The Vishera Review: AMD FX-8350, FX-8320, FX-6300 and FX-4300 Tested
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 23, 2012 12:00 AM ESTFinal Words
Vishera is a step in the right direction for AMD, it manages to deliver tangibly better performance than last year's disappointing FX processor without increasing power consumption. Thanks to architectural and frequency improvements, AMD delivers up to 20% better performance than last year's FX-8150 for a lower launch price, while remaining within the same thermal envelope.
AMD does manage to pull away with some very specific wins when compared to similarly priced Intel parts. Performance in the latest x264 benchmark as well as heavily threaded POV-Ray and Cinebench tests show AMD with the clear multithreaded performance advantage. Other heavily threaded integer workloads also do quite well on Vishera. The only part that didn't readily beat its Intel alternative was AMD's six-core FX-6300, the rest did extremely well in our heavily threaded tests. Look beyond those specific applications however and Intel can pull away with a significant lead. Lightly threaded applications or those whose performance depends on a mixture of single and multithreaded workloads are typically wins for Intel. The story hasn't really changed in that regard. For AMD to become competitive across the board it needs significant changes to the underlying architecture, some of which I don't know that we'll see until the 2013 - 2014 timeframe. Even then, Intel's progress isn't showing any signs of slowing.
Power consumption is also a big negative for Vishera. The CPU draws considerably more power under load compared to Ivy Bridge, or even Sandy Bridge for that matter.
Ultimately Vishera is an easier AMD product to recommend than Zambezi before it. However the areas in which we'd recommend it are limited to those heavily threaded applications that show very little serialization. As our compiler benchmark shows, a good balance of single and multithreaded workloads within a single application can dramatically change the standings between AMD and Intel. You have to understand your workload very well to know whether or not Vishera is the right platform for it. Even if the fit is right, you have to be ok with the increased power consumption over Intel as well.
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Idiot10 - Tuesday, May 7, 2013 - link
Here comes Mr. ChariseHogburn again. the all-knowing Intel mercenary processor expert, who thinks nothing can beat his beloved 2500K. SOB!!!!Got my first AMD - Thursday, May 8, 2014 - link
I OC my 8320 to 4.7 GHz and only have to raise the voltage .0125 from stock. Why is it that you think AMD is worthless. They are all for the consumer and I am grateful for it. I'm really sick of your ignorance. Really sick of it.cbrown - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link
What everyone will get "sick" of in a hurry is if AMD falls on its face with its "crap" cpu manufacturing... Intel will double their pricing on cpus again, same as they were during the time period AMD released it's "crap" slot athlon 500. AMD also has a decent gpu to fall back on since they bought ATI which was a smart move.*AMD released Slot A Athlon 500 Intel slashed it's prices in half same day to match.
*If ATI hadn't stepped up to the plate and suceeded when nVidia bought 3dfx Everyone would be crying about the prices of gaming cards
*Sure AMD is lagging behind right now but never underestimate the importance of competition and the effect it has on affordable upgrades for everyone...
I love AMD for the pricing they have brought to us this day and time... with cpu's AND gpu's
I am fixing to build my FIRST intel platform since the since amd released the slot a athlon simply because I want a hackentosh... there is simply too much heartache building one on a AMD CPU/MOBO combo for the simple fact apple does not support them. I dont know if you would call me a amd fanboy or not, your opinion, I simply have supported a company that brought affordability to everyone.... I am either MAC (intel, no choice really) or AMD for the windows platform...
Anyone that cannot see the reasoning behind this, now I would say they are a intel fanboy though.... Everyone has the right to choose.....
saintalchemyst - Saturday, July 4, 2015 - link
Watch and relize the fan boy you are. Intel is great at what they do...SO IS AMD! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu8Sekdb-IECaulkWarmer - Wednesday, August 5, 2015 - link
Well I can answer that question for you. It's because we don't need to. I hear Intel fanboys talking about overclocking all the time. Now why is that? Is it because you spent a house payment on your big fancy i7 alone, so now you just have to squeeze in those extra clock cycles? And then here I am, spent 110 bucks on a 8320 on a Newegg sale and what do you know, I don't *need* to overclock. Why would I do something I don't need to do? Well, I'm not a little bitch fanboy afterall so I'll just be happy with what I got and not talk shit about something I have no experience with (take the hint).You know what I am sick of? Hearing people like you bitch and moan about how they hate AMD, on an article *about* AMD. Is your butt hurting you hun? Don't you have some crippled kids you have to go beat? Shoo.
sleekz - Thursday, May 2, 2013 - link
Priced cheaply, but they don't match price/performance wise. Price is not a valid argument against intel.Abdussamad - Monday, August 12, 2013 - link
Do the math on electricity consumption and you find it is not priced decently at all. Let's say you run a system with an idle FX 8350 for 8 hours a day everyday for 5 years and electricity costs you $0.16 per kwh:(( 8 hours * (74.2 - 57.5) * 365 days * 5 years ) / 1000) * 0.16 = $39
(74.2 - 57.5 is the difference in idle power consumption between an fx-8350 and i5-3570)
So add $40 to the price of the FX 8350 before you do a comparison. More if you run your system 24/7.
lostinspacex - Wednesday, November 13, 2013 - link
duuude its 40 dollars in 5 years, you spend more going to a restaurant once , and u are multiplying watts with kilowatts xD, basic math mistakechekk42 - Wednesday, November 13, 2013 - link
Look closer. The math is correct. However, yes, $40 over 5 years is not really a concern.ninza228248 - Monday, April 14, 2014 - link
After 5 years add $40 to AMD and you will get mind blowing processor compared to Intel Core i5-3570 or any intel processor after 5 years in that price bracket...