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CPU upgrade, opinion needed

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  • CPUs
  • Processors
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September 3, 2014 8:34:30 AM

I'm upgrading my signature system this month and I was looking at an AM3 system now, because of the budget I have... (No you cannot recommend me Intel processors because all I can afford is an i3, and no it's not enough for what I do.).

I wanted to go for the FX-8320E but, that won't be available in my local store for a good while given the fact that I live in Portugal and the low demand of AMD processors the store has, so I was thinking about the regular FX-8320.

I've seen the specs and the differences are that:
+FX-8320 has a 125W TDP compared to the FX-8320E's 95W TDP
+FX-8320 has a higher base clock 3.5Ghz compared to the FX-8320E's 3.2Ghz

But now I ask... Does the difference between both is really the clock-speed? Because lowering the clock-speed and voltage you get a lower TDP... Isn't it what AMD has done? Because I'm not sure, and I'd love for someone to think with me on this.

More about : cpu upgrade opinion needed

September 3, 2014 8:45:22 AM

If you want the FX-8320E, order it online if that's an option, postage is normally free so the wait is probably worth it if you had your heart set on it. In honesty you won't notice a difference on normal use or gaming, only benchmark testing etc.
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September 3, 2014 8:49:21 AM

Scott Taylor said:
If you want the FX-8320E, order it online if that's an option, postage is normally free so the wait is probably worth it if you had your heart set on it. In honesty you won't notice a difference on normal use or gaming, only benchmark testing etc.


I'm not really sure about ordering online because I don't have PayPal or a credit/debit card at all. I'm recently 18 and all I have is cash money.
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September 3, 2014 8:49:37 AM

Yes to get the lower TDP, all AMD has done is under-clock the chip. just like for the 8350 they simply overclock the 8320 (or vise versa)
So if you get the 8320 and under-clock it you should trim a few degrees off.
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September 3, 2014 8:53:44 AM

DHFF said:
Yes to get the lower TDP, all AMD has done is under-clock the chip. just like for the 8350 they simply overclock the 8320 (or vise versa)
So if you get the 8320 and under-clock it you should trim a few degrees off.


I agree on this, though to add, CPU's are healthy up to around 80 degree's so unless you have you PC in an oven i wouldn't worry too much about heat.

TL: DR
CPU's can stand a lot of heat.
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September 3, 2014 9:10:37 AM

DHFF said:
Yes to get the lower TDP, all AMD has done is under-clock the chip. just like for the 8350 they simply overclock the 8320 (or vise versa)
So if you get the 8320 and under-clock it you should trim a few degrees off.


They probably binned some 8320s and tuned the voltage a little bit and bumped down the clock-speed, that's what I'm thinking it happened. o:
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September 3, 2014 9:12:32 AM

Scott Taylor said:
DHFF said:
Yes to get the lower TDP, all AMD has done is under-clock the chip. just like for the 8350 they simply overclock the 8320 (or vise versa)
So if you get the 8320 and under-clock it you should trim a few degrees off.


I agree on this, though to add, CPU's are healthy up to around 80 degree's so unless you have you PC in an oven i wouldn't worry too much about heat.

TL: DR
CPU's can stand a lot of heat.


Yeah, the thing is that I'll probably be overclocking in the future, but I'm going to run either the stock cooler for a while or ghetto mount the current cooler I have to the board (Socket 775 cooler).

All I really cared about would be the temps of the overclock, because at stock I don't really mind all that much.
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Best solution

September 3, 2014 1:39:26 PM

There are benchmarks floating around, where even the FX 8370E is slower than the older FX 8350. I'd wait and scout what the FX 8320E is actually capable of before buying it for the same price as the FX 8320.

These new CPUs have specifically been made for motherboards that have a max CPU TDP of 95W rather than 125W. I don't think we can expect them to outperform the standard non-E versions. In fact, the FX-8370E performs worse than the FX-8320!! (see here).

If your motherboard can handle 125W TDP, go for the FX8320.
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September 3, 2014 2:43:26 PM

NightAntilli said:
There are benchmarks floating around, where even the FX 8370E is slower than the older FX 8350. I'd wait and scout what the FX 8320E is actually capable of before buying it for the same price as the FX 8320.

These new CPUs have specifically been made for motherboards that have a max CPU TDP of 95W rather than 125W. I don't think we can expect them to outperform the standard non-E versions. In fact, the FX-8370E performs worse than the FX-8320!! (see here).

If your motherboard can handle 125W TDP, go for the FX8320.


FX 8320 it is.
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