[Review] AMD AM3+ 8-core FX 9590 CPU & Blender

If you are a Blender user, you know that your CPU is just as important as your GPU, and my current CPU wasn't cutting it anymore. So today, I finally replaced my almost two year old AMD FX 8150 8-core CPU. It's predecessor, the 9590 "Vishera" 4.7GHz 8-core, is rumored to be the last of the FX series. I didn't want to upgrade previously, but since it's now said that the next generation of AMD CPUs will not really hit until 2016, I thought I might as well upgrade. You can only wait for so long before it starts to impact your work.



The first thing I want to point out, is the heat. This CPU brings me back to the days of the AMD Athlon XP, that needed a CPU fan that was slightly quieter than a running lawnmower. Of course before ordering it, I learned about this heating issue, and ordered the CPU without a CPU fan, so that I could add my own. After starting the BMW test render, the CPU temp jumped from 45C, all the way to 61C, where it sits at full load. This is with a case that has great airflow; the same setup I used with my 8150, both with similar temps. So it is certainly worth noting, that this CPU will need some adequate cooling similar to other FX CPUs.

This CPU is a beast compared to my old 8150. The 8150 could barely render anything fast, but after installing the 9590, I took out my nVidia GTX 650; this CPU could render and preview render much faster. The BMW Revision 4 render took 7:26 at 128x128 blocks, and around the same at 64x64. Not even my HD 7950 GPU stand up to that, even with the ATI Windows patch. Even better, it did the test render in a preview in 1:14 with the start res as 128 @ 100 samples! Hell, I'm going to render multiple settings anyways, I'm going to add a chart here:

128x128 7:26 @61C
64x64 7:14  @ 56C
32x32 6:54 @ 53C
16x16 6:51 @ 52C

I went with the usual 1:1 block size, and didn't bother with scaling to the ratio, but still. I did want to point out though, that my stable temps were different with the tile size. It may not mean anything, and it may just be a fluke; though it would make sense when the CPU is getting more breaks to change positions that it's given some resting time in between, and yes I did let the CPU cool down before each render.

There isn't much else to say about this CPU, other than it's a great CPU for the money. I've never been one to build Intel system, mainly because I couldn't justify the extra $800, for a bit more performance, or equal performance. I spent a little over two-hundred USD for the CPU, and it was definitely worth the money. No longer will I wait for hours when rendering large 10GB scenes like I did before on the 8150.

Anyways, I'm sure I'll update this post with more times on different renders, and updates on the heat. So if you like AMD, and use Blender, this is one CPU to consider before the new line from AMD, because let's be honest, upgrading to that is going to take a new motherboard, DDR4, and then the CPU. Right now AMD is focused on their APUs, and we have yet to see the FX series replacement. So if your motherboard can handle this 220W CPU, this could be the best performance upgrade for the buck, