If you thought Intel were the only one doing a processor refresh this year, then you were wrong. AMD is going to launch a refreshed processor lineup of their own based on their x86 Piledriver core architecture which will launch in the first week of September along with price cuts for the existing processor models. The new processors from AMD include the FX-8370, FX-8370E and the FX-8320E.
AMD To Introduce x86 Piledriver Based Flagship FX-8370 Processor
A few weeks ago, AMD announced the Athlon II X4 860K and 840K processors along with the new FX-8300 series CPUs at ChinaJoy 2014. The details weren't made public until one of our sources provided us the details later on. The technical details regarding the FX-8370, FX-8370E and FX-8320E were still sparse until now since Xbitlabs did a round-up of the specifications along with their prices which seem quite affordable. But before we move to the details, I should acknowledge first that the FX-9000 series which is based on the x86 Piledriver architecture that include the FX-9590 and FX-9370 processors are receiving a major price cut starting 1st September. The FX-9590 will retail at $215 US (tray version) and $199 US for the FX-9370 (tray version). The boxed variants should cost a slight bit more since they come with the AIO liquid cooler bundle but we should expect them to remain under the $250 US barrier.
Let's get started with the FX-8370 now which will become the flagship x86 Piledriver processor of the original FX-8000 lineup until AMD plans to launch a new processor line (hopefully no refresh). AMD does have steamroller but they aren't focusing it towards the high-end desktop market instead focusing it towards the APU market with their Kaveri APUs and Athlon processors. The FX-8370 is clocked at 4.10 GHz base and 4.30 GHz boost clock and ships with a 8 MB L3 cache, 8 cores. 125W TDP and a price of $189 US. Surprisingly, the FX-8370E seems to be a power optimized model which has the same specifications but features a 95W TDP and the same price of $189 US.
Next up, we have the FX-8320E which is an optimized FX-8320 with a core clock of 3.50 GHz, turbo clock of 4.00 GHz, an 8 MB L3 Cache and a 95W TDP. The processor is priced at $139 US. Finally, we have the FX-8300 which was introduced in the Chinese market which comes in at a 3.30 GHz core and 4.20 GHz boost clock followed by a 8 MB L3 cache, a 125W TDP and a price of around a 120 US dollars. With new chips and price cuts, AMD will try to gain some market share away from Intel's Haswell line of processors. The recent 8 core offerings under $200 US seem good against the Core i3 and Core i5 lineup but enthusiasts still prefer to go for the Intel route when spending more than $200 US with processors such as the Core i5-4670K, Core i5-4690K, Core i7-4770K, Core i7-4790K and even the latest G3258 Pentium 20th Anniversary edition which is a good choice for budget users.
On the FM2+ side, the Athlon II X4 860K, Athlon II X4 840 and Athlon X2 450 processors are coming out to the market soon.The steamroller based Athlon II X4 860K Quad Core chip features four threads, 3.7 GHz clock speed, 2 MB L2 cache and a 95W TDP. The boost clock is not known but considering the A10-7850K which is also a 3.7 GHz clocked chip jumps to 4.0 GHz in boost mode, we can see a similar boost clock for the Athlon X4 860K. The Athlon X4 840 is a quad core processor featuring a 3.4 GHz clock speed, 2 MB L2 cache, 95W TDP while the Athlon X2 450 is a dual core steamroller based processor of which details are not known at the moment. In addition to these, AMD also has two AM1 chips planned for launch which include the Ahtlon X4 550 and Athlon X4 530 processors based on the updated Jaguar architecture codenamed Puma.
