AMD - Bulldozer Chitchat

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Wait for the 65W versions to hit retail. Get one of them

The 65W A8-3800 has already been reviewed:

http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...00-review.html

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I know this OBR but still interesting if true:

http://hwbot.org/forum/showthread.php?t=28172

[Jayfunk]

Hi I Built an athlon II x3 machine on a tight budget earlier this year. It was a success and fits my needs for now but I will need to upgrade at somepoint. I'm still relatively green so have a bulldozer related question i'm unsure of and I hope this is the right thread to throw it out.

Is my only upgrade route the phenom series or is there a path to bulldozer via an interim change in motherboard to bridge the gap?

Will new motherboards be supporting both AM3 and bulldozer chipsets?

Am I better off saving my pennies till I have enough (sometime next year) to abandon AMD altogether and go intel with a completely fresh build?

[watercooled]

Lots of AM3 motherboards will support Bulldozer CPUs with a BIOS update, they are sometimes advertised as such but check the MFRs website. AM3+ motherboards are available now and will support your current CPU and memory if you want to ready your system for Bulldozer.

[Jayfunk]

Lots of AM3 motherboards will support Bulldozer CPUs with a BIOS update, they are sometimes advertised as such but check the MFRs website. AM3+ motherboards are available now and will support your current CPU and memory if you want to ready your system for Bulldozer.

Thanks for replying - I will need to do my homework as I have no idea how to:
1. Identify if my asus m4n68t-m le v2 AM3 board has the potential to support bulldozer with an updated BIOS
2. Actually update the BIOS!

If I can work it all out and make the board ready then an upgrade path to bulldozer makes most financial sense.

If I need to change the board then unless i go for a budget AM3+ board I will be spending quite a bit on board and processor (bulldozer) over the year. Is this money better put towards a brand new i5 build?

I'll try and get more information before i make the decision and would appreciate this boards input.

[Domestic_Ginger]

Head over to the mobo page on the vendors homepage.

I would say due to the chipset there is no chance of it ever supporting AM3+. The sockets may not be compatable but tbh I have forgotten if they are the same or not!

[watercooled]

It doesn't look like that board supports AM3+ for now at least - that may change in future but it's only an entry-level board by the looks of it so I wouldn't say it's likely.

For a whole platform (mobo+CPU), AMD usually works out cheaper for a given performance in my experience. Bulldozer should be faster than i5 but really it depends what you're doing with the system? Unless you're gaming/transcoding for example then pretty much any CPU upgrade would likely be a waste of money.

[Jayfunk]

Thanks for the link.

Seems the AM3 and AM3+ chipsets are one pin in difference so the AM3 processors with one less pin will fit the AM3+ with the extra hole but the AM3+ processors with an extra pin will not fit the AM3 boards.

So my options are now:
1. upgrade to Phenom II x6 which is AM3 compatible once bulldozer is out and prices fall.
2. upgrade to AM3+ motherboard and at the same time or later upgrade to bulldozer processor.
3. Abandon AMD and rebuild with intel processor and board

If not 1 then choice of 2 or 3 will come down to how bulldozer performs

[Jayfunk]

It doesn't look like that board supports AM3+ for now at least - that may change in future but it's only an entry-level board by the looks of it so I wouldn't say it's likely.

For a whole platform (mobo+CPU), AMD usually works out cheaper for a given performance in my experience. Bulldozer should be faster than i5 but really it depends what you're doing with the system? Unless you're gaming/transcoding for example then pretty much any CPU upgrade would likely be a waste of money.

My uses will be mainly video editing and gaming with Skyrim running at full pelt the most pressing need by the end of the year.

I was going to discuss my graphics needs separately as i'll need to upgrade there to but with the above in mind if i do upgrade the graphics card from HD4670 to ? HD 5850 then will the Athlon II X3 be a bottle neck if i don't upgrade my processor?

[watercooled]

It depends on the game really - some depend on CPU performance more than others but for the most part an Athlon II X3 should be fine. You'd be lucky to find a new 5850 now but a 6850 is about equivalent.

[dfour]

Overclockers have the Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5850 Extreme 1024MB for £120 instead of £132 atm

[Terbinator]

http://vr-zone.com/articles/purporte...ked/12914.html

Moving on, BDZ best had be good as i plan on dropping one in my C4F

[Jayfunk]

Yes indeed - apologies for hijacking the thread.

All questions answered and once again thanks to all who replied.

Bulldozer might just be off the table for now.

[kalniel]

More bulldozer info/thoughts:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4481/d...igurable-tdp/1

[scaryjim]

Anandtech is slow on the uptake: I believe Hexus reported this back at the end of June when that blog post first went up!

Configurable TDP in the server market is a fantastic concept. If I've got a server sitting pushing web pages, I don't want it chewing through hundreds of watts. The ability to iteratively drop the TDP budget then retest performance could be a massive selling point. Let's be honest, it's exactly what I've done with my HTPC in terms of undervolting the CPU, dropping the multiplier, and running a series of stability and power-draw tests to try to balance performance and efficiency. To just have a simple BIOS setting to do the same thing (run this CPU at 25W TDP, please!) would be heaven

[MadduckUK]

To just have a simple BIOS setting to do the same thing (run this CPU at 200W TDP, please!) would be heaven

Fixed