AMD FX 9370 processor: specifications, reviews

What is the most important thing when building a gaming PC? Of course, the processor. After all, the final result depends on how many nuclei it has and what power it produces. Here, for example, AMD FX 9370. At the time of its release (2013), it was a very powerful device that without any problems could provide a completely comfortable game on any graphics settings.

At the moment, the FX 9370 processor can be easily found on the used equipment market, where its price tag starts at 5,000 rubles. Perhaps it’s worthwhile to examine in more detail what this 8-core monster can offer a potential buyer today.

Story

The presentation of the AMD FX 9370 processor took place in 2013. Then began its mass release on the component market. Honestly, at first no one noticed the appearance of the new processor, even the company's dedicated fan base. This is due primarily to the fact that in the same year AMD already prettyly pampered the audience with new Richland-based hybrids. In addition, few people were interested in new proposals, because in terms of architecture and any improvements they did not carry anything sensible.

Nevertheless, after some time, the new product from AMD (FX 9370) still received attention, and with it many questions. The opinions of people were divided in half: some praised the new processor, others, on the contrary, scolded. You can understand both sides, because, in addition to high performance, users received several significant disadvantages, which, of course, will be discussed in the review. It is also worth noting that initially this processor was released as an alternative to the Intel Core-i7 operating on 1150 and 1155 chipsets. We will see what came of this during the tests.

Description

So, I want to start the review of the AMD FX 9370 with its description. It was built on the basis of the architecture already familiar to many - Piledriver. It works on the AM3 + socket and supports the DDR3 RAM slots with a maximum frequency of 1866 MHz. The first thing that catches your eye when you see the new items is increased power. If you look at the entire FX branch from the Piledriver line, then before the release of the FX 9370, the FX 8370 processor with a frequency of 4.3 GHz in automatic overclocking was considered the most powerful in it. The nominal value was 4 GHz.

The new model has a clock frequency of 4.4 GHz, and this is only in the nominal. When you turn on the turbo mode, this figure increases by another 300, so it is 4.7 GHz, which is quite a lot. It is worth mentioning the fact that another CPU was introduced with the FX 9370 - the FX 9590, which, in fact, is the flagship of the Piledriver architecture line. It also has 8 cores, but its nominal frequency starts at 4.7 GHz, and in turbo mode, the indicator reaches 5 GHz.

Nevertheless, in addition to the increased clock frequency, the new processor received another innovation, only the negative - increased heat dissipation. That of 9590, that of 9370, the TDW indicator reached 220 W, which is a lot. In order to dissipate such a large amount of heat, a serious cooling system will be required, so this point is definitely worth considering if you are suddenly focused on buying this “stone."

Well, the last interesting feature of the FX 9370 is that this processor is part of the Black Edition series, as evidenced by the mark on the box - Unlocked. In other words, for those who do not know what the Black Edition is, let’s explain that this is a line of processors with an unlocked multiplier, that is, they can be overclocked and get even more performance. As for the overclocking itself, the clock frequency of this model can be easily pulled up to the level of the flagship 9590, i.e. up to 5 GHz.

Contents of delivery

Despite the fact that the FX 9370 acts as the main alternative to the i7 4770K from Intel, it comes in the most ordinary, simple cardboard packaging that does not say anything at all. It contains only a short list of the main features and characteristics of the processor, as well as a bag with thermal grease flaunting through the "window", on which FX is written in capital letters, and below it is Unlocked.

For comparison, AMD can produce presentable processors, at least look at the same Phenom II X4 Black Edition TWKR, which was sold in beautiful little lock cases. Of course, only 100 pieces of such processors were released, and their price reached 10 thousand dollars, nevertheless, the main point is clear: the box in which the flagship processor is delivered must be at least more or less presentable.

By the way, the manufacturer often offers a standard version of the cooling system complete with new processors. As a rule, few put these native coolers, but nevertheless they are present in the configuration. In this case, given the high heat, the manufacturer decided not to apply anything at all, thereby putting the issue of cooling on the shoulders of the buyer.

Appearance

Appearance is also not particularly noticeable. If the processor is put on a par with other models from the FX series or next to the Zambezi family, then there will be no noticeable differences. On the reverse side there are also no changes. This is still the same AM3 + socket.

Processor specifications

The technical characteristics of AMD FX 9370, on the one hand, are impressive, and on the other hand, they do not show anything fundamentally new. For clarity, a small table was compiled. In it, by the way, the opponent of the FX 9370 is the very Core-i7 4770K. So let's make a comparison.

As you can see from this table, the technical specifications of the FX 9370 and i7 4770K are approximately similar, and at some points the distinct advantage of the red ones is noticeable. However, if you look at the number of cores, the overall picture will change a little, because AMD achieved such power on 8 cores, and Intel only needed 4. Yes, the clock speed is much lower, but this problem can be easily solved with manual overclocking.

