Corsair Blog: Forget FX, AMD's A Series is the Future

[Boomstick777]

As more information about AMD’s roadmaps becomes publicly available, there have been continuing developments for their line of APUs but the high end FX series seems to be left out in the cold. Kaveri is due in the middle of January and uses AMD’s next generation Steamroller CPU cores alongside GCN graphics cores, and now word has it that Kaveri’s successor, dubbed Carrizo, will be using the Excavator CPU cores. AMD has had its processor lines stratified into the mainstream A series APUs and the high-end FX series CPUs, but this doesn’t make as much sense in practice.

To understand why AMD might kill off their FX series, you need only look at the competitive landscape today.

So the question isn’t why the APUs have been continually updated, it’s why the FX series even still exists.

AMD’s FX chips aren’t competing with Ivy Bridge-E or Sandy Bridge-E, they’re competing with Ivy Bridge and Haswell, and those chips almost all come with integrated graphics and the associated OpenCL compatibility standard. AMD isn’t going to remain competitive by trying to fight LGA2011, they need to be attacking Intel’s mainstream. Right now, the A series APU is their best bet

the FX series is an evolutionary dead end while the A series is actually showing more and more promise with each successive generation.

http://www.corsair.com/blog/forget-amd-fx/

 

[Cooper]

That's all well and good, but I wouldn't even look at their APU range until they come with at least a 6 & 8 core option.

Right now, it looks for the foreseeable future that all we'll get is a quad core.

 

[Kobi]

I did think about goin down the apu side. But I'm happy with what I've got. If reviews show the new apu's being as good the fx range then I'll consider changing later on in the year.

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The article is not from Corsair. Its by Dustin Sklavos who writes for a number of websites,so he is basing it on the same leaks as what we are looking at,which might be true or false.

 

[ALXAndy]

Why are they still making FX chips? because they're still selling and still making them money. Piledriver is a refresh of Bulldozer which cost them money to make about two years ago. Now? they probably make them for peanuts, so if they sell why would you shoot yourself in the foot and stop making money from them?

Just because something can't compete does not make it not sell at all. Using their logic the (for example) Bugatti Veyron is the fastest car in the world, so Ford should stop making Fiestas.

Seriously warped logic, but AMD will know what makes sense financially. They'll just continue to knock out Piledrivers and people will continue to buy them for gaming rigs, especially where they want a lot of cores for work or play.

 

[Cooper]

I think we'll see another re-fresh of the FX line next year...something like a 'new' 8370 with a 4.2Ghz clock and lower TDP.

They should also drop the Quad cores, reduce the 6 cores down to £80 and the 8320/8350 down £100/£120.

 

[ALXAndy]

I think we're definitely not done with AM3+. I highly doubt we'll see a new architecture on it but I'm sure AMD will keep buttering their bread with it and come up with something.

Maybe a refresh on the 6 and lower cored CPUs would be nice

 

[almighty15]

AMD need to ditch the FX chips and socket AM3+ too...

 

[=XDC=FluphyBunny]

If its for an 8 core SR chip then yes please.

 

[Avenged7Fold]

I can see the fx range being sold still as kaveri gets release and then ages. I would like to get SR on AM3+ but i am not going to be so optimistic as to count on it. I can see AMD releasing 6/8core Kaveri based chips much further down the line after Kaveri has been available for a while and could be introduced alongside a kaveri refresh.

If this is the case, that would be awesome. If not, AMD's 6 and 8 core CPU market might get a bit stale.

 

[Hagar]

Why are they still making FX chips? because they're still selling and still making them money. Piledriver is a refresh of Bulldozer which cost them money to make about two years ago. Now? they probably make them for peanuts, so if they sell why would you shoot yourself in the foot and stop making money from them?

Just because something can't compete does not make it not sell at all. Using their logic the (for example) Bugatti Veyron is the fastest car in the world, so Ford should stop making Fiestas.

Seriously warped logic, but AMD will know what makes sense financially. They'll just continue to knock out Piledrivers and people will continue to buy them for gaming rigs, especially where they want a lot of cores for work or play.

I agree, whilst some will not invest now in AM3/3+ because it is reaching the end of it's lifespan, the FX piledriver is still a very capable CPU.

I suspect there will always be an FX as AMD like the moniker, it keeps coming back, and it will be a performance part on whatever line of processor / socket they are making.

It would be nice to have an 8/12/16 core 4/6/8 module APU on SR or later core with a refresh on the chipset to DDR4 and PCIe3.

I am hopeful, but will keep my 8350 for a couple of years yet. It will be the longest time I will have kept a processor / socket since the Thoroughbred on 462 socket A.

 

[mmj_uk]

AMD have enough trouble keeping 8 cores under a sensible TDP/temperature when loaded, 8/12/16 cores with the addition of a GPU is highly unlikely anytime soon.