Introduction

As the leaves up here in Canada begin to change colors, and the morning opens with frost on the ground each day, AMD has yet another product update for us. This time for their AMD FX CPUs. We knew that a "Piledriver"-based CPU was coming for some time given that the latest AMD FM2 APUs use the same core, although those Piledriver APUs are lacking in cache compared to what is normal for desktop enthusiast-oriented products. AMD has been pretty forth-coming with information about these CPUs over the last months and let us know what changes were coming, but their actual performance and retail costs have been closely-guarded secrets; that is, until today.

AMD didn't send me very much for this launch. Only a bare CPU in a plastic container that arrived on my doorstep by courier. There was no motherboard, no memory, no cooler, or anything else, but that was for good reason since all those things can already be found on today's market. Only one of many AM3+ motherboards with support for current AMD FX CPUs and a kit of current DDR3 memory are required, although a BIOS update might be part of those requirements. I'm sure we'll see one or two new motherboard products getting updated shortly, but all we have for now is this shiny, new CPU:

Specifications

Models