Among the differences, you can notice different manufacturing technologies. The FX 9370 is 32 nm, while the 4770K is built according to the new 22 nm process. Well, one cannot fail to notice the catastrophic difference in the level of heat dissipation, heat dissipation. AMD, as mentioned earlier (and indicated in the table), this figure is a terrifying 220 watts. The competitors in this regard, everything is within normal limits - 84 watts. Thus, when buying an FX 9370 processor, you should seriously think about a high-performance and efficient cooling system.

CPU motherboards

If we talk about choosing a motherboard for AMD FX 9370, then everything is not so simple, since our “pebble” has a very high level of heat dissipation, and most modern motherboards are designed to work with processors whose TDW does not exceed 95 watts. Nevertheless, several options were found. I want to say right away that there are no budget ones.

ASRock 990FX EXTREME6

So, the first board (the cheapest today) is the ASRock 990FX EXTREME6, which costs a little more than 8500 rubles. She has official support for the FX 9370 processor, and it runs on the 990FX chipset. The user has 4 slots for DDR3 RAM with maximum support up to 64 GB. Among the minuses, it is worth noting the strong heating of the north bridge. Otherwise, this is quite a worthy option.

ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX

The next motherboard is SABERTOOTH 990FX R3.0 from ASUS. Compared with the previous version, this is a more serious board that can withstand very high loads. The user has 4 slots for RAM with maximum support up to 32 GB. The cost of the motherboard is a little more than 11500 rubles. Of the main disadvantages, it is worth mentioning the support of DDR3 modules no higher than 1866 MHz, as well as not very high-quality auto-acceleration (it is better to do everything manually).

ASUS ROG Crosshair V Formula-Z

Another motherboard worth mentioning is the ROG Crosshair V Formula-Z from the same ASUS. This gaming motherboard is made in the best traditions of ASUS and will ensure the perfect operation of the FX 9370 processor. There are four memory slots. The maximum user can install 32 GB of RAM. At the same time, the board has support for modules with a frequency of 2400 MHz, which is undoubtedly important during overclocking.

Among the features of this board, one can note a very high-quality sound card with 8.1 channels, as well as a complete set of everything necessary from ASUS for maximum overclocking. Of the shortcomings, it is worth noting only the need for BIOS firmware in order for the board to see the FX 9370 processor. This is due to the fact that motherboards of the old revision are quite common, where the BIOS version is still old and does not include full support for the "stones" of the 9th series. As for the cost, it is a little more than 13 thousand rubles.

GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD5

In addition, you can try searching the excellent GA-990FXA-UD5 motherboard from the manufacturer Gigabyte, which also performs very well in working with this processor, in the used equipment market. It has 4 memory slots with support for slats with a frequency of up to 2000 MHz. There are no particular flaws. The overclocking potential is pretty good. Before use, it is worthwhile to flash BIOS on the latest version. The cost of this motherboard starts somewhere with 5 thousand rubles.

Actual value

To date, the price of the FX 9370 processor starts at 5500 p. used market. The average cost varies between 6000-7000 rubles, which, in principle, is quite acceptable. By the way, the same i7 4770K from Intel will not work for less than 14 thousand rubles. Besides all this, the 9370 can still be found in some stores. There it is sold for about 10,000 rubles. As a result, the user receives a completely new processor, and even with a guarantee. However, it is unlikely that such a purchase will be relevant and justified, because for the amount of 11-12 thousand today you can buy a fresh and brand new Core-i3 7350K or Core-i5 7400, which will be much better in many aspects.

Testing

Now the most interesting part of the FX 9370 review is tests. They will take place in several stages. First, various benchmarks will go into use, which will check both the computing power and the ability of the processor to cope with high loads when fully loaded. The second half of the testing will be entirely devoted to games, because it is mainly for these purposes that they take such powerful processors. Before you begin, it's worth talking about the test configuration.

So, the motherboard for the FX 9370 was selected by ASUS ROG Crosshair V Formula-Z with 16 GB of RAM. As a video card, the good old NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 with 3 GB of memory was used. The rest, in principle, is not so important. In order to be able to compare the FX 9370 with a processor from the i7 4770K, we also took the Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H motherboard. The amount of RAM and the video card remained the same.

Futuremark

The first test will be a series of benchmarks from Futuremark. Who does not know, Futuremark has been developing and improving a series of its software for a long time to conduct various tests of both individual computer components and the entire system. The most popular benchmarks are PCmark and 3Dmark. It is them that we will use.

PCMark 8

PCMark conducts several tests, using various algorithms and synthetic tests, for example, working with archives or encoding video and audio files. In total, 3 tests will be launched, which are designed to evaluate the performance of the entire PC in normal office work (Work), home use (Home) and in multimedia mode (Creative).

