AMD Launches New FX CPUs, Cuts Prices On Existing Processors

In monitoring the power draw while building the Linux kernel, the FX-8370E had an average system power draw of 176 Watts while the FX-8370 came in at 227 Watts, again it ended up being similar to the Core i7 4960X in terms of power draw while the FX-8370E was coming in a little higher than the i7 4770K.

Here's the system power numbers when the Phoronix Test Suite was monitoring the power levels with the WattsUp Pro power meter for a wide assortment of tests. The FX-8370E had an average power draw for the entire system of around 161 Watts while the FX-8370 came in at just under 200 Watts. The FX-8370 power consumption was comparable to the Core i7 4970X Ivy Bridge EE. Of all the systems tested, the FX-9590 by far was going through the most power.

Most of you seeing today's announcement of "new FX CPUs" were probably hoping that AMD moved on from their Piledriver-based architecture and had new processors based on Steamroller to better compete with Intel's Haswell processors. (Or if you were really optimistic, that they already had Excavator ready to go.) Unfortunately, the new FX CPUs don't offer any drastic changes; as indicated by these source-based benchmarks, the FX CPUs have a tough time competing against the Intel CPUs in raw performance terms. The FX-8370E/FX-8370 were commonly performing around the speed of a Core i5 4670 -- but there were plenty exceptions for better and worse. On the power consumption/efficiency front, there's nothing special when pitting the Vishera CPUs against Haswell processors.

While performance junkies will still be better off with the higher-end Core i5 and Core i7 Haswell processors from Intel, where AMD is now better competing with their FX line-up is on the pricing front. The FX-8370/FX-8370E will set you back starting today for about $199 USD while the Core i5 4670 for instance is still retailing for close to $220 and the Core i7 4770K for $330.

Besides introducing these new mid-range FX-Series CPUs, AMD also slashed the prices on existing models as covered at the start of this article. The FX-9590 is reduced in price by nearly $100 to now carry a price of just $226 for AMD's top-end desktop processor (or $290 for the retail model with closed-loop Cooler Master Seidon 120 water cooler). The FX-9590 with its eight-core 5.0GHz turbo frequency would be great for many Linux users at the mid-$200 price level had it not be for the 220 Watt TDP (and possibly related to that, a few odd performance issues noted in this article). On the bottom end, the FX-8320/FX-8320E processor is selling for just $147.

Stay tuned for more AMD FX Series Linux benchmarks on Phoronix as I continue running additional tests, trying other compilers / optimization levels for these built-from-source benchmarks, running some fresh AMD Linux gaming benchmarks, overclocking these new processors, and looking at a variety of other perspectives. Thanks to AMD supplying these review samples to Phoronix in advance of today's launch. If you have other Linux test requests with this new AMD hardware, let me know on Twitter.