstone) / 12208 Integer

I'm now tempted to start overclocking -- Because your machine will probably hit at least 14k+ integer if the scaling holds for Ubuntu (heck, you might even touch 15k). I'm running reasonably close to you daily right now, but I'm clocked 900 Mhz below you.

 

[Gs dewd]

Well, this gives you an idea of running BOINC under Linux.
Ubuntu = 8320 @ 3.5 Ghz 2510 floating point MIPS (Whetstone) / 11344 Integer
Windows 7 = 8350 @ 4.4 Ghz 3172 floating point MIPS (Whetstone) / 12208 Integer

I'm now tempted to start overclocking -- Because your machine will probably hit 14k+ integer if the scaling holds for Ubuntu. I'm running reasonably close to you daily, but I'm clocked 900 Mhz below.

My one Linux Rig

Even if you just bumped the 8320 up to 4.0 it helps out alot. Just make sure you have a decent board as the vrms can get warm quick without good cooling. I actually put a small fan to blow on the heatsink on my vrm section of the mobos just to be safe.