Home

In tests for home use, the AMD FX 9370 processor shows a pretty good result. Without turbo mode at a nominal frequency of 4.4 GHz, he calmly gains 4387 points. If you turn on the turbo mode and increase the frequency to 4.9 GHz, then you can achieve an indicator of 4564 points.

Its competitor i7 4770K in the “stock” easily scores 5542 points, and when overclocked to 4.4 GHz, it produces a result of 5612 points. You can see the clear advantage of Intel.

Work

In this test, the advantage of Intel is again visible. And although the gap between the two processors does not seem so large, still the "red" are clearly inferior. Here are the results:

• FX 9370 4.4 GHz - 4537.
• Core-i7 4770K 3.5 GHz - 4824.
• FX 9370 4.9 GHz - 4563.
• Core-i7 4770K 4.4 GHz - 4936.

Creative

And the last test case. This time, the processor load will be checked when working with various multimedia applications and files. Here are the results:

• FX 9370 4.4 GHz - 4797.
• Core-i7 4770K 3.5 GHz - 5414.
• FX 9370 4.9 GHz - 4934.
• Core-i7 4770K 4.4 GHz - 5845.

And again, we see how 9370 loses by a wide margin to its direct competitor. It becomes a shame when I recall the number of cores: 8 for AMD and 4 for Intel. The conclusion after the first tests can be made as follows: the AMD FX 9370 processor shows a pretty good result. Its potential and capabilities are enough for solving various problems. However, its competitor in the person of 4770K leaves no chance. In all three running test scenarios, he was better, and at some points his superiority was simply amazing. Move on.

3Dmark

3DMark shows some average results of the overall system performance during the gameplay. For clarity, the 2 most popular scenarios will be used: Firestrike and Cloud Gate.

Firestrike

The results of the first test are as follows:

• FX 9370 4.4 GHz - 7813.
• Core-i7 4770K 3.5 GHz - 8379.
• FX 9370 4.9 GHz - 8078.
• Core-i7 4770K 4.4 GHz - 8541.

As you can see, once again the 9370 is inferior to the Intel 4770K. The difference is not that disastrous, but still it is.

Cloud gate

Here are the results of the second test:

• FX 9370 4.4 GHz - 21142.
• Core-i7 4770K 3.5 GHz - 24285.
• FX 9370 4.9 GHz - 22620.
• Core-i7 4770K 4.4 GHz - 26895.

And again, the FX 9370 processor loses. This time the difference is huge. Only at nominal frequencies the gap is 3143 points, and this, by the way, is not so small.

Gaming performance

Now is the time to move on to gaming performance testing. To save time, testing was carried out only on the assembly with the FX 9370 processor. Here, the video card with the GTX 780 3 GB was replaced with a Radeon RX480 with 8 GB of memory. Well, as a cooling system, a closed-circuit cooler from Corsair was used, the model is the Hydro Series H105.

Battlefield 1

The first game (an unconditional hit) is Battlefield 1. The settings are set to the maximum, the resolution is 1920 x 1080. At a nominal frequency of 9370 paired with a video card they produce confident 60 fps. As the clock frequency increases to 4.9 GHz, the final result does not change much. On average, it's all the same 60 frames.

Mafia 3

Settings - medium + high, Directx - 11 versions. At a frequency of 4.4 GHz, the system produces 30 FPS at a minimum and 35-36 on average. With increasing frequency, the result does not change much. The increase is approximately 2-3 FPS.

Watch dogs 2

Well, the last game for the test is Watch Dogs 2. The settings are high, some options like temporary filtering or additional quality are disabled. Directx - 11 versions. The minimum number of FPS is 40 frames at the nominal frequency. When you turn on turbo mode, you can achieve an average of about 50 FPS.

From the game tests, the following follows: AMD FX 9370 can easily pull most modern games at high, and sometimes even ultra-settings.

Reviews

It's time to consider the reviews on the AMD FX 9370. The most important drawback, as has been noted more than once, is the strong heating. People who are not particularly versed in hardware were very surprised when their PC just turned off due to the high temperature during the game.

The second minus is that it is difficult to find a motherboard. Even on the market of used devices there are not so many of them, and buying a new one for 10 or 13 thousand rubles is not the best idea, since there are a lot of alternatives, not only from Intel, but also from AMD.

Well, the third minus is the high power consumption, which, in principle, is already traditional for most red processors. Here, in general, and all the main complaints of users.

Total

The FX 9370 has very good performance today. Its power is still enough to provide a comfortable game and work with many heavy programs.

Even despite some negative reviews about the FX 9370, it is certainly worthy of attention, and it can still be considered to build a gaming PC. But buying this processor is best bundled already with the motherboard. So at least you can understand that she sees him, and there will be no problems with the launch. And the kit will be cheaper. That, in principle, was all I wanted to tell. Good luck