FRONTPAGE AMD FX-8150 - Bulldozer - Processor Review

Badbonji · Oct 13, 2011

mjw21a said:
Did you check out the Toms Hardware Guide review? TDP issue will mostly be resolved with Windows 8.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-8150-zambezi-bulldozer-990fx,3043-23.html

You say resolved, but when under full load it will still use the same power in Windows 7 or Windows 8. The only benefit I see here is core parking, which even then only saves roughly a couple of watts per module (8W lower for 3 modules parked). Not sure how it will be able to reduce the usage to anywhere near Sandy Bridge though.

Also, instead of parking a module (which I guess is simpler ) where both cores within that module are disabled, wouldn't it make more sense to disable one core per module in lightly threaded tasks?
So for the 8150 loaded with 4 threads, this would mean instead of losing 2 FPUs by shutting down 2 entire modules it would stop the sharing of the FPU between cores and each core would have their own like a normal quad core.

elari20 · Oct 13, 2011

Very dissapointed and s(m)ad ...

I told many of my friends to wait with the upgrades till BD hits the market. And now you give me THIS???

2600K, here I come.

Gautam · Oct 13, 2011

EarthDog said:
Can you explain how a smaller process, that usually uses less power, can be blamed on the fab plant?

Archer0915 said:
Could just be a leaky chip revision and that is why all the heat and the ability to take the volts.

No fab would willingly attempt to produce a leaky chip (except for some very rare cases like the TWKR...which I believe were simply binned for and not specifically made)

I don't have time to elaborate atm, but keeping all things constant (including voltage), a die shrink will lead to increased power. The reason that it usually does not is that AMD and Intel generally decrease voltage along with process technology nodes. This isn't quite the case with BD.

However, I'd mostly pin the massive power draw on the sheer size of the chip.

hokiealumnus · Oct 13, 2011

I'm not sure if someone posted this link already or not (apologies if so), but it seems a new BIOS has enabled turning individual cores on & off. It also comes with some very interesting results, which are posted @ XS. This is similar to what Dolk had me attempting to do from Windows by isolating the FP cores. Based on that it looks like the scheduler needs a bit of work. If AMD could get Windows + the CPU to properly assign loads, FX could actually show a marked improvement in lighter-threaded loads.

EarthDog · Oct 13, 2011

Thats certainly good news. I didnt read the link (yet) but will these scheduler changes hit W7 or will we have to wait for W8?

3line · Oct 13, 2011

Well, I was never personally impressed with the AMD hype machine. I said this in the rumors thread after I saw the power draw on the ES (jesus christ).

You don't just leapfrog back into relevance after being buried, performance-wise AND efficiency-wise by the industry leader ever Since core 2. To be honest, I am a bit disappointed, as I had thought that this thing would at least be a decent drop-in replacement for my phenom II.

I voted a 3.

trents · Oct 13, 2011

Well, I guess we know now why there were so many delays in the BD release. There were engineering problems from the get go and still really wasn't ready for release when it finally was.

Archer0915 · Oct 13, 2011

So from what I see in those tests the cache is what is causing the hit when the module has both cores active. Wow I feel vindicated. I went out on a limb when I called that with no backup.

manu2b · Oct 13, 2011

trents said:
Well, I guess we know now why there were so many delays in the BD release. There were engineering problems from the get go and still really wasn't ready for release when it finally was.

I wonder what is worse: releasing a somehow "weak" cpu, or just cancel and launch PD when ready?

Archer0915 · Oct 13, 2011

What I feel is really bad, sad and sickening about this entire situation is the "Wait for win 8 to fix the cache deficencies". Hell now MS not only has to deal with their own crap but they have to patch and SP for a damn CPU.

Alll I have to say is "WE" the Enthusiast community hyped this more than AMD ever thought about doing.

hokiealumnus · Oct 13, 2011

They couldn't have cancelled this if they wanted to. Too much time & money went into designing it. Their only saving grace was price. At $245, it's not a bad chip. At $280 it's just not worth it.

Archer0915 · Oct 13, 2011

hokiealumnus said:
They couldn't have cancelled this if they wanted to. Too much time & money went into designing it. Their only saving grace was price. At $245, it's not a bad chip. At $280 it's just not worth it.

The arch. is awesome. The cache algorithm and cache sharing seem weak. I would think that there could be a cache optimization in the very near future.

manu2b · Oct 13, 2011

hokiealumnus said:
They couldn't have cancelled this if they wanted to. Too much time & money went into designing it. Their only saving grace was price. At $245, it's not a bad chip. At $280 it's just not worth it.

Well, cost in PR and marketing.
If I am not wrong, PD is on the same train as BD for R&D. Which would imply that either time and money invested in BD are not not wasted.

Archer0915 · Oct 13, 2011

manu2b said:
Well, cost in PR and marketing.
If I am not wrong, PD is on the same train as BD for R&D. Which would imply that either time and money invested in BD are not not wasted.

Yeah this can be a good thing. AMD had released a good product that will get the job done. It was a leap and has some deficencies but it is in no way a crap CPU. It will get the job done and many of us see the potential for the future as you seem to.

Hey is there a review in media/home servers yet?

manu2b · Oct 13, 2011

Archer0915 said:
Yeah this can be a good thing. AMD had released a good product that will get the job done. It was a leap and has some deficencies but it is in no way a crap CPU. It will get the job done and many of us see the potential for the future as you seem to.

Hey is there a review in media/home servers yet?

And you know what ARcher? After the instant disapointment, I wonder if I won't upgrade my PhII to a 8150 finally...

Archer0915 · Oct 13, 2011

manu2b said:
And you know what ARcher? After the instant disapointment, I wonder if I won't upgrade my PhII to a 8150 finally...

Well considering there is alot of unrealized potential in the design that has not yet (may not be) been tapped I can not see what it would hurt. I have bought plenty of things to play with and this is no diffrent.

manu2b · Oct 13, 2011

I just wait a bit, expecting a price drop in both CPU and Mobo.

PolRoger · Oct 13, 2011

hokiealumnus said:
They couldn't have cancelled this if they wanted to. Too much time & money went into designing it. Their only saving grace was price. At $245, it's not a bad chip. At $280 it's just not worth it.

Maybe more like...

8150 ~ $200/$225
8130 ~ $175/$200

I'm kind of expecting Intel to slot in their announced i7-2700K sku at the current 2600K price and then bump down the price of the 2600K/2500K to keep pressure on AMD.

Archer0915 · Oct 13, 2011

PolRoger said:
Maybe more like...

8150 ~ $200/$225
8130 ~ $175/$200

I'm kind of expecting Intel to slot in their announced i7-2700K sku at the current 2600K price and then bump down the price of the 2600K/2500K to keep pressure on AMD.

Why? At this point PPL will pay more for the Intel processors.

manu2b · Oct 13, 2011

Yep, at this price range, I would get a combo 8150+mobo+7970 as soon as the gfx card is out.

FRONTPAGE AMD FX-8150 - Bulldozer - Processor Review

How happy are you with AMD FX-8150 price/performance?

1 (What a disappointment)

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 (Everything I hoped for)

Member

Member

Senior Benchmark Addict

Water Cooled Moderator

Gulper Nozzle Co-Owner

Member

Senior Member

"The Expert"

Member

"The Expert"

Water Cooled Moderator

"The Expert"

Member

"The Expert"

Member

"The Expert"

Member

Member

"The Expert"

Member

Similar threads