Just installed a AMD FX 8350. My thoughts!!!

[tweakboy]

So I just helped a friend build a rig for him. He wanted the top of the line AMD processor, which is the FX-8350 Piledriver.

He also bought a EVGA GeForce GTX 680 and 32GB RAM and Samsung 2400Mhz RAM and well he works, so hes got money.. he goes I don't care what the total cost is. a 700w psu and a high full tower case.

Wait a minute! I know I forgot something and a 512GB Sammy 840 Pro which is a nice 600 dollars.

the 830 used to be 700 few month ago and 1200k when it first came out LOL

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>What does tweakboy think. We build the system, hes better at hardware work more technical , I was gonna setup the rig and test it right away with BF3 and Crysis 3 he bought. I sat in front of it put in a copy of Windows 8 Pro clean install. It took a really long time, and don't get frustrated when it reboots and takes like 2 minutes then boots up and just overall it was a long install. Then I was welcomed with the new Metro style personalization screen and options for OS... Then I installed official WHQL nVidias for 8. Installed some mouse software and that is when I installed BF3 and Crysis 3 for him. I then launched them both and played them both the way I would with 7 ..... like same settings....... It ran flawless, keep in mind 8 physical cores and 32GB RAM and SSD and 690 not OCed.

The processor was set to 4.2Ghz ram @ 2400Mhz SPD

I noticed the games folder opened faster in explorer then I launched BF3 and it launched much quicker, maps loaded very fast. The games ran flawless @ 1080p 16xAA 16XAF high quality vsync on. In game Ultra high detail. AVG FPS. really it wouldn't dip below 60fps so I don't know what to say, couple times in heavy moments with 20 player server it would go to 54FPS but for 0.5 seconds literally and shoot back up.

Soo as you can see this new Bulldozer can run games like a champ. NO BOTTLENECK at all... yes single thread is slower then Intel but 8 cores kinda makes up for it. So gaming experience IMO was very smooth, not a single jerk, maps loaded quicker , game launched faster,,,

Application.

I installed Adobe Premire next because thats his job lol, I insatlled it and launched it,,,,, It launched 4 seconds quicker then my dads Sandy 2600k SSD. The app felt smoother then my dads Sandy Premiere rig. We edited a video and compared it to my dads rig Video Rendering in a 20 minutes video with some effects.

Dads Sandy 2600k 4.2Ghz SSD Win7

Took my dads rig about 1 minute.

Took my friends new Bulldozer rig 40 seconds.

That is my tweaboy review. thanks

 

[inf64]

Thanks for your report tweakboy. I guess now you will catch a lot of flak for reporting smooth gameplay with FX8350 now that "all know i3 smokes it in games"....

I'm sarcastic of course . FX8350 is one fast CPU no doubt about it.It can run games great but more importantly it runs professional workloads even better . So I wish your friend nice productive time with his new rig.

 

[bononos]

Thanks for your report tweakboy. I guess now you will catch a lot of flak for reporting smooth gameplay with FX8350 now that "all know i3 smokes it in games"....

......

It seems to me that your comment had something to do with this thread.

I have no doubt that the 8350 would do well in games. The issue is in that thread was bang/buck in gaming with no oc'ing. Not about living in the boonies and not having access to PD (6300), oc'ing, transcoding, heavily multithreaded apps etc.

 

[GreenChile]

I hope you weren't one of those guys back in the late P4 days bashing people who decided their Prescott was good enough for a gaming rig.

Of course the 8350 will run games smoothly (Edit: with a GTX680). The fact still remains that even a 2500K will be faster in most games, use less power, cost roughly the same to build, cost less in utility bills.

So what's your point again?

 

[WiseUp216]

There you have it, folks. Concrete data.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I dont doubt that is a great gaming rig. However, BF3 is the single game that BD is equal to or even slightly better than intel. So an interesting observation, but cant really make any conclusions from it IMO.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

I hope you weren't one of those guys back in the late P4 days bashing people who decided their Prescott was good enough for a gaming rig.

Of course the 8350 will run games smoothly (Edit: with a GTX680). The fact still remains that even a 2500K will be faster in most games, use less power, cost roughly the same to build, cost less in utility bills.

So what's your point again?

"well he works, so hes got money"....

 

[grimpr]

I like tweakboys post because it gives an average users perspective about desktop experience and overall smoothness, many other users say that boot to desktop and launch times is the quickest they ever seen or felt.

 

[notty22]

A new install with a SSD is snappy, I never imagined. Good luck to the new upgrader.

 

[Ferzerp]

A new install with a SSD is snappy, I never imagined. Good luck to the new upgrader.

Some folks are so desperate for positive impressions about AMD that they won't bothering correcting some of the impressions of the, erm, less technically inclined.

Pretty much the bulk of what the original poster is impressed with is related to the $600 SSD installed in the system: boot time, level loading time, etc.

 

[Arkaign]

What a strange choice. The 8350 is a few % faster in a tiny fraction of apps, and the 3770K dominates in almost everything. OC both to reasonable limits and the 3770 runs away completely.

