FRONTPAGE AMD FX-8150 - Bulldozer - Processor Review

[manu2b]

As long as the drivers work
(I personally have had only a few issues with ATI cards and/or their drivers though, just speaking from others' experiences).

Never happened to me... But I am back in the computer world for only one year lol!
Have a 6950 unlocked with 20%OC and a 5830 with 20%OC as well, and they run really fine.

 

[Archer0915]

Let us not forget one thing; though this was anticlimactic it was really only made that way by the people looking forward to this processor and pumping themselves up.

The BD is great for a new build and will be equivalent in most things that you can see. Until more time consuming tests are done we will not get the big (complete) picture.

Hokie great job and I have one question for you. How does it feel? The AthII x4 felt faster than the PhII x4 in normal usage and you could feel the snap, though it was just off the line.

Dolk: What is your opinion of the cache system? I have noticed some tests that are better with no L3 on the PhII CPU and was wondering if this may have similar issues due to the design. That is why I suggested bogging this down and seeing it work. It could be a multitasking monster.

 

[Brolloks]

Still want to know how load temps compare with the 2600 k at same clock speeds?, given the power package id say the FX must run damn hot

 

[manu2b]

Let us not forget one thing; though this was anticlimactic it was really only made that way by the people looking forward to this processor and pumping themselves up.

Archer, you forgot that:

Quote:
Originally Posted by JF-AMD View Post

IPC will be higher
Single threaded performance will be higher

That is all we can say at this point.

And that:

!

So? How will we handle this much power?

 

[madhatter256]

Someone put some of these CPUs under bigadv folding and see what kind of points they get!!!

Just read the first few posts

 

[HankB]

Whereas we had been hoping for a home run, I think AMD has provided a base hit. I think there's enough there to keep them in business, particularly if they can provide a cost/performance benefit vs. Intel. (*)

I'm skeptical that the integrated GPU can do anything to prop up FPU performance either. Consider that in the state of the art (CUDA, OpenCL), it is required to have specialized S/W to perform processing on the GPU. It seems like a pretty big jump to have the processor itself shift instructions over to the GPU. A more likely scenario is that an intelligent compiler could optimize for these units by identifying segments of code that could be executed by the GPU and producing binaries that would move data and code to the GPU and collect the result when finished. Even that seems like quite a stretch since GPU programming is significantly different from CPU programming.

(*) It seems like AMD has priced the BD to compete on a cost/performance basis with SB. That works for buyers who will compare shelf price between PCs. However the power consumption can negate the initial price benefit due to the cost of electricity to drive the CPU. For server farms, that may also require additional energy for cooling and perhaps even additional cooling. I'm sitting here with a 4 core + GPU system dumping exhaust heat on my leg. On mornings like today (54° F/12° C) that's not a big issue. When the temperature gets near the point where I need to consider A/C, the heat put out by the system makes a pretty big difference in room temperature. In fact, during the summer I cut way back on crunching to moderate this effect. If I had to choose a system today, I would lean towards Intel which would make it my first Intel system since I ran Pentium Pros.

Edit: Another consideration is the compiler used in the benchmarks. Windows benchmarks are most likely compiled using Microsoft's or Intel's compiler. In particular, Intel's compiler has a strong reputation for maximizing performance on Intel chips (and perhaps hobbling AMD chips...) I see that AMD has also produced a compiler that no doubt optimizes code for their processors. I wonder how binaries compiled with the AMD compiler and executed on AMD systems compare with binaries compiled with the Intel compiler and run on AMD and Intel processors. Potential benefit for Windows users seems limited but if you're running something like Gentoo Linux where you compile all binaries to begin with, there is potential for significant benefit.

 

[madhatter256]

I had promised folding results to Shelnutt2, but they couldn't make the review. So, they will be posted in the first post!

Regular SMP work unit - 13698.9ppd

Bigadv work unit - 13859.2ppd

So between 13,500 and 14,000 at stock, which is right where it's positioned - around the PPD of a 2500K.

So, for hte bigadv, that's about a 50minute TPF... My i7 930 was getting 55TPF @3.5ghz....


I have yet to read the rest of the pages to see if you posted up stable overclocks and bigadv folding... so i hope it scales much better...

 

[Neuromancer]

Nice write up again Hokie!

I am disappointed in the power consumption department, it is about twice what I expected. I am glad though that this thuban I just picked up still has some life left in it, and will probably be passing this first gen BD and wait for the refresh.

Not worried about the performance aspect so much, we all know Intel rocks at running old code. But AMD has to build for what people want and that is by and large performance.

It just sucks they did so at the cost of perf per watt.


Okay just found a more reputable source for power consumption (no offense [H])
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4955/the-bulldozer-review-amd-fx8150-tested/9

10W higher than Sandy B / 30W lower than previous AMD chips at idle.

230W at load though is significantly higher then even Thuban.

 

[Dolk]

Holy blah, I went to bed with only 4 pages, now there is 9 in a single night? No way am I sifting through all this.

@archer - The L3 cache is interesting. Each one of the blocks has to hold the memory of the other blocks. This helps in that a module does not have to wait in line to access the L3 cache. The bad thing is that all the L3 cache's must be updated all the time. This can cause miss hits in the execution rather than read delay. Depending on how big the penalties, AMD chose between these two and probably saw that miss hits cause the least amount of penalties.

