Is AMD's Bulldozer a success?

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Summary: As usual when it comes to things like AMD vs Intel, there’s been mixed reaction to the launch of AMD’s Bulldozer, or FX series, desktop processors. Has it been a successful debut of the company’s new platform, or further proof that AMD has a lot of work to do to catch up to Intel? Benchmark reviews [...]

As usual when it comes to things like AMD vs Intel, there’s been mixed reaction to the launch of AMD’s Bulldozer, or FX series, desktop processors. Has it been a successful debut of the company’s new platform, or further proof that AMD has a lot of work to do to catch up to Intel?

Benchmark reviews have shown that the top Bulldozer processor, the eight-core FX-8150, is all over the place: not able to top even the older Phenom II in some tests, but quite competitive with the Sandy Bridge Core i5-2500K in others. Perhaps most surprising is that the chip isn’t particularly power efficient, something AMD usually can hang its hat on. The middling performance may be related to what SemiAccurate suggests is an outdated architecture.

On the other hand, there are signs that the mediocre reviews aren’t a death knell for the Bulldozer platform. According to Bright Side of News, major online retailers are currently sold out of the FX-8150, and PC World points out that the standard slate of benchmarks used in performance testing are single-core CPU intensive and don’t factor in the FX series multiple cores and improved graphics performance.

Ultimately, Bulldozer’s success will hinge on how buyers feel about the processors’ performance in their everyday computing — and how that perception travels across the general PC population. So if you already have a desktop using a Bulldozer chip (whether a DIY build or pre-built), speak up about how well it’s been working out for you. Let us know in the Talkback section if you recommend your new processor to others.

Sean Portnoy is a freelance technology journalist.

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Intel Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks Will Feature "Retina Quality" Displays in 2012

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Summary: The first Ultrabooks are just hitting the market, but the next generation of the super-svelte laptops are being developed. Intel plans on next year’s models coming with its new Ivy Bridge processors, as well as a significant upgrade to their displays. While new Ultrabooks like the Acer Aspire S3 feature 13.3-inch screens with 1,366×768 resolution, Ivy [...]

The first Ultrabooks are just hitting the market, but the next generation of the super-svelte laptops are being developed. Intel plans on next year’s models coming with its new Ivy Bridge processors, as well as a significant upgrade to their displays.

While new Ultrabooks like the Acer Aspire S3 feature 13.3-inch screens with 1,366×768 resolution, Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks are making a huge jump to 2,560×1,400, which would be “retina quality” and blow away the current MacBook Air resolutions (1,366×768 or 1,440×900). The 1080p-plus HD resolution, and 16:9 aspect ratio would be perfect for watching movies, if not as ideal for productivity apps. As VR-Zone points out, some of those the 3.5-million-plus pixels will go wasted for software that would make better use of a 16:10 aspect ratio.

Nonetheless, the significantly higher resolution will put pressure on Apple to finally bring a retina display to the MacBook Air. Couple that with the Ivy Bridge chips, and Ultrabooks may start turning the heads of skeptical laptop buyers just yet.

[Image: VR-Zone]

Sean Portnoy is a freelance technology journalist.

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AMD might package Bulldozer processors with liquid-cooling kits

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@seca400

I've bought both of those before - lots of them. I build systems for a living and have NOT ONCE had any issues that you describe. I've used TP-750's in dozens of system configurations in all different cases (practically every model, except for the rackmount ones) and they are whisper quiet. In fact, the only systems that my company has built that were loud were systems that utilized Intel's stock coolers on the Core i7 processors.

All of the fans operate optimally at low-medium because the CFM at high isn't optimized for that blade size, and I've NEVER had to switch any fans to high, even on systems where I achieve a .5GHz overclock. If you're using some crap Thermaltake case with umpteen 80mm fans, then you need to crank up the speed, but larger fans don't require it. Antec is just plain smarter about cooling than these fadster companies that think that it's "cool" (figuratively) to have a hundred small fans all running at full blast, and then require noise insulation to compensate.

I think over the course of the last 5 years we've been using Antec, we've had to replace maybe 4 power supplies, and 2 fans were defective, which accounts for a less-than 1% out of our total 4% component defect rate. Overall, we've had far more defective hard drives (especially Seagate with their shoddy firmware, which prompted them to offer free data recovery diagnostics - which is the reason we switched to WD) and other components than we've had from Antec.

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Who should buy HP's PC division? Samsung? Lenovo?

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First AMD Bulldozer gaming desktop PCs announced

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Summary: It hasn’t taken long for desktop manufacturers to start releasing gaming PCs featuring the new AMD Bulldozer desktop chips, which were officially launched on Tuesday. A number of boutique builders now offer configurations with the new FX series processors, with the flagship eight-core FX-8150 garnering the most attention. Maingear is offering its top-notch Shift desktop with [...]

It hasn’t taken long for desktop manufacturers to start releasing gaming PCs featuring the new AMD Bulldozer desktop chips, which were officially launched on Tuesday. A number of boutique builders now offer configurations with the new FX series processors, with the flagship eight-core FX-8150 garnering the most attention.

Maingear is offering its top-notch Shift desktop with the choice of the eight-core FX-8120 for a base price of $2,080 or the FX-8150 for $49 more, as well as the mid-range F131 starting at $1,271 with an FX-8120 and, again, $49 more for a FX-8150. For an additional $49, Maingear will overclock your PC. Meanwhile, Origin PC is equipping its Genesis desktop with the FX-8150, which it will factory overclock on request.

Some vendors are adding other Bulldozers to the mix. While AVADirect is offering its Zambezi Gaming System with the FX-8150 starting at $1,142.71, or the FX-8120 for $1,074.31, it also comes standard with the six-core FX-6100 for $1,040.11. iBuyPower has a trio of desktops built around Bulldozers, one with the FX-6100 (the $759 Gamer Mage D415 FX), another with the FX-8120 (the $989 Gamer Mage D295 FX), and a third with the FX-8150 (the $1,219 Gamer Mage D355 FX).

CyberPower has no fewer than eight different systems that can come with Bulldozer chips, including the new Gamer Scorpius line. A few of its budget systems come standard with the FX-4100 quad-core chip, including the Gamer Scorpius 7500, which starts at just $575.

Brands like Dell/Alienware and HP have yet to embrace Bulldozer, but we’ll see if any of their upcoming systems for the holiday shopping season will ship with AMD’s latest and greatest chips.

Sean Portnoy is a freelance technology journalist.

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Release date pushed back a month for AMD Bulldozer desktop processors

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AMD reveals new details on upcoming Bulldozer chips

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