1. Home >
  2. Computing

AMD's last FX gasp: 5GHz FX-9590 down to $230, new lower-power 8-core chips debut

AMD is launching multiple new processors today, including new high-powered options for midrange motherboards as well as a slight upward tip for the FX-8xxx family.
By Joel Hruska
AMD FX chip

Today is a double-whammy for AMD: the company is launching both the new R9 285 GPU, and a bevy of new processors in its eight-core FX family. There are multiple facets to this launch, including significant price cuts at the high end, new eight-core chips that fit within a 95W TDP bracket, and tweaked SKUs that improve Piledriver's performance modestly at roughly the same price point.

Let's take 'em in order, shall we?

The FX-9590 comes down to Earth

AMD made headlines last summer when it announced plans to launch a 5GHz CPU -- and lost a significant portion of that interest when it revealed that the chip, the FX-9590, would be priced at $800 or more. Over the past 12 months the upper bound on the FX-9590 has crept steadily downward until today, when AMD is slotting it into place in a standard price segment.

Starting today, you'll be able to buy an FX-9590 for $230. With a base clock of 4.7GHz and a Turbo Mode of 5GHz, that puts the core's clock roughly 20% ahead of the standard FX-8350. Since the chip will command a 1.27x price premium over AMD's more mainstream octa-core, the price/performance comparison actually looks fairly reasonable.

AMD quad-module (eight-core) Piledriver (Vishera) dieAMD quad-module (eight-core) Piledriver (Vishera) die, as found inside the FX-9590. Each of the blue blocks is two cores ( One thing to keep in mind if you're considering the FX-9590, however, is that the 220W TDP is no joke. Unless you've got water cooling or better, don't expect to see any overclocking headroom either -- the chip is already running right at the frequency limit. (Also, make sure your motherboard is formally rated to handle the chip.)

New CPU cores to flesh out the 95W segment

The next major announcement from Chimpzilla today is the debut of multiple new Piledriver-based CPUs. The FX-8370, FX-8370E, and FX-8320E are new 125W and 95W processors that fill a longstanding hole in AMD's product mix. Up until now, virtually all the FX-8xxx processors and most of the hexa-core models were all 125W TDP parts. If you own a high end board, that's not a problem -- an Asus Crosshair V or high-end model from Gigabyte or MSI can handle 125W of TDP or more without breaking a sweat.

FX-Lineup

Midrange models, however, often have a 95W limit, which means AMD was effectively locked out of offering these users an upgrade path. Now, AMD is obviating that restriction with 95W eight-core parts with low base clocks but relatively high Turbo modes. Testing suggests that under sustained load, the 95W FX-8370E will drop to 10-15% behind the 125W FX-8370 -- but if you're currently stuck on 4-6 cores and needing more threads, the benefits may be worth it.

A few days ago, in the discussion thread for our Haswell-E coverage, I opined that the FX-8350's relatively high price still made it a tough sell compared to some of Intel's products in the same price segment. Now, AMD is launching the FX-8320 -- a 95W CPU that trades 7.5% worth of CPU clock for a 27% price cut. As bargains go, that's a good one.

New launches marred by benchmark shenanigans

Unfortunately, AMD apparently didn't think new, power-conserving CPUs and dramatic price cuts were good enough news on their own -- the company had to go and deliberately tilt its performance deck.

Shenanigans

First, a word about manufacturer-provided benchmarks. The benchmark values that a company drops into its marketing presentations are obviously going to paint the hardware in a positive light -- but most companies have learned that shoving overtly one-sided test results at a member of the press doesn't go over well in the short or long term. Thus, companies will typically go to great pains to assure reviewers that the hardware and operating system of a rig are well-configured and neutrally positioned.

This time around, AMD has opted for something different. When it compares gaming performance between Intel and AMD platforms, multiple slides show an AMD CPU and R9 285 GPU squaring off against an Intel chip and an Nvidia GTX 760. The problem with this is simple -- the R9 285 is designed to beat the GTX 760 -- and at the resolutions AMD is testing, games are almost entirely GPU bound in any case. A year ago, when we compared gaming on the FX-9590 versus the Core i7-4960X, the AMD system held its own fairly well.

Is this a huge, earthshaking problem? No. But it's frustrating enough to call attention to. Deliberately comparing two different GPUs is apples and oranges, particularly when you're arming your hardware with the better ammo.

AMD roadmap

Improving around the edges

Ultimately, these new cores and price shifts are both an attempt to improve the attractiveness of AMD's product portfolio by putting octa-core chips in the hands of more users and a stopgap measure designed to hold the line until new cores are available at some future date.

When that date will be is anyone's guess. AMD has no public plans to release an eight-core Kaveri and what roadmaps exist show the FX family continuing in its present form through the end of 2014. There's always a chance that could change, but it seems more likely that AMD will wait for 2016 and the fruits of its CPU design efforts before making any major shakeups.

Tagged In

Cpu Components Piledriver Fx-8370 AMD

More from Computing

Subscribe Today to get the latest ExtremeTech news delivered right to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of use(Opens in a new window) and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time.
Thanks for Signing Up