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Question about AMD-FX CPU's

T

TheNoobyPro

n00b
Joined
Nov 7, 2013
Messages
5
I'm looking to build a new PC and I'm currently researching and gathering info about CPU's and I read something about AMD-FX CPU's causing BSoD on Steam games but it can supposedly be fixed with a BIOS update on ASROCK, Gigabyte, and MSI mobos. The mobo I was going to get is an MSI board and the CPU an amd-fx 8120. I'm trying to build a budget gaming PC, and all of the games I play are on Steam. Is it worth getting an AMD-FX or should I get an FM2 CPU or even switch to Intel? Note: I'm trying to keep it cheap
 
If you're gonna go for an octocore, I would suggest the 8320 over the 8120. The 8320 is still pretty cheap, but has better performance as well as lower power consumption than the 8120. Of course you could go even cheaper and just get an FM2+ motherboard and an Athlon 760k if you don't care about only having 4 cores instead of 8. Not many games use 8 cores nowadays.
 
That's a fairly old issue that was resolved a long time ago from what I've heard.

The 8320 would be a much better choice than the 8120. If you want to go cheaper, the FX-6300 offers great value.
 
If you plan on overclocking then a 6 core isn't a bad option either. I've had good luck with mine. Also I use steam everyday and I have never had a blue screen. I use a gigabyte mobo though. Good luck.
 
Tsumi said:
That's a fairly old issue that was resolved a long time ago from what I've heard.

The 8320 would be a much better choice than the 8120. If you want to go cheaper, the FX-6300 offers great value.
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Yes, it was a big issue at Bulldozer launch until AMD figured out what the problem was. A simple bios update on the very first AM3+ boards fixed the problem. The newer motherboards already have updated bios.

@OP. If you do go AMD for your build consider a 6300 as it is the same price as the FX-8120. Here is a link to it on Amazon. Personally I'd spring for the FX-8320. The newer console ports are expected to be more multithreaded so either chip would suit you well. I like spending a few more bucks for a little more headroom in the future.
 
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I'd go for an fm2+ and get and Athlon and use the extra money on a good video card and ssd. Super budget build but good performance. Am3+ is pretty much dead
 
If you do go for the 8 core stay away from the MSI boards they're nothing but headaches.
 
I'd go for an fm2+ and get and Athlon and use the extra money on a good video card and ssd. Super budget build but good performance. Am3+ is pretty much dead
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Agreed. AM3+ is a dead-end socket, one with an outdated chipset that stretches back all the way to AM2. With FM2+ you get a better chipset with an actual upgrade path. FM2+ supports all current FM2 processors as well as the upcoming Kaveri chips, as well as the Carrizo chips which will arrive in 2015.

If you're gaming, four cores is honestly enough. And seeing as how the Trinity/Richland cores have the same performance as the FX Vishera ones, you're not losing out on any performance there. You could use the money you'd save on buying, for example, an Athlon 760k to get a better GPU or something.
 
NaroonGTX said:
Agreed. AM3+ is a dead-end socket, one with an outdated chipset that stretches back all the way to AM2. With FM2+ you get a better chipset with an actual upgrade path. FM2+ supports all current FM2 processors as well as the upcoming Kaveri chips, as well as the Carrizo chips which will arrive in 2015.

If you're gaming, four cores is honestly enough. And seeing as how the Trinity/Richland cores have the same performance as the FX Vishera ones, you're not losing out on any performance there. You could use the money you'd save on buying, for example, an Athlon 760k to get a better GPU or something.
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Not only that, with FM2+ you will get PCI-E 3.0 when Kaveri APUs are released.

The only downside going to an APU is lack of an L3 cache.
 
Why would you care if AM3+ is a dead end when? I upgrade my CPU every 2-3 years and change out the motherboard at that time.
 
FM2+ should last a couple of iterations.

AM3+ is "outdated" and never updating itself.
 
Why would you care if AM3+ is a dead end when? I upgrade my CPU every 2-3 years and change out the motherboard at that time.
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You =/= everyone on the planet Earth, lol.

The benefits of going to FM2+, besides stuff already stated, is that he wouldn't have to swap out his motherboard just to upgrade the chip. And since the socket may see 3/4 more chips (Kaveri, possible Kaveri refresh, Carrizo, possible Carrizo refresh), that's some pretty good longevity.
 
NaroonGTX said:
You =/= everyone on the planet Earth, lol.

