AMD Bulldozers!!!!!!!!!

[Stupiditystrikes]

Excuse the several (9) exclamation marks on my title. I am somewhat excited.

However, I would like to ask the community of Tom's Hardware a question. (If not quite a few)

I'm looking at an AMD FX-8150 processor for my computer build.

It's listed as AM3+ processor, so would It be compatible with the current AM3 Mobos? (A m4287td/usb3 to be exact)


I'm quite excited, but as usual before screwing up, I'd like to ask questions C:

Thanks toms!

 

[AbdullahG]

BD will not be supported on AM3 motherboards. I would not recommend getting a BD CPU until software can utilize or at least work with the 8 cores. It's performance barely surpasses a 6 core Thuban. If your motherboard has a TDP of 125W or more, I would recommend a 6 core Thuban or a Deneb core (X4 955 is probably the best buy; you can overclock it to 4GHz on air).

 

[Stupiditystrikes]

:C Can you suggest a motherboard that may work as well?

This will be the processor that replaces mine at any point of time.

and I've currently got a Phenom B55 (Previously a 555 x2 core unlocked to quad core and oc'd to 3.6 ghz)

 

[AbdullahG]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128514

 

[mss30fl]

Go with this one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157266

It did very well in the benchmarks for Bulldozer. Hardwareheaven used it for their benchmarks (http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1285/pg9/amd-fx-8150-black-edition-8-core-processor-vs-core-i7-2600k-review-3dmark-11.html).
Were it did beat out both the 2500k and 2600k in tests.

 

[AbdullahG]

I noticed the motherboards were causing issues with BD, the most notable being the ASUS Crosshair V. I heard good things about the AsRock. Too bad it's cholor cheme looks ugly IMO

 

[drbaltazar]

:C Can you suggest a motherboard that may work as well?

This will be the processor that replaces mine at any point of time.

and I've currently got a Phenom B55 (Previously a 555 x2 core unlocked to quad core and oc'd to 3.6 ghz)

so far only asrock managed to do fair with the fx serie cpu(http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1285/pg1/amd-fx-8150-black-edition-8-core-processor-vs-core-i7-2600k-review-introduction.html ya these guys didnt use amd kit)this is the one they used(http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=990FX%20Extreme4)

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Fatal1ty%20990FX%20Professional

 

[mss30fl]

I noticed the motherboards were causing issues with BD, the most notable being the ASUS Crosshair V. I heard good things about the AsRock. Too bad it's cholor cheme looks ugly IMO

I know its kind of interesting more so since a Republic of Gamers board. They usually have better results than the basic mobo.
I hope ASUS comes out with an updated BIOS or fix the problem on the mobo.
I did purchase the Crosshair V before I read about the problems. I should be receiving it on wednesday. If I dont see or hear of any changes from ASUS then I will return the it.

 

[chillmelt]

I noticed the motherboards were causing issues with BD, the most notable being the ASUS Crosshair V. I heard good things about the AsRock. Too bad it's cholor cheme looks ugly IMO

Unless you're using the mobtherboard on a testbed, who cares if it looks ugly?

 

[AbdullahG]

Unless you're using the mobtherboard on a testbed, who cares if it looks ugly?

I said IMO. So yes, it does bother me (everyone has OCD to some extent).

 

[Stupiditystrikes]

Best answer selected by Stupiditystrikes.

 

[The-Don]

BD will not be supported on AM3 motherboards. I would not recommend getting a BD CPU until software can utilize or at least work with the 8 cores. It's performance barely surpasses a 6 core Thuban. If your motherboard has a TDP of 125W or more, I would recommend a 6 core Thuban or a Deneb core (X4 955 is probably the best buy; you can overclock it to 4GHz on air).

While I agree with the spirit of your post, I hope that it is not misinterpreted. There is software available now that can utilize and work with the 8 cores. The problem is that even in that software, BD is not very impressive. As you noted, its performance barely surpasses a 6 core Thuban. However, it isn't because all of the cores in the Thuban are being utilized and the 8 in BD are not.

Not trying to nitpick and I hope you don't see it that way but I really think it would be bad if people thought that the other 2 cores are sitting idle and that is why it was barely beating Thuban in those situations. They are being used in these multithreaded situations. Its just that per core, BD is not as powerful as Thuban right now at least.

Obviously it is possible that things can be improved in the future with this architecture. However, as it is now, it isn't because there is no software that can take advantage of the 8 cores. The problem is that even in the software that does, BD is still barely beating the X6 (Thuban)

Having said that, I agree that the X6 is a great value at the moment. It is great in multithreaded apps. As far as games go, once you get to normal resolutions that gamers play with eye candy on, the GPU is the bottleneck. So if you are already on AMD hardware, the X6 is a great deal right now. To me the X6 is a good deal.