AMD FX8150 CPU Review
What’s New
The big revolution in the layout of the Bulldozer processor is the way in which the cores are laid out. Whereas with the current LGA1155 Intel CPUs, and the current AMD Phenom CPUs, we have the cores across the top and the cache beneath, here the cores are split up into modules of two cores each. Each of those modules then has 2MB of L2 cache to call upon all to itself.
One thing that has been hammered home in the AMD documentation and conference calls is how the Bulldozer range, and specifically the FX8150 we have on test today, is aimed directly at the Core i5-2500K. Considering that we currently rate the 2500K as the best all-round processor on the market, it’s a serious statement of intent from AMD.
Even a cursory glance at the table below shows how, in pure number terms, the FX8150 has the beating of the Sandybridge range. Larger cache, more cores, higher native memory speed support, faster turbo and extra instruction sets. If performance can be judged solely on paper, then this should be a demolition.
One slightly curious decision is the one to compare the system price of the FX8150 against the mental i7-980X. We know that the 980X is staggeringly pricey, but equally in terms of gaming performance the humble i5-2405S wasn’t put in the shade. However, this is why we review things to see where the truth is amongst the hyperbole.
