AMD FX-8120 Black Edition CPU Review (with Asus M5A99X EVO)

In this review we are going to benchmark the AMD FX-8120 Black Edition at reference clock speeds and when overclocked to 4.2 GHz. We will be comparing it to a similarly specified i5-2500K based system which is detailed below. A 2500 is priced around £170 inc vat in the UK today – this is one of Intel's most popular mid range processors in the enthusiast sector. The FX-8120 is priced around £135 inc vat in the UK today. AMD motherboards are still generally quite expensive however, so the overall cost of ownership can tend to balance out.

All Intel Core i5 processors overclock to 4.2ghz easily enough, even the Core i5 2300, so it is almost irrelevant which Intel Core i5 we use for comparison in an overclocked state today.

We used a Noctua NH-D14 to cool the AMD FX-8120 Black Edition and a Phanteks PH-TC14PE to cool the i5-2500K.

Test System

Processor: AMD FX-8120 Black Edition (reference speeds and 4.2ghz)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99X EVO
Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
Thermal Paste: Arctic Cooling MX-3
Memory: 8 GB G.Skill @ 1600 MHz 9-9-9-24
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD 6950
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower XT 750W
System Drive: Intel 520 Series 2400 GB
Monitor: Viewsonic VX2260WM
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

Motherboard (for Max OC): ASRock 990FX Fatal1ty
Graphics Card (for Max OC): AMD Radeon HD 6670

Comparison System

Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K (reference speeds and 4.2ghz)
Motherboard: Biostar TZ77XE4
Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE
Thermal Paste: Arctic Cooling MX-3
Memory: 8 GB G.Skill @ 1600 MHz 9-9-9-24
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD 6950
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower XT 750W
System Drive: Intel 520 Series 2400 GB
Monitor: Viewsonic VX2260WM
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

Software:

PCMark 7
3DMark 11
SiSoft Sandra 2012 SP3
Cinebench R11.5
CrystalDiskMark
Cyberlink MediaEspresso 6.5
VLC Media Player
Performance Monitor
Unigine Heaven Benchmark
Super Pi 1.5 Mod
CPUID Hardware Monitor
CPU-Z
DiRT 3
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City

Become a Patron!