 

[Archer0915]

Archer, you forgot that:

Quote:
Originally Posted by JF-AMD View Post

IPC will be higher
Single threaded performance will be higher

That is all we can say at this point.

And that:

!

So? How will we handle this much power?

Spin and hype; companies and politicians do it all the time and PPL buy into it. PPL are peed because they went out and spent money on a board for this CPU and expected a killer. Well the CPU is fine and good for the price as well.

All I have to say is I remember the days of the K6/K6-2/3/+ and in magazines and in adds benches showed the K6 beating the PII. Well it never really happened. I knew the score and I never had a PII because they were overpriced IMHO.

Today it is a little different and the price field is about level and it is all about performance.

 

[capttripppp]

I put a post on FB to AMD about the lack of supply, so far no response

 

[manu2b]

Well the CPU is fine and good for the price as well.

Do you really think the price is fine? Here in Europe, it is €249... 2600k is €279 and 2500k €195.

That's not nice! Who would buy a BD? If you need a heavy multi thread cpu, it is because you make money out of your rig (I think, but might be wrong), and it will be a 2/3 years investment.
In this case you don't buy a BD, you go for a "real" 8 core cpu. IMHO...

 

[mxthunder]

Tiger direct has them for $260.

I will not be buying. Will wait a while and see if they come out with a 8170, etc, or wait for this "piledriver"

 

[MattNo5ss]

Meh

The product doesn’t outright fail, but it doesn’t quite do the job properly. This is typically a product with mediocre performance, a poor price/performance ratio or a product that is a little behind the times. Alternatively, it could be a product marketed at overclockers that doesn’t overclock well at all. Better alternatives likely exist at a similar price, making the product difficult to recommend. It won’t set your PC on fire, but it’s just not as good as other products in the same market segment.

Approved

The product performs well at stock and at overclocking, for modding, etc. where relevant. It isn’t necessarily the best of its type, but it performs well enough that we could recommend it with a clear conscience.

It looks like FX is on the fence of our Meh and Approved rating. I highlighted what I think is related to Bulldozer.

I'm disappointed in performance after all the hype, as many other people. Performance is okay, but the power consumption to get that "okay" performance is huge... I will not be buying one... with the 2500K $50 cheaper for about the same performance, the 2600K only $50-65 more for better performance, and the MUCH better performance per watt of Intel, it would be hard for me to suggest a FX CPU to someone too.

 

[Archer0915]

Do you really think the price is fine? ... ...In this case you don't buy a BD, you go for a "real" 8 core cpu. IMHO...

Yes I think the performance is good (not great) and it does offer up competition so the price is fair. Forget about us, here, and read my sig.

We have not yet seen what they can do under extreme conditions either.

Dont forget ppl bought the P4 when the Athlon was crushing it. We are not the mass market and PPL buy what they are told is good and what gets the pretty packaging.

 

[Theocnoob]

Spin and hype; companies and politicians do it all the time

They have a right to spin and hype, but I mean... come on.
It's one thing to say 'our new stuff is coming soon and it's going to be great'. But if you actually hire the "This summer!/Coming soon from the director of..." guy to do the voice over... one has flashbacks to being blown away by T2 and Jurassic Park and The Matrix.

We were promised this:

And we got this:

 

[EarthDog]

It looks like FX is on the fence of our Meh and Approved rating. I highlighted what I think is related to Bulldozer.

I'm disappointed in performance after all the hype, as many other people. Performance is okay, but the power consumption to get that "okay" performance is huge... I will not be buying one... with the 2500K $50 cheaper for about the same performance, the 2600K only $50-65 more for better performance, and the MUCH better performance per watt of Intel, it would be hard for me to suggest a FX CPU to someone too.

I wonder if a certain, no longer a member here, just rolled over in his 'grave'...

 

[Archer0915]

They have a right to spin and hype, but I mean... come on.
It's one thing to say 'our new stuff is coming soon and it's going to be great'. But if you actually hire the "This summer!/Coming soon from the director of..." guy to do the voice over... one has flashbacks to being blown away by T2 and Jurassic Park and The Matrix.

We were promised this:

And we got this:

Sadly we will not be the final judge. PPL who think a benchmark is a stain on a bench will be the deciders.

We should know better and if I had not had to pick this intel system up for some work and testing I did I may have also bought a board for BD.

 

[capttripppp]

We were promised this:

And we got this:

Ha, the lego version was pretty good though

 

[manu2b]

Dont forget ppl bought the P4 when the Athlon was crushing it. We are not the mass market and PPL buy what they are told is good and what gets the pretty packaging.

Exactly, and PPL are told to buy Intel.
I had quite a few laugh since this morning, but inside I am sorry.
Sorry because why would OEM builders put AMD in their "mainstream" rigs as Intel does better? PhII is sooner than later EOL. i3 and i5 are cheap and perfectly match most of the people needs and have Intel branding.
Pro users will go to Intel for real multi core.
Big companies will go Intel servers: have you seen the power consumption of these 8150? I doubt that server versions of the chip will be much better and when you go to TCO, that counts A LOT.
So yes, I am sorry to see no competition.
Somehow, I hope PPL will be fooled by AMD commercials and buy FX chips, but as you stated, PPL buy what they are told...

EDIT: If I were loaded, I would have bought one, for the fun of overclocking it and to support AMD. But I am not, and go for the best bang for the bucks