We tested the Bulldozer: FX-8150 and three 990FX motherboards on the test bench

Summary, opinion

Let’s say a few words about the AM3 + motherboards in the test. Only the MSI 990FXA-GD80 could have been unknown, as the other two ASUS models could have flashed their capabilities in a previous test, though only with the Phenom II X4 970 BE processor. Each of the three motherboards represents three different styles.

Az ASUS Crosshair V Formula ROG sheet, so no question about when he was born. For play and master tuning. It's no coincidence that DDR3 tuning and FX-8150 also set a world record for overdrive, with The CPU clock has been upgraded to 8544 MHz. In addition to the Crosshair V Formula, we get the standard, thickly filled box with the usual ROG accessories. The price of the motherboard is also adjusted to this, which is currently about 62 ft. As always, we recommend this ROG sheet to those who are striving for the maximum, but it is also important to be able to squeeze serious tuning out of their system. Overall, the ASUS CrossHair V Formula, as last time, is now very much I liked it.

Az ASUS Sabertooth 990FX a different kind of plank. Of course, tuning is not an obstacle in this either, but this model has been invented for above-average stable operation and long life. This is evidenced by the TUF (The Ultimate Force) components (capacitors, coils, MOSFETs), the special ceramic-coated cooling, and the 5-year manufacturer's warranty. In addition, the price of this model is quite friendly compared to its knowledge, it can be taken home around 40 ft, which is not a bad offer, so overall, with this price / performance indicator, Sabertooth deserves to be recommended be.

ASUS Sabertooth 990FX

Az MSI 990FXA-GD80 this is his first visit to us and we were pleased with his performance. He did his job stably during the tests, but he did well with the FX-8150. This board is close in spirit to the ASUS Sabertooth 990FX. As for the former, the TUF component is here the Military Class II. Hi-C capacitors, DrMOS, SFC, these components also meet the criteria of military standards, thanks to the stability and service life offered by the MSI 990FXA-GD80, which, incidentally, represents the top category in equipment. The purchase price of the motherboard for 57 ft, on the other hand, is not small, but if you want to own the best and best-equipped MSI AM000 + board, you have to get that amount from the piggy bank. The MSI 3FXA comes with a 990-year manufacturer's warranty. The paper is not far from the recommended rating, but due to its slightly high purchase price, the I liked it receives a rating.

MSI 990FXA-GD80

Thoughts on the Bulldozer and FX-8150

This time we do not summarize by program, the reason for which is the fluctuation that is currently characteristic of the Bulldozer architecture and the FX-8150. Even within a test, it can show completely different performance regardless of the given area. During the measurements, it became clear that it is important for the FX-8150 to have as many modules as possible, i.e. as many cores as possible, because this is where its power lies. Despite the maximum Turbo Core clock speed of 4200 MHz during single or dual-thread processing, it does not seem to help AMD's new savior. What it already does quite well is compression, and in some cases rendering and coding, which is no wonder, since it is in these areas that we find most of the programs capable of pushing eight cores. Often, however, even among these applications, only the i5-2500K succeeds, which, let's face it, is not a steely performance with twice as many cores on board. During games, the situation is not terrible with the latest, most modern engines (which work with at least four cores), but with the previous engines, the FX gets in trouble. The same can be true for other programs, each new program version can make the given application almost "Bulldozer-ready", if we only think of Winrar 4.10 beta 3, for example.

Factory air cooling for FX-8150 - source: legitreviews

But what about prices? Is it worth it now or is it not worth it? Due to these manufacturing difficulties, very few FX processors are currently rolling off the production line, so there is a general shortage of stock in the FX series with a little exaggeration. Probably this also imprints on prices, but of course the dollar and its exchange rate are not good for us Hungarians either. The recommended end-user price of the FX-8150 is $ 270, which should be around $ 60 at home. Let’s stay at $ 000 first. The Core i270-5K’s current tag shows $ 2500-205, roughly $ 213 cheaper than the most powerful FX. The Core i60-7K costs $ 2600-294, which is only $ 304 more expensive and can be considered much more powerful in performance. In our opinion, the purchase price of the FX-30 is somewhat exaggerated, based on its current performance, somewhere around 8150K, around $ 2500, the amount of money asked for it would be realistic.