The benefits of going to FM2+, besides stuff already stated, is that he wouldn't have to swap out his motherboard just to upgrade the chip. And since the socket may see 3/4 more chips (Kaveri, possible Kaveri refresh, Carrizo, possible Carrizo refresh), that's some pretty good longevity.
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So it really depends on what CPU one is going to use and plan on using? Because according to the newest road map no new FX chips are planned for at least another year.
 
Yeah, if he went to AM3+ now, there wouldn't any upgrade path at all. No new socket, no new chips, nothing. If he'd ever decide to get a new chip (for example, Kaveri), he'd have to buy a whole new MOBO and basically go through the hassles of re-installing his OS all over again. More than four cores isn't necessary for today's games, even the much-lauded BF3/BF4, so he'd be better off just going to FM2+.
 
They didn't say there would not be new FX cpus, they just said that FX will stay on piledriver in 2014

They are releasing new piledriver opterons in 2014 that use less power so they might also release new FX cpus that use less power for the same performance.
 
Hypothetical situation:
If AMD forgoes an FX line post-2014 and goes pure APU in 2015 and seeing that these APUs have no L3 cache, would an L3 cache still be necessary for gaming? Or the performance difference pretty much negligible now with and without an L3 cache?​
The reason I'm asking is that if Socket AM3+ goes the way of the dodo bird after 2014, it may be best to then to move to Socket FM2+ now and future-proof your computer.

Again, hypothetical situation.
 
octoberasian said:
Hypothetical situation:
If AMD forgoes an FX line post-2014 and goes pure APU in 2015 and seeing that these APUs have no L3 cache, would an L3 cache still be necessary for gaming? Or the performance difference pretty much negligible now with and without an L3 cache?​
The reason I'm asking is that if Socket AM3+ goes the way of the dodo bird after 2014, it may be best to then to move to Socket FM2+ now and future-proof your computer.

Again, hypothetical situation.
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AMD will need a new socket for DDR4 anyway so their will have to have a new socket in 2015

Now 2015 brings us 20nm and Excavator, we will likely see an 8 core FX-APU then.
 
The only new socket there could be would be FM3, which would be the unified socket AMD has been talking about for a while now. We'd probably see the return of FX then, however AM3+ is dead and there won't be an AM4, mostly because HyperTransport is a bottleneck and not necessary anymore. Ever since FM1 they've moved the Northbridge functions directly onto the CPU/APU itself.

As for L3 cache, it doesn't seem to make a difference in games. I do emulation as well as normal PC games and my Llano never seemed to choke or anything, and from the benches I've seen the Trinity/Richland chips hold up just fine without L3 cache. One problem is that the L3 caches in the Bulldozer family have horrendous latency, which doesn't matter much for server workloads since they're typically not sensitive to that, and is too slow to make any difference on the desktop.

AMD said that they'd isolated the issue for the cache latencies, but wouldn't be working on it for Steamroller. They opted to work on the L1 & L2 caches instead, which makes sense as the APU's don't have L3 cache and they'd get more performance from tuning up the L1/L2 caches instead.
 
Well a 4 core processor would be stepping back into time for me. Hope they come up with an upgrade for 8 core users regardless of socket.
 
There probably wouldn't be any new octocores until Excavator, and even then is unlikely. They are targeting two TDP's for desktop: 45W and 65W, which tells me those parts will be dual's and quad's yet again. I don't think there will be any new octocores.
 
NaroonGTX said:
There probably wouldn't be any new octocores until Excavator, and even then is unlikely. They are targeting two TDP's for desktop: 45W and 65W, which tells me those parts will be dual's and quad's yet again. I don't think there will be any new octocores.
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FM2+ supports 95W TDP as well.
 
cageymaru said:
Well a 4 core processor would be stepping back into time for me. Hope they come up with an upgrade for 8 core users regardless of socket.
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same.

have 2 AMD systems atm, 1100/sabertooth R2 & 8350/CHV and was really hoping to get 1 last chip upgrade for either system. admittedly the old thuban/PD chips work great with threaded stuff (encoding. archiving & the like) but the single core performance can drag in shitty optimised code even when highly OC'ed. a 8 core SR chip would have been a nice upgrade to keep the rigs humming along for another couple of years.

the road-map annoyed me greatly and has me considering going back to intel again...sigh.
 
FM2+ supports 95W TDP as well.
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D'oh, of course, lol. Dunno how I forgot that Carrizo will still be on FM2+. That does make it plausible that there could be some other sort of 3 or 4-module part released on it.
 
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