NOTE:- The views and opinions expressed by Connell below are entirely his own and in no way are representative of CCL or AMD. At this point no information has been confirmed regarding the release of any new AMD products.
AMD have recently fallen quiet as to when we can expect their upcoming CPU release as well as what we should really expect from them. There have been some leaks and teasers from various places so we know some things are going on but it would be nice to hear something official. The following will be both what I predict to see from Bulldozer (based on some of the information we have seen) and partly what I’d like to see happen. I must state, this is speculation on my part so could be way off of the mark though I’d hope that wasn’t the case.
We already know that AMD is bringing back their FX branding and that for the greatest compatibility and performance you will require an AM3+ motherboard. It has been said that an FX chip will physically fit in an AM3 socket but whether they will officially work and be worthwhile is, as far as I know, yet to be confirmed or denied. This would be great to see as it’s something AMD has been doing for a while so provides a good case for people to upgrade without having to buy a new motherboard. Not only does it mean people are more likely to stick with AMD’s products, it can sometimes mean they’re happier to buy into something because they know it will have a future. To avoid confusion and make them easier to recognise, AM3+ sockets are black. Despite AMD making a new chipset (the 9xx series) for AM3+, motherboard vendors are shipping 8xx and some 7xx series boards with AM3+ sockets. I would guess this to mean future BIOS updates will allow compatibility but don’t know for sure.
It was recently announced that the FX-8150 had beaten and is now the new world record holder for overclocking. Hitting a staggering 8.429GHz with the help of some extreme cooling methods and with the news that all FX chips have an unlocked multiplier, it sounds as though overclockers will love Bulldozer. Other than the FX-8150 being an 8-core CPU with 8MB of L3 cache, we don’t really know much more. It’s thought that the stock speed will be 3.6GHz with the CPU having a 125W TDP. With an expected price of just over £200 (inc. VAT), the FX-8150 is looking to be set to compete with Intel’s i7-2600K. A leak did show the FX-8150 as being able to compete with the 2600K and happily beating the 2500K so this could bode well for the future.
As to other chips in AMD’s Bulldozer line up, we’ve not heard much more. The expectations are to have a few SKUs covering 8 cores with varying clocks speeds, 6 cores with varying clock speeds and the lowest end Bulldozer chips to be quad core. It would make sense for the hex core CPUs to be of a similar price to the AM3 Phenom II x6 CPUs currently on the market which would peg them in the £150 region. Similarly, I’d expect the quad core incarnations to fall around the £100 mark as that is where the Phenom II x4 CPUs sit. In terms of performance, I’d hope for these chips to comfortably beat their Phenom II counterparts, giving Intel greater competition and the end user better value for money.
Overall, I’d quite like to see AMD do really well with Bulldozer and make some ground back on Intel. I am by no means faithful to one brand or another but it seems Intel and AMD take it in turns for who leads. AMD had it in the Athlon 64 days but lost it when Intel’s socket 775 CPUs made a show. Since then Intel have fairly happily sat with the performance crown and therefore the enthusiast market while AMD have been in the lower end with some excellent bang per buck offerings. In my opinion, it’s about time the underdog came back to show their worth and hopefully Bulldozer is the beginning of that.
