Today AMD is releasing their new FX processors. They are an evolutionary step from AMD’s oft-maligned Bulldozer processors released just over a year ago. How large of a step forward is Piledriver? We’re here to show you!

...

I didn’t give Bulldozer as bad a review as a lot of people did. Unlike many, I tried to look at Bulldozer as just any other CPU, not the return of the FX of days past, when AMD ruled the roost and Intel was playing catch up. I gave Bulldozer an Overclockers Approved, in large part because it was fun to overclock -especially under extreme conditions- and because it was priced right. However, when it came out, retailers/etailers boosted the price over what AMD said it would be. I felt duped, not just because of the pricing but because AMD didn’t step in and make the retailers price the CPU where it should be.

So, what does AMD promise here? Up to 15% performance increase over Bulldozer. That they do deliver. They also deliver lower temperatures and higher overclocks in our testing.

When it comes to performance, their target in the current CPU market is the i5 3570K. As you saw above, in single-threaded applications Intel still reigns, but when you get into multi-threaded applications the FX-8350 really does quite well. It also does it for less money, coming in at $195, which is a very economical price for performance. Heck, with heavily threaded metrics, it often hangs with or beats the much more expensive i7 3770K.

Add to the very aggressive pricing strategy the fact that the FX-8350 is still a blast to overclock – both with ambient cooling and sub-zero – you have a formula for a CPU that deserves to hold its head high among its competition. Piledriver is what Bulldozer should have been. It performs well against its targeted competition and is perfectly priced to compete. As long as they keep that price (or very close, say $199.99 to $209.99), AMD has a good competitor on its hands with the FX-8350.