AMD Sets The Bar High
In anticipation of the release of Bulldozer AMD flew a select few press down to Austin Texas for an editor’s or tech day to witness Bulldozer in action and watch them attempt to break the previous world record for highest frequency CPU.
Typically a tech day is held just before any major release of a product or architecture and serves the purpose of the editors and major websites getting a firsthand look ahead of the release. We are able to sit with developers and product managers to ask questions and in return be asked questions. True to form the tech day just two weeks ago heralded the approach of the new Bulldozer architecture from AMD and while I am still unable to talk about most of what we saw that day we can talk about the potential to overclock this new chip. AMD has described the chip we saw overclocked as “near production level”. I’m not quite sure if that means we were watching a true representation of what retail Bulldozers are capable of as these could have been “cherry picked” chips . . . or I could be reading into the press release too much. Without further ado lets look at what the Bulldozer is capable of from an overclocking standpoint.
We watched as several trays of Bulldozer CPU’s were brought out and tested by two of the best overclockers in the world. While we are still under NDA for much of what we witnessed at the event we have been given the green light to bring you the following video and photo coverage that we took while there.
Don’t Try this at Home Kids You are Likely to Freeze off Something You will Need Later.
More details can be found on AMD’s Blog about the Guinness Book of World Records release.
The previous official #1 spot was held by a Latvia user named TaPaKaH. The full listing of the top 20 can be seen here.
The overclocking validation can be seen here.
Click on the Thumbnail for a Larger Image
As you can see the entire top 20 list is held by Intel. But if you look you will see a trend, most of the top twenty consist of Intel Celeron single core CPU’s. It is notably easier to overclock a single core CPU than it is a multi core CPU like the Bulldozer. We watched as a pair (2 cores) of AMD Bulldozer cores were pushed to 8.429GHz!!! This of course not only sets the bar high for Intel but also overclockers worldwide, it sets the standard for overclocking by 119.44MHz.
See the Action for yourself where the Bulldozer 8150 breaks the world record:
Ultimately AMD Ran out of Liquid Helium and that combined with a wicked warp in the motherboard as well as ice crystals forming in the PCI slots caused AMD to stop the demo and shut down the rig. See the end below:
AMD’s Blog post:
There are two stories from AMD today. One is of the years of technology development that have led to a
Guinness World Record, an achievement made possible by AMD FX, achieving the highest frequency for
a computer processor to date. The second is one of devotion, of individuals who, for better or worse,
have become computer hardware racers, test pilots of technology who push limits and often break
hardware. And break records.On August 31, an AMD FX processor achieved a frequency of 8.429GHz, a stunning result for a modern,
multi-core processor. The record was achieved with several days of preparation and an amazing and
inspired run in front of world renowned technology press in Austin, Texas. This frequency bests the prior
record of 8.309GHz, and completely blows away any modern desktop processor. Based on our
overclocking tests, the AMD FX CPU is a clock eating monster, temporarily able to withstand extreme
conditions to achieve amazing speed. Even with more conservative methods, the AMD FX processors,
with multiplier unlocked throughout the range, appear to scale with cold. We achieved clock
frequencies well above 5GHz using only air or sub-$100 water cooling solutions.The result was achieved in a technology grand prix that must be seen to be believed. The refinement of
techniques employed by the world’s finest overclockers creates a stunning scene that looks as if we are
about to bring the machine to life. It was recorded by a fantastic video team and validated with a most
useful tool called CPU-Z, the de facto standard for overclockers looking to capture a moment of stability
under extreme conditions, or more practically under conservative tuning. The video has now launched
and we hope you will enjoy the spectacle of extreme overclocking and the record-breaking capabilities
of our upcoming AMD FX processors.
AMD’s Announcement:
Sunnyvale, Calif. — Sept. 13, 2011 — A longtime favorite of performance enthusiasts
and overclockers around the world, AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced it has
achieved the Guinness World Record for the “Highest Frequency of a Computer
Processor,” by overclocking the upcoming 8-core AMD FX desktop processor.“The record-breaking processor speed that resides in the AMD FX CPU clearly
demonstrates performance gains for the new AMD „Bulldozer‟ multi-core architecture,
which will provide x86 computing power for this CPU and future AMD Accelerated
Processing Units,” said Chris Cloran, corporate vice president and general manager,
Client Group at AMD. “Along with world-record frequencies, the AMD FX processor will
enable an unrivaled enthusiast PC experience for the money – extreme multi-display
gaming, mega-tasking and HD content creation.”The AMD FX CPU, set to launch in the fourth quarter of 2011, achieved a top
speed of 8.429 GHz, – surpassing the previous record of 8.308 GHz. The record was set
Aug. 31, 2011, in Austin, Texas, by “Team AMD FX,” a group comprised of elite
overclocking specialists working alongside top AMD technologists, who will also be
named in the Guinness World Records.“We applaud AMD for their entry into Guinness World Records® for achieving the
Highest Frequency of a Computer Processor,” said Freddie Hoff, adjudicator for
Guinness World Records, who is presenting the award today at the AMD FusionZone, a
technology showcase in San Francisco, Calif. “We congratulate everyone involved in this
record-breaking achievement.”
Check out our Huge Gallery of Inside Secret Images Next.
As cool as this is with the liquid nitrogen and all, I would much prefer to see some comprehensive Bulldozer benchmarks TBH
As soon as this processor is released to the market, rest assured we will Have the full gambit to see what this baby can really do unleashed. Any specific requests?