AMD FX 6300 3 cores 6 threads vs AMD A10 9600P 4 cores 4 threads

[WinTux]

I have two AMD systems. One is a desktop with an AMD FX 6300 CPU. The other is a notebook with a new Bristol Ridge A10 9600P APU. Both chips are based on the bulldozer architecture, with the FX CPU being a piledriver chip, and the A10 APU being a excavator chip. Both are the same base architecture which uses modules made of two cores.

Does anyone know why the APU shows as 4 cores and 4 threads, while the CPU shows as 3 cores and 6 threads. I thought that the APU would have shown as 2 cores and 4 threads, which is normal for bulldozer based chips.

 

[ryguybuddy]

The APU is a true quad-core, so it has 4 cores 4 threads. The FX-6300 claims to be a six-core, but many programs see it as a triple core with hyperthreading.

 

[Chugalug_]

Yep, what ryguy said.
The APU will recognize natively as a quad core, so compatibility may be better in certain applications.

 

[WinTux]

Could one of you provide a source. Everything I find says it is still dual core modules that share L2 and FPU.

 

[TJ Hooker]

@ryguybuddy @Chugalug_
I'm pretty all Bulldozer-based architectures (Piledriver for the 6300, Excavator for the A10 9600P) used CMT (clustered multithreading). Meaning that CPUs were composed of modules, with two cores per module. So I'm not sure what would be different between the 6300 and 9600P in that regard.

 

[ryguybuddy]

@ryguybuddy @Chugalug_
I'm pretty all Bulldozer-based architectures (Piledriver for the 6300, Excavator for the A10 9600P) used CMT (clustered multithreading). Meaning that CPUs were composed of modules, with two cores per module. So I'm not sure what would be different between the 6300 and 9600P in that regard.

Threads can be disabled, and those architectures are different. The 6300 could be a triple-module chip with the A10 being a quad-module quad-thread chip.

 

[TJ Hooker]

@ryguybuddy @Chugalug_
I'm pretty all Bulldozer-based architectures (Piledriver for the 6300, Excavator for the A10 9600P) used CMT (clustered multithreading). Meaning that CPUs were composed of modules, with two cores per module. So I'm not sure what would be different between the 6300 and 9600P in that regard.

Threads can be disabled, and those architectures are different. The 6300 could be a triple-module chip with the A10 being a quad-module quad-thread chip.

That doesn't make sense to me. CMT involved duplicating a number of components of a CPU core. If you're not going use them, that's just wasted space, and AMD hasn't been releasing 4 module/8 thread CPUs since Piledriver. That'd be like Intel fabbing chips capable of being i7s, but not actually selling any i7's but rather disabling HT on all of them and just selling i5s.

Edit: according to Anandtech, 'quad-core' Bristol Ridge APUs (i.e. A10-9600P) are still 2 module/4 core.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/10362/amd-7th-generation-apu-bristol-ridge-stoney-ridge-for-notebooks

 

[WinTux]

AMD's own press release says that 7th gen Bristol Ridge APUs use up to 2 dual core excavator modules for a total of 4 cores.

 

[Chugalug_]

AMD have been known for such practices in the past with the RX 480 4GBs with an additional 4GB of disabled VRAM shipping to meet demand as an example.
I'm not saying it's true, but it's not entirely out of the question.
As far as news articles and facts that I can get my hands on can tell, it is in fact a true quad core, based off the fact that it doesn't list it as a quad thread, but rather a quad core on the official page, but it is very vague in that regard.
http://products.amd.com/en-ca/search/APU/AMD-A-Series-Processors/AMD-A10-Series-APU-for-Laptops/7th-Gen-A10-9600P-APU/197

 

[TJ Hooker]

AMD have been known for such practices in the past with the RX 480 4GBs with an additional 4GB of disabled VRAM shipping to meet demand as an example.
I'm not saying it's true, but it's not entirely out of the question.

Yeah, but in this case, rather than doing it short term to meet demand, it would have involved them doing it for like 2 years...

As far as news articles and facts that I can get my hands on can tell, it is in fact a true quad core, based off the fact that it doesn't list it as a quad thread, but rather a quad core on the official page, but it is very vague in that regard.
http://products.amd.com/en-ca/search/APU/AMD-A-Series-Processors/AMD-A10-Series-APU-for-Laptops/7th-Gen-A10-9600P-APU/197

AMD has advertised all their Bulldozer-based CPUs that way. They don't list the FX 6300 as 3 module/6 thread, they just list it as having 6 cores.
http://products.amd.com/en-gb/search/CPU/AMD-FX-Series/AMD-FX-6-Core-Black-Edition/FX-6300/136

 

[Chugalug_]

Ah, okay.
Cheers!
So all bulldozers are dual module, at least I know now.
At least I can say that's something i've learned today, I don't deal with AMD CPUs that often, nor do I recommend them so i'm not exactly an expert in terms of their architecture, although i'm fine on the specs side of things.
Thanks.

 

[ryguybuddy]

Ah, okay.
Cheers!
So all bulldozers are dual module, at least I know now.
At least I can say that's something i've learned today, I don't deal with AMD CPUs that often, nor do I recommend them so i'm not exactly an expert in terms of their architecture, although i'm fine on the specs side of things.
Thanks.

Yeah, same for me. I am more of a Intel expert and person myself.

 

[Chugalug_]

Tbh apart from dabbling in AM3+ when it was released, the last AMD CPU I used was an FM2!

 

[TJ Hooker]

Haha, no worries. I certainly don't blame anyone for being unclear on the whole module/core/thread situation with AMD CPUs. The answer varies depending on who you ask, it can be kind of a contentious issue. AMD is actually being sued right now over whether they misled consumers by branding CPUs with 2/3/4 modules as 4/6/8 core CPUs :/

@WinTux what are you using to look at the core/thread count? I think I remember reading that, at least historically, Windows OS and applications had dodgy support for CMT. If you're using a more recent version of Windows with the 9600P, maybe that's it? Or maybe there's something different with the revised architecture in the 9600P in terms of how it reports cores/threads.

 

[WinTux]

The 6300 on AMD's site says it is 6 core, but it also says it is not unlocked which is not true.

http://products.amd.com/en-ca/search/CPU/AMD-FX-Series/AMD-FX-6-Core-Black-Edition/FX-6300/136

Both systems are running Windows 10.

CPU Z shows the FX as 6 and 6, while Windows and cinebench show 3 and 6. At the same time, the APU shows 4 and 4 in everything. I'm thinking that something was changed whith how it is reported. I just wasn't expecting an AMD chip to report properly in everything until Zen.