Factory water cooling for FX-8150 - source: hothardware

Remember, Sandy Bridge models are often not only faster, but consume less and produce less heat, so cooling them is much less of a task than keeping an FX-8150 CPU cool, thanks to a 60-degree ceiling as well. Let's look at the brittle Hungarian prices! A Core i5-2500K in the polar vegetable can be taken for 55 ft, while an i000-7K is needed for about 2600 ft. In the few places where the FX-79 is also available from stock, it can be struck around 000 ft. Interestingly, the six-core Phenom II X8150 70T is already available for 000 ft, so it’s a good buy for certain tasks today. In light of what has been said, we would not be able to recommend the FX-6 to any of its competitors based on its current price and shape. In comparison, to hear news that the low stock that is available from it is immediately caught abroad, so despite the lower-than-expected performance, there is a lot of interest in the new family.

Is there a more beautiful still life? [+]

Our feeling is that the Bulldozer is a big promise and has remained so for the time being. The tuning highlighted that at significantly higher clocks, the Bulldozer would often be able to do much more, not by chance, as the architecture was designed in this spirit from the outset. However, this is all in vain if the current manufacturing technology and the power associated with the current stepping does not allow a clock signal higher than 3600 MHz for eight cores.

Right now, the best thing we can do is continue to travel with DeLorean and jump forward a few months and then a year. It wouldn’t come as a huge surprise if the first B3 stepping processor, the AMD FX-8170, appeared in the first months of next year. According to preliminary news, this model would mean a performance increase of nearly 10%. So this will be the first, but not the last, step. Already in the spring, an FX series processor (FX-8190?) Could appear that can cross the 4 GHz clock without Turbo Core. It is also clear to the naked eye that the Bulldozer is already capable of high clock speeds, only the power consumption of the top models does not allow it yet. There is one more spare in AMD's hands.

Jewelry or jewelry? [+]

In this segment - even if not in the midst of cloudless joy - the 140-watt TDP is still acceptable. An example of this could be found in both Phenom series. The next stop on the imaginary time travel is the summer of 2012, when Vishera CPUs with the Piledriver module may arrive. According to information obtained by DonanimHaber, we can expect 10% better x86 performance from the novelty. The long-awaited Windows 8 can be completed in late summer and early fall. It won’t work a miracle, obviously, but we wouldn’t reject a few percent (2-10) acceleration as a gift.

The situation in Faramuci is that while the performance and introduction of the AMD FX-8150 is, to put it mildly, not overwhelming, the Bulldozer architecture seems to be a good foundation because of the examples above. We are confident that in 1 year, AMD’s current flagship will deliver orders of magnitude higher performance than the current FX cannon. However, despite all the negative features of the FX-8150 I liked it.

AMD Bulldozer architecture and AMD FX-8150 processor

The MSI 990FXA-GD80 motherboard is Domestic representation of MSI, while the ASUS Sabertooth 990FX and Crosshair V Formula motherboards are Domestic representation of ASUS provided. The AMD FX-8150 is AMDcame from. The Core i7-980X and the Core i5-2500K are Intel, while the Core i7-2600K Over @ locker886 provided for measurements. Thank you all!

The article was written by: Zoltán Mihics (med1on) and Gábor Pintér (gabi123)

Thanks to the following sponsors for our permanent test components in this article:

• Intel Core i5-2500K - Intel
• GIGABYTE Z68X-UD7-B3 + GIGABYTE Representation in Hungary
• Kingston HyperX T1 DDR3 2133 MHz 4 x 2 GB Kit - Kingston Representation in Hungary
• Kingston SSD Now V Series 64 GB SATA2 (SNV425-S2 / 64) - Kingston Representation in Hungary
• Xigmatek NRP-HC1501 - PC Gear
• ASUS 24T1E TV Monitor - ASUS Representative in Hungaryt