AMD Bulldozer FX-6100 Socket AM3+ 6 Core Processor - 3.30GHz, 3.90GHz Turbo

There have been some very mixed professional reviews of the AMD FX processors, and I would agree at the initial release price FX was not as appealing as it might be. However the price has fallen quite a bit since lauch, mix in quite a good AMD cashback offer and you are asking yourself one simple question.

I'm looking for a CPU that has a good performance and is well priced. Welcome to the FX6100 from AMD ;-)
You could of course buy an Intel i-3 CPU, but you want something that won't "run and hide" when things get a bit more demanding.
I upgraded from an AMD quad core Phenom II 840 CPU and it's been well worthwhile a very easy update for 2/3/4 core AMD users except owners of the x6 Phenom II where the performance is similar to the lower x6 processors. But you now pay a lot less for the CPU so it evens things out.
With video work there is a very strong performance really outstanding and a notable step up from the x4 processor. Photo/Video work this is a super choice for good performance, also speedy for software such as Winrar, 7zip

It might not have been a super appealing £150 CPU, but at it's current price it's an outstanding bargain.
May not score great on Itunes and some other benchmarks, but then with 6 cores/threads some of the review software simply won't run that well for this CPU. But I bet if I-tunes ran on more than a few threads this would score superbly. Let's put the blame on the software makers who should ensure they cater for multi threading properly.
My own tests showed it scored 5800 odd on passmark (going well above 6000 with a small bump to 3.5GHz) v 4000 from the old 840 CPU, and it shaved a good 6 minutes off of a video conversion (27mins v just over 20mins with the 6100) I even managed to undervolt it and overclock it! (hint a good choice for quiet pc enthusiasts too) Runs even cooler than the 840 and is unquestionably quicker.

Pros:
Runs very cool
Super bang per buck
Very good performance for multi threaded applications
Unlocked

Cons:
Performance mixed in low threaded applications, but still decent (ie it's in the heavy thread ones where you need the performance most)

Easy 5 star for this simply cannot find fault at this price. A much better choice for heavy lifting v an i-3 processor (and cheaper too!)

I was aware of the hype and negative press around the AMD Bulldozer cpus but I thought I would give them a go, and I have to say I'm pleased I did, as the FX 6100 is just terrific value for money, as for about £110 you are getting a 6 core processor, which you can overclock to the hilt. I am new to overclocking myself, but even I managed to test it out, as I overclocked it up to 4GHz, using an Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 fan, and the 6100 was still only showing temperatures around 33C degrees!! I've currently clocked it to 3.8 GHz for now.

This is also really impressive because gaming wise, games also run very smoothly on it too, when overclocked, and I tried the 3DMark Vantage test, as at stock speed it initially run up 12700 marks in the cpu test, but overclocked up to 4GHz, it scored nearly 15000 marks!! Which means with that bit more overclocking you can get this cpu to run at the stock speed of a Phenom II X6 1090T, which is incredible!

So for me the AMD Bulldozer FX-6100 is an incredible processor in itself especially when it comes to overclocking, its a real beast, and well worth it!

I was in much deliberation whether to stay with AMD or eventually turn over to INTEL and break my 15 year run of AMD Core processors. I have always liked AMD over INTEL. Yes the price is cheaper. but.... You get more for your buck. I have now been using the AMD Bulldozer AM3+ 6 core for a month now and have really noticed the difference. I bought this as part of a bundle which included the ASUS M5A97 Pro motherboard, and Corsair 8GB Vengeance memory. I was surprised how small the heat sink and fan that was supplied was. But, as I had no intention of using this, this was put to one side, as my system is liquid cooled.

Slotted in my Kingston SSD and I now have a high end PC that will last a few years.

If you are looking for a suitable alternative to INTEL, AMD can deliver and at a fraction of the cost.