FX 4100

Because it gets outperformed by the quad core Phenoms in nearly all benchmarks and isn't really a true quad core.

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Power consumption isn't that great and it's not a very good performer. The CMT Bulldozer design doesn't scale down very well, and as a result the lack of modules hampers the 1 thing that this design is half-decent at and that's multi-threaded tasks.
 
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pelo is right in every way. although, the only reason I purchased my zambezi is because in all honesty it's an overclocking beast. I have mine @ only 4.2 right now idling at about 7c and 18c under load. I could easily get it to 5Ghz with the koolance cooling block I'm using, but it does everything I need it to do where it's at now. Ive seen the 4100 pulling crazy clock rates under liquid nitrogen. I am also a Phenom II user and would go with that choice over the bulldozer, just from the benchmarks and reviews I have read. I am still learning about the bulldozer architecture so I'm looking forward to more posts.
 
pelo is right in every way. although, the only reason I purchased my zambezi is because in all honesty it's an overclocking beast. I have mine @ only 4.2 right now idling at about 7c and 18c under load.

This is impossible in a 70f room (as in, bends the laws of physics) unless you're using a chiller, a phase change setup, a TEC or magic to cool your cpu.
 
This is impossible in a 70f room (as in, bends the laws of physics) unless you're using a chiller, a phase change setup, a TEC or magic to cool your cpu.
did you take koolance anti-freeze into account while making your physics calculations?

sorry for getting off topic pelo, thank you for the great links
 
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did you take koolance anti-freeze into account while making your physics calculations?

sorry for getting off topic pelo, thank you for the great links

So forgive my stupidity, but aren't you still cooling the water to an ambient temperature through your radiator? How can your radiator get down to 7c at idle? That's like 46 degrees, which is pretty chilly. Even 18c is 64 degrees...
 
here is stock settings before OC 2 days ago. Have a lot of work to do at the moment so no time to put under load with new settings and take screen. nothing to prove and hate getting off topic
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/696/tempfh.png/

Sorry to stay off topic, but I'm curious now. What's in the koolance stuff that makes the water that cold. I thought antifreeze just lowered the freezing point of the water not made it colder.
 
Koolance just calles it anti-freeze. technically its colored water. I believe it would be the radiator that makes it so cold, has nothing to do with the water. do you guys have nothing better to do than just try to find something wrong with others beliefs? ok so I could be wrong, just going by what my software tells me... I'm an A+ cert and none of this is covered in what I know and learned. did you not start somewhere?

@ pelo thank you for the heads up, that must be the case

I mean is that not why I'm here? to learn? thanks guys
 
I wasnt trying to attack you, I was just curious. My llano chips idle at 13c with air cooling, so those temps aren't that hard to believe with water.
 
Koolance just calles it anti-freeze. technically its colored water. I believe it would be the radiator that makes it so cold, has nothing to do with the water. do you guys have nothing better to do than just try to find something wrong with others beliefs? ok so I could be wrong, just going by what my software tells me... I'm an A+ cert and none of this is covered in what I know and learned. did you not start somewhere?

Thats the way this place is dude. I actually like it though. You come in here stating things, youd better make sure its right cause its going to get run thru the ringer.

The upside to this is that if you read something on here, youll know pretty quick if its legit or not. Itll get shredded to the bone if its bogus. Thats why I use this forum for most of my learning. The statements made here get peer reviewed with extreme prejudice! ;)
 
If it makes you feel any better mine is screwed as well :) It's very common with AMD and doesn't affect anything. You can likely push that 4100 close to 5ghz very comfortably with your current setup if you ever feel the need to. With fewer modules it should overclock better and you're cooling seems to be very suitable for it.
 
Thats the way this place is dude. I actually like it though. You come in here stating things, youd better make sure its right cause its going to get run thru the ringer.

The upside to this is that if you read something on here, youll know pretty quick if its legit or not. Itll get shredded to the bone if its bogus. Thats why I use this forum for most of my learning. The statements made here get peer reviewed with extreme prejudice! ;)

+1, thanks man, i agree. I still have a lot to learn, that's why im here

Thanks for the feedback pelo, it's much appreciated. Reading your review links now. Thank god the system im on now is Phenom all the way :p
might see what i can get out of Ubuntu with my 4100 set-up. I'm hearing their developing a steam crossover for linux as we speak... cough* ;)
no more wine for steam games

but really when it comes down to it this is all beneficial to this topic, all in all the 4100 has not given me any trouble whatsoever. Battlefield 3 runs great, even
the lower gfx of MW3 and Deus Ex: HR look great. although I am reading up on the less impressive architecture pretty much as we speak

cheers
 
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Unless you use some sort of chemical coolant that 7C is not possible with a water block/radiator cooling in ambient room temperature (unless the room is 7C or less). If you don't like someone questioning the results too bad...wouldn't u want to hear the truth instead of believing garbage readings? It's well known AMD has wonky cpu temp readings so learn to deal with it.
 
