Eight-core FX-8300 processor: specifications, reviews

Uniquely the world's first processors, which have 8 physical cores on one crystal, attracted the attention of all potential buyers. Is an eight-monster worth 10,000 rubles capable of removing all its competitors from the computer market? In this article, the reader will get acquainted with one of AMD products , the FX-8300 processor . Characteristics, reviews of owners and professionals will help the buyer to understand whether he needs a multi-core crystal.

Eyes of the manufacturer

At the first acquaintance with the processor, there are too many questions for unprepared users. The presence of eight cores on one chip and the positioning in the budget class of the AMD FX-8300 product, the price of which does not exceed 10 thousand rubles, will unambiguously mislead the buyer. After all, the same representative of Intel with 8 cores (4 physical cores and 4 virtual cores) costs 3 times more expensive in the computer market. Only this argument is enough to understand what is happening in the market marketing war, started by AMD.

Many IT professionals say that at least 100 cores can be placed on a single chip, but in fact, the result of the processor will in the end be determined not by quantitative criteria, but by testing in real conditions (everyday programs and games).

Specifications

A representative of the new generation, the FX-8300 processor is built using 32-nanometer technology, has a low heat dissipation (95 watts versus 125 watts in the old generation of multi-core chips) and is designed for installation on the AM3 plus platform. However, fans of overclocking will be interested to know that with an insignificant increase in the frequency of the cores, not only power consumption, but also the release of dissipated power sharply increases. The manufacturer has appropriated the novelty code name Vishera (Buldozer somehow was more consonant with high productivity).

One crystal has a three-level caching system, as it is implemented in all powerful processors, but AMD technology managed to cunning here. The first level cache is 384 KB. Moreover, this volume is not distributed equally on each core, but is added between four pairs of cores. The second level cache, which has a total capacity of 8 MB, works on the same principle. With L3, there are no problems - it is common for all cores and is 8 MB.

Support of modern technologies

Crystal FX-8300 Black Edition at the hardware and software level can work with 64-bit platforms. It's only on the central processor with such powerful features that there is no graphics core. But with support for RAM, the crystal has the full order - a DDR3 chip of any size (128 gigabytes, in total) operating at any frequency and even with a hardware-implemented function of ECC. Many professionals in their reviews claim that this symbiosis of AMD products with RAM is always lacking for Intel processors.

The presence of standard instructions supported by the crystal does not surprise anyone, only it is worth focusing on the possibilities of hardware AES encryption and creating virtual environments. Surface, without conducting tests, everything looks pretty attractive - worthy physical data and full support of all modern technologies.

Acquaintance with a representative

The manufacturer made the right move towards customers when it provided the market with two processor modifications: the BOX and the no-cooler model FX-8300 OEM. The fact is that this crystal is acquired by many game lovers in order to further increase the performance by overclocking. Accordingly, the standard cooling system is replaced by a more serious analog, which maintains a heat package within 95-150 watts of dissipated power.

A boxed copy does not differ from other AMD processors. All the same huge box, made in dark (red-black color) or light (red-white shade) tones. Inside, in addition to the crystal and cooler, there is a branded AMD sticker, thermal paste and a lot of waste paper from the manufacturer.

Recommendations for choosing a cooling system for overclocking the processor

Choose the desired cooler for the eight-core crystal will not make any problems for any owner, because to determine the range of heat dissipation (up to 150 watts) can be any user. However, it is at this stage that many buyers admit their first critical error. For the FX-8300 processor, the overclocking of which is in priority, a very expensive cooling system is purchased. Sometimes the price of the cooler is 50-100% of the cost of the crystal. After all, this amount could be logically spent on a more powerful processor.

Professionals in their reviews recommend not to follow the recommendations of interested sellers and when buying a cooler, limit the budget not exceeding 20% of the cost of the processor. The following inexpensive cooling systems have proved to be successful: Zalman CNPS5X, Arctic Freezer 7 Pro, DeepCool Gammaxx 300 and Scytle Katana.

Fans of thrill

Having studied the FX-8300 processor by review, many newcomers will immediately rush to compare performance with the Intel equivalent. It's clear that this will be the flagship of Core I7. The use of synthetic tests will lead the user to the idea that the novelty from AMD is quite competitive. The delay from the top representative of Intel is about 20%. Reduce the discrepancy helps overclock the AMD chip.

In the testing of resource-intensive games, the FX-8300 processor is not enough to overclock to approach the performance of Intel's flagship. Test toys "Alien vs. Predator" and "Metro 2033" demonstrate the clear superiority of Core I7. Comparison of two eight-core processors in programs for encoding and processing video, as well as in 3D-modeling is out of the question. A representative of AMD simply surrenders its positions, demonstrating very low rates (20-30%).

Fight in the price category

For the FX-8300 processor, it's better to perform a performance test with devices from a similar class, rather than chasing the number of cores. In the budget segment, there are many representatives of the 4th generation, labeled Core I3. True, they are equipped with only two physical cores and have a smaller cache.

In synthetic tests, any Core I3 processor does not have a single chance against FX-8300. The representative of Intel simply surrenders all positions, both in independent work, and in symbiosis with RAM and video adapter. However, the situation is corrected in experiments with real applications and games. It would seem that 2 cores vs 8, the gap should be 4 times. But the representative Core I3 inferior to the opponent only 15-20% in performance. And when it comes to 3D modeling and video encoding, the AMD representative simply turns out to be a loser, and no overclocking of frequencies can fix the situation.

Recommendations for increasing productivity

Many owners of FX-8300 processors, overclocking which was a priority at purchase, managed to find out a strange feature: in this same budget class there are no motherboards supporting the increase in the core frequency and able to work with raising the voltage on the chip. The necessary systems for overclocking are in an expensive gaming class and have an appropriate cost (15-20 thousand rubles). Naturally, many potential buyers want to acquire a multi-core processor for overclocking.

Professionals recommend looking for motherboards in the budget class, which have support for processors up to 4.5 GHz and are able to expose a multiplier for cores. This data is enough to disperse the crystal at home. The main thing here is to pay attention to the computer case. A large amount of heat from the processor should be very effectively removed from the system unit.

About end-users

Many readers from the above review have already realized that the FX-8300 processor in the budget class and with 8 cores is another marketing move by AMD, which, instead of improving its own technologies, is trying to remove its rival Intel from the market. However, not everything is as bad as it seems at first glance.

Inexpensive eight-core representative will be interesting, first of all, to all fans of resource-intensive dynamic games. As the tests show, the processor is still capable of processing a large data stream. Do not forget about the support of fast DDR3 memory modules, because any game directly depends on the symbiosis of the crystal, RAM, video card and hard drive in the system. Accordingly, by selecting the right components, the player can significantly improve the performance of his system.

Finally

The beauty of AMD products in the computer parts market is that on one motherboard for several decades several generations of processors can accommodate. What can not be said about the products of Intel - every generation of crystals requires the purchase of a new motherboard. Naturally, the FX-8300 processor will be interesting first of all to those customers who decided to upgrade. Feedback from professionals in the media assure that this will be the most effective and inexpensive solution for the user.

If it is a question of acquiring a new computer assembly, then before buying it is necessary to make a list of tasks for which a processor is purchased. For home use, work with multimedia and resource-intensive games, the purchase of FX-8300 will be advisable. In other cases, preference is best given to representatives of Intel.