The AMD FX-8320 was a desktop processor with 8 cores, launched in October 2012, at an MSRP of $169. It is part of the FX lineup, using the Vishera architecture with Socket AM3+. FX-8320 has 8 MB of L3 cache and operates at 3.5 GHz by default, but can boost up to 4 GHz, depending on the workload. AMD is building the FX-8320 on a 32 nm production process using 1,200 million transistors. The silicon die of the chip is not fabricated at AMD, but at the foundry of GlobalFoundries. You may freely adjust the unlocked multiplier on FX-8320, which simplifies overclocking greatly, as you can easily dial in any overclocking frequency.
With a TDP of 125 W, the FX-8320 consumes a lot of power, so good cooling is definitely needed. AMD's processor supports DDR3 memory with a dual-channel interface. For communication with other components in the computer, FX-8320 uses a PCI-Express Gen 2 connection. Although the processor doesn't come with integrated graphics, certain motherboards with compatible chipsets can provide this capability.
Hardware virtualization is available on the FX-8320, which greatly improves virtual machine performance. Programs using Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) will run on this processor, boosting performance for calculation-heavy applications.