Actually, you'll probably still need WINE. Unless I'm mistaken and Microsoft just became the most amazing corporation on the planet, DX still won't run inherently on Linux without a workaround. So you'll need WINE to play the DX-based games whereas you can run openGL based games from steam with no problems and without the need for WINE.
 
I read on valves site a few weeks ago they are in the process of getting steam and steam games linux ready where you wont need POL or WINE. http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/its-official-steam-coming-linux

as long as they release counter-strike on the linux platform i will be happy

and to stay on topic im sure the 4100 could handle that old game perfectly :)

Unless you use some sort of chemical coolant that 7C is not possible with a water block/radiator cooling in ambient room temperature (unless the room is 7C or less). If you don't like someone questioning the results too bad...wouldn't u want to hear the truth instead of believing garbage readings? It's well known AMD has wonky cpu temp readings so learn to deal with it.

I'll never post a wrong reading again believe that.
 
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This is a total digression, but the problem isn't the operating system in itself but rather that the API (directX) can't run natively on Linux unless you use something like POL/WINE. I can guarantee you that Microsoft is clutching DX with a vice grip because as soon as they lose that you'll be able to game on android/unix and then MS is screwed. If you don't need POL or WINE then valve is working on another emulator (or not an emulator :p) that can mimic what those do because without it you quite simply can't run DX-based games on linux at all. CS, the original, was an openGL game so it should run fine. I'm not sure about CS:GO

You'll also get better performance on Linux with your fx-4100 chip than you will on windows, so long as it's compiled/optimized for BD.
 
very good! I see what your saying! thank you!

im old school when it comes to this stuff. not for long though
 
So then, is the FX 4100 a good upgrade, worthy of the $95 - $110 spent, if I'm currently using an Athlon II x3 440 OCed to 3.5GHz ?

Id consider that an upgrade albeit not a huge one. Honestly, Id rather go for a Phenom II X4 960T for $115 but I just checked Newegg and theyve dropped off the map along with all the X6's.

So yeah, for $110 Id so it would be worth it if for no other reason than youd be able to overclock it pretty high. That would be the biggest difference. Clock for clock, it wouldnt give you much of an increase in performance. But since you should be able to get a much higher overclock out of the FX, it would be a good way to go.
 
After everything I have learned here on this thread I would have to give the Phenom II X4 960T a go. I have the 980, and
other than how cheap the 4100 is and the OC capabilities I sill favor my Phenoms performance; seems to be more
responsive using Win 7 x64 U. Definitely going to put mu 4100 to work on Linux Mint or Ubuntu 11.04 though (say no to gnome and yes to unity!)
 
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The overclocking potential of the 4100 isn't that appealing not really. You have to overclock the crap out of the processor just to get it to a level that's Athlon II x4 or a bit better. Worse it actually isn't priced that well either.

For me the 4100 is actually more expensive than my 840 and it has less performance
That's not my idea of a good deal now if the FX 6 core processor was that price it would be a decent upgrade. Right now it's not
 
there is a few things the Zambezi does better then phenom, but IPC is not one of them. My FX4100 would run 4.5ghz on retail heatsink and gamed very well. However I just dont think its a good value at its price point. It performed in benchmarks more like an AMD tripple core then a true quad core.

960T is the best value -- it might unlock, but if not still overclocks like beast. I commonly see the 960T for $109 on newegg. Otherwise even an AMD 651 Llano might be a good budget choice
 
from what I read, the FX-4100 is already unlocked, AMD just didn't give it the Black Edition label. With the FX I figure I can increase FSB freq and then, increase CPU multiplier and that way, I can OC higher than just increasing FSB with a locked CPU

Is this correct thinking ?
 
It's not much of an upgrade. You'd be better served by a Phenom II or the 960T as both chips perform better than the 4100. Don't just look at clock speed, it's not indicative of performance.
 
It's not much of an upgrade. You'd be better served by a Phenom II or the 960T as both chips perform better than the 4100. Don't just look at clock speed, it's not indicative of performance.

oh, ok. Didn't realize that. Here's my goal ...

when gaming I can occasionally hear the Raptor HDD popping corn and when it does this, the game studders a bit but after that, it runs smooth for some time before doing it again. So I ordered 2x4GB 1600 to replace the current 2x2GB 1066, upping to a single card solution (ASUS DCUII 570 GTX) and figured a CPU upgrade would do the trick but now, i'm not so sure a different CPU will make a difference I will see when gaming.

There's a Phenom II x4 955 BE and 965 BE. What about those? I know the 965 BE OCed to 4GHz stable btu I never hear of the 960T until it was mentioned in this thread ???

Can someone please look over my system specs and make a recommendation so I can have as smooth a gaming experience as is possible?
 
I'd get the 960T, as it has a good chance at unlocking to 6 cores and if it doesn't it still carries an improved IMC and lower TDP so it will overclock more easily than the 955/965 and likely require less voltage getting there.

The issue with your Raptor HDD can be solved by replacing it with an SSD :p You have dual 460GTXs, though the GTX570 is a great card it may not be much of an upgrade. Replacing the RAM is a good idea considering it's dirt cheap now.

If I were you I'd get the ram, an SSD and a 960T.
 
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