Gaming

The non benchmark gaming experience with the FX 8320E felt to be on par with the more expensive i5-4670K when playing. We expected this to be the case because today’s games tend to slap our graphics cards around more than our CPUs. The 1080p experience from the ASUS R9 285 STRIX felt consistent between the two test setups and I didn’t notice any sluggishness in general game play or level loading times from the identical SSD/Hard drive combinations. This was our ‘blind’ impression without looking at any data so we checked some FRAPS benchmark logs to see if there was a consistent ‘measurable’ difference. When we compared a few indicative FRAPS runs of similar gameplay, we saw that there was a 5-10FPS benefit with the i5-4670K on average. When gaming on Battlefield 4, Supreme Commander 2, Far Cry 3 & 4, Civilisation V and Crysis 3 at 1920×1080, the FX 8320E did well for it’s price point.

The Batman: Arkham City benchmark was the worst result for the FX 8320E and we can’t help but wonder if this is due to the Physics engine. The other gaming benchmarks were within margin for error and we concluded that in Tomb Raider and Hitman Absolution, the average FPS is essentially the same.

Value

In terms of value, the CPU itself gives good performance for the price but it’s also worth noting that there is no GPU included like the Intel competitors. Given that gamers will use a dedicated GPU, this isn’t going to be a factor for most system builders but it’s worth noting as part of the price point discussion. The flip side of this is that AM3+ motherboards are not overly expensive, our MSI 970 Gaming board for example with killer networking, AudioBoost 2 sound platform and crossfire/SLI support is only $145. 

Conclusion

I wouldn’t be buying this CPU to run at stock speeds. This is a CPU that is sensibly priced and gives bang for buck, especially if you’re happy to slap an above average cooler on it and overclock it to around the 4.5GHz mark. As with all overclocking, your mileage may vary but our sample liked to stretch it’s legs. The other thing to consider is the type of applications or games that you use. We are seeing more multi threaded games coming to market and this is where consumers may benefit most from an upgrading their existing AM3+ CPU to an overclocked FX-8320E.

AMD has succeeded in their goal to lower the power consumption and heat output of the FX 8320 with the new ‘E’ iteration. If you leave your PC on most of the time, it may not make a drastic reduction to your power bill but every little bit helps right?

The architecture is showing its age compared to the Intel offerings but at the end of the day the FX-8320E provides the cheapest 8-core performance you can get and is likely to be an attractive offering to gamers rocking an AM3+ platform with an older/slower CPU. It could be just the quick and dirty upgrade or mid term stop-gap that they are looking for.