AMD x86 Piledriver 2014 CPU Lineup:
| AMD FX-9590 | AMD FX-9370 | AMD FX-8370 | AMD FX-8370E | AMD FX-8350 | AMD FX-8320 | AMD FX-8320E | AMD FX-8300 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Piledriver | Piledriver | Piledriver | Piledriver | Piledriver | Piledriver | Piledriver | Piledriver |
| Family | Vishera | Vishera | Vishera | Vishera | Vishera | Vishera | Vishera | Vishera |
| Manufacture | 32 nm SOI HKMG | 32 nm SOI HKMG | 32 nm SOI HKMG | 32 nm SOI HKMG | 32 nm SOI HKMG | 32 nm SOI HKMG | 32 nm SOI HKMG | 32 nm SOI HKMG |
| Cores | 8 pcs. (4 pcs. Modules) | 8 pcs. (4 pcs. Modules) | 8 pcs. (4 pcs. Modules) | 8 pcs. (4 pcs. Modules) | 8 pcs. (4 pcs. Modules) | 8 pcs. (4 pcs. Modules) | 8 pcs. (4 pcs. Modules) | 8 pcs. (4 pcs. Modules) |
| CPU Clock Base | 4.7 GHz | 4.4 Ghz | 4.1 GHz | 4.1 GHz | 4.0 GHz | 3.5 GHz | 3.5 GHz | 3.3 GHz |
| CPU Turbo Core | 5.0 GHz | 4.7 GHz | 4.3 GHz | 4.3 GHz | 4.2 GHz | 4.0 GHz | 4.0 GHz | 4.2 GHz |
| L2 cache | 4 x 2 MB | 4 x 2 MB | 4 x 2 MB | 4 x 2 MB | 4 x 2 MB | 4 x 2 MB | 4 x 2 MB | 4 x 2 MB |
| L3 cache | 8 MB | 8 MB | 8 MB | 8 MB | 8 MB | 8 MB | 8 MB | 8 MB |
| Max. DDR3 | 1866 MHz | 1866 MHz | 1866 MHz | 1866 MHz | 1866 MHz | 1866 MHz | 1866 MHz | 1866 MHz |
| TDP | 220 W | 220 W | 125 W | 95W | 125 W | 125 W | 95W | 125 W |
| Base | AM3 + | AM3 + | AM3 + | AM3 + | AM3 + | AM3 + | AM3 + | AM3 + |
| Price | $215 US | $199 US | $189 US | $189 US | $169 US | $139 US | $139 US | $119 US |
AMD Kaveri APU/Athlon 2014 Lineup:
| Model | AMD A10-7850K | AMD A10-7700K | AMD Athlon X4 860K | AMD Athlon X4 840 | AMD Athlon X4 550 | AMD Athlon X4 530 | AMD A10-7800 | AMD A8-7600 | AMD A6-7400K | AMD A4-7300 | AMD Athlon X2 450 |
| Cores | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 2/2 | 2/2 | 2/2 |
| Unlocked Design | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Base Clock | 3.7 GHz | 3.4 GHz | 3.7 GHz | 3.4 GHz | 1.9 Ghz? | 1.7 Ghz? | 3.5 GHz | 3.1 GHz | 3.5 GHz | 3.4 GHz | TBC |
| Turbo Clock | 4.0 GHz | 3.8 GHz | 4.0 GHz | 3.8 GHz | ~2.2 | ~2.0 | 3.9 GHz | 3.8 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 3.8 GHz | TBC |
| HSA Support | Yes | Yes | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | TBC |
| L2 Cache | 4 MB | 4 MB | 2 MB | 2 MB | 2 MB | 2 MB | 4 MB | 4 MB | 1 MB | 1 MB | 1 MB |
| Graphics Core | Radeon R7 | Radeon R7 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Radeon R7 | Radeon R7 | Radeon R5 | Radeon R5 | N/A |
| Compute Units | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| GPU Cores | 512 | 384 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 512 | 384 | 256 | 192 | N/A |
| GPU Clock | 720 MHz | 720 MHz | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 720 MHz | 720 MHz | TBA | 514 MHz | N/A |
| TDP | 95W | 95W | 95W | 95W | 25W | 25W | 45W | 45W | 45W | 45W? | 65W |
| Launch | 14th January 2014 | 14th January 2014 | Q3 2014 | Q3 2014 | Q3 2014 | Q3 2014 | 31st July 2014 | 31st July 2014 | 31st July 2014 | Q3 2014 | Q3 2014 |
| Price | $173 US | $153 US | $89.99 US | $59.99 US | TBA | TBA | $155 US | $101 US | $77 US | TBA | TBA |
