AMD FX6300 Black Edition 6 Core (3.5/4.1GHz, 8MB Level 3 Cache, 6MB Level 2 Cache, Socket AM3+, 95W, Retail Boxed)

Last year I previously purchased an AMD FX6100 CPU, not unhappy with that choice at all, but a re-build of another PC gave me a chance to try the newer 6300 processor, so I'll compare that to the older one. The old FX was also good bang per buck (initial price was too high) With recent price cuts the 6300 moves into a bargain price bracket for a hexacore processorThe updated piledriver processors, are revisions of the original bulldozer processors and initially I didn't expect a notable gain in performance overall, however real world it's proved quite a strong processor even more so than the 6100.My pros and cons list:Pro's+ Bang per buck, in the sub £100 CPU category this is unmatched in terms of performance at this price point+ Easy to overclock, even more so than the 6100 (slightly better power consumption) unlocked as all FX cpu's are+ Single threaded performance improved over bulldozer (in some cases quite a bit but Intel still rule here)+ Faster than a 125w 6200 CPU, yet with lower clock speeds! In some cases it beats the old 8120 FX cpu+ Undervolts very well (if you are into quiet computing)+ Excellent multi threaded performance+ Easy to cool (but get a better heatsink/fan)Con's- Standard stock cooler is actually identical to the Athlon II 65W CPU's, and a fair bit smaller than the original 6100 FX cooler, plan on getting another heatsink/fan if you're overclocking- Still mixed performance in low threaded applications (though improved over the first FX series)I'm personally much more interested in real world results than running benchmark tests suites. I do photo and video work quite often, so I dropped a HD video file into handbrake for conversion to MP4. Both the 6100 and 6300 were running at 3.5GHz.6100 did the conversion in 9:20, 6300 in 7:38, whilst I expected a boost that was bigger than I imagined.I found Lightroom 5 to be quicker and an uptake of around 20% in exporting raw files, again at the same clock speed. The CPU seems to cope well with image editing in a number of applications, even with larger image files of 16-24mp the FX6300 feels fast and responsive.Games also showed an improvement, whilst I still suggest looking at the GPU first, all my games showed an improvement in fps and played smoother on the newer CPU. Passmark was around 6520 score. 7zip showed an improvement over the 6100 also around 10%So what changed with bulldozer to piledriver?The design of the CPU is the same as older ones, but the extra year has given AMD the chance to refine a few areas.+ Improved branch prediction and prefetching+ Support for AVX1.1, FMA3, F16C, Bit Manipulation and Trailing Bit Manipulation instructions+ Larger L1 Translation Lookaside Buffers and L2 efficiency improvements+ Improved FPU and integer scheduling, and better branch prediction and prefetching+ Turbo core 3All this sounds great but does it show up in the real world? Well so far I have to say yes it does. Some areas such as the new instructions supported might not matter right now, but down the road it could have quite an impact.AMD's FX might have had mixed receptions from some review sites, but real world you want to build a pc/upgrade to a CPU that doesn't cost a ton, has a good performance for heavier tasks. As I said in my FX6100 review, you want the performance there mostly in multi threaded software. As so few applications are single threaded nowadays it doesn't make sense to mark a CPU down that does very well for more intensive multi threaded tasks.At this price range you can buy the FX6300 or an Intel Core i3 3220. Intel have a good processor which is well designed and efficient, but it actually costs a bit more than the AMD processor and when the meat hits the grinder the i3 is still stuck with a dual core design which just can't match the FX6300 in intensive applications. Even at stock speed it's quite a difference, the unlocked AMD is really a much better choice for bang per buck wise.Factor in the cost of an AMD board and it becomes an even more appealing choice.This isn't the fastest CPU out there, it's a mid level processor that's got a fairly hefty upper cut and punches well above it's weight. I've made the mistake of buying very expensive processors in the past (£200-£300+), today really in this price range I can't imagine many people being anything but very pleased with the performance of this CPU even when you are doing more demanding work. If you're building an office pc then you'll be fine with a Sempron or Athlon II dual core (plenty fast enough for that type of PC) The FX CPU is for those looking to do more demanding tasks, but not breaking the bank either.The FX8320 would be the next step up with an extra module (2 cores) that's also a good CPU at that price too. The Intel i5's are very good but fairly expensive and they're not massively faster for some tasks (video work the 6300 runs them pretty close at times)I'm a bit puzzled with the FX4300 CPU, it's only about £5 cheaper and with 4v6 threads just doesn't add up value wise (the CPU is fine but it's just priced all wrong)So this now gets my double thumbs up, if you want to extract the most pound of flesh for your cash then the FX6300 is unbeatable right now.

I bought this as part of a budget pc re-build where I still need a decent amount of cpu power, and as the old fried motherboard already had 8gb ddr3 installed and a decent Xigmatek AM3 air cooler which i didn't want to waste, I decided to go with this fx6300 cpu to upgrade the old phenom II X4 955 that had served my family so well for over 6 years.At first I was worried that it may not be a worthy upgrade due to all the hate online for AMD's FX chips, however I have been blown away by the difference, especially in video encoding, where as with my old Phenom it would take me around 1x play speed of a blu-ray film to mp4 encode, the fx6300 literally halves the time!! and amazingly I am still able to work online and perform all daily tasks while this is happening without incurring any performance hit!! Hmm I can see why you would hate a £69 processor that has all that power........? a second hand beet up old i5 costs twice what this does new Plus the best upgrade is the running temp, where as the good old Phenom 955 at 3.2Ghz stock would hit over 50c while encoding full mp4's this FX 6300 at it's 3.5Ghz with 4.1Ghz turbo barley exceeds 35c!! on the exact same 6yr old air cooler...why do the haters say that it runs hot? I suppose if they overclock it within an inch of it's life for an extra 2fps haha.So in short if you need a dependable workhorse pc, but don't have too much cash to spare, this even in 2017 is a solid choice, ok if you want 240fps in gta 5 and haven't desovered ps4/xbox one then it's probably not for you :) just remeber to sell your car to buy that nice new i7.

This is just a quick review probably not very helpful at the moment. But after Christmas I will update. As this cpu is part of my Xmas pressie for a new build.Firstly it came wrapped in bubble wrap. But as it came with other part in the main box.The box had ripped down the corner. I did notice that the cpu is in a different box than advertised and it's all in Japanese Chinese well that language anyway. Except on back of box where it mentions it comes with a heatsink fan. The box did seem a bit tacky bit bruised. After peeling off a sticker I did notice a label saying black edition so I have the right one.Update 04/01/15After opening the box all was ok. The procesor seemed in good nick. After reading other reviews saying there was grease and some bent pins I was a tad worried. But it wasn't the case.Installed easily it the AM3+ socket.I havn't used the stock cooler or aka HSF. As ive brought a upgraded fan. A artic freezer 13. Much bigger and will help cool the cpu down. Though I have no plans on overclocking the machine.The cpu for me was a good buy. It seems pretty fast and gained a 7.4 on my windows rating program. Though my hdd has let the whole computer down. Ive not played any games as the one i'm downloading is taking its time.