Why would someone with that kind of budget get an 8350? I could understand if it was a budget move, as the 8350 is really priced more around 3570K range. I could see some non-gaming situations where an 8350 might make the better choice there.

 

[SPBHM]

well, if he is buying 32GB of expensive ram, a gtx 680 and $600 SSD, why not go with a 3930k?

 

[Arkaign]

well, if he is buying 32GB of expensive ram, a gtx 680 and $600 SSD, why not go with a 3930k?

Point taken. For pro apps, that whoops the piss out of the 3770, let alone lowly 8350. $$$$ though.

 

[Centauri]

What are you guys talking about? The 3770K is 45%~ more money than the 8350...

 

[Arkaign]

What are you guys talking about? The 3770K is 45%~ more money than the 8350...

To someone who doesn't mind dropping $600 on the SSD alone, I don't think $100ish (less at some vendors) more to get a 3770K is going to break the bank

TBH, judging from the first line in the OP, it sounds like a brand loyalist, the worst possible type of customer. They're the same mouth breathers that bought P4 EEs instead of Athlon 64, or Pentium D instead of Athlon X2 back in the day. Or GF FX instead of 9700/9800, or 2900 instead of 8800. etc.

 

[Arkaign]

Ah, also in the OP :

"he goes I don't care what the total cost is"

 

[Centauri]

Major difference being that AMD vitally needs brand loyalists right now.

Regardless, a true brand loyalist would have bought a Radeon GPU.

 

[Arkaign]

Major difference being that AMD vitally needs brand loyalists right now.

Regardless, a true brand loyalist would have bought a Radeon GPU.

True, that build makes no damn sense to me. 680 is a poor value at present.

The best combo I could come up with at a similar price would be 3770K + 7970GE. It would just flat-out be a better setup.

I don't think the enthusiast market has enough people to make a brand-loyal push worth anything to AMD at this point. AMD needs big vendor wins, and to push harder in mobile.

Being brand-loyal is just a disservice to yourself, nobody at AMD or Intel or any other big corp gives a rats ass about any of us. We're numbers on a sheet at best. The best we can do is get the best we can with the $ we have.

 

[videoclone]

Major difference being that AMD vitally needs brand loyalists right now.

Regardless, a true brand loyalist would have bought a Radeon GPU.

Haha.. yeah thats strange... a AMD CPU yet no AMD GPU? .. haha

 

[Arachnotronic]

I no longer recommend AMD products to friends/family/clients. Intel's just win hard in performance/watt.

With a 3570K @ $219, I see no need for the FX 8350 except in super niche workstation use. In that case, your machine is making you tons of money an you might as well go with a 3770K or, better yet, a 3930K.

 

[soccerballtux]

Long term brand loyalty to AMD IS a service to yourself. Keeps them around, keeps processors cheap for you.

I will continue to buy AMD as long as they keep providing IPC upgrades clock/clock and can play games and do what people use computers for decently.

 

[Arkaign]

Long term brand loyalty to AMD IS a service to yourself. Keeps them around, keeps processors cheap for you.

I will continue to buy AMD as long as they keep providing IPC upgrades clock/clock and can play games and do what people use computers for decently.

I don't really think this is the case.

First, there are not enough brand loyalists to make a dent in the hundreds of millions of dollars that AMD needs to bridge budget gaps.

Second, AMD doesn't keep Intel's prices in check. AMD hasn't had much in the way of credible contenders for desktop CPUs in a pretty good while, and Intel hasn't gone crazy with pricing. Considering inflation, Intel CPUs are actually cheaper than they've usually been historically.

When AMD had the reins to the top for example, during the Athlon X2 era, their CHEAPEST X2 was $300, the 3800+ X2. The rest were priced all the way up to $1000 for the top model, not even an FX chip. Intel still charges $1k for insane chips like the 3960X, but that is literally because there is a miniscule market for chips like that.

I honestly don't think pricing will change if AMD ceased to exist. I don't believe there is any pricing pressure from them at all. I think Intel is basically competing with itself at this point, along with tablet/phone/etc. Intel can't charge those very large prices, as vendors like Dell/HP/Asus would rebel, unable to sell mass-market PCs at prices much beyond $500-$800 at most. This is why, even when the 2600K was new/top dog and kicked the crap out of everything AMD made, that Intel didn't charge more for it.

 

[truckerCLOCK]

If AMD does go out of business.......you poor bastards will have nothing to do. I mean who you gonna bash then?

If a guy wants to build an AMD rig then more power to him.

 

[Arachnotronic]

Long term brand loyalty to AMD IS a service to yourself. Keeps them around, keeps processors cheap for you.

I will continue to buy AMD as long as they keep providing IPC upgrades clock/clock and can play games and do what people use computers for decently.

That's bogus. Intel needs to keep prices reasonable in order to keep people upgrading especially in a weak demand environment.

As consumers, we should not pay for inferior quality products just to try to keep the underdog afloat. Your FX 8350 purchase will not keep AMD from posting more quarterly losses.

 

[geokilla]

So you let him spend all that but then allow him to buy a AMD Bulldozer CPU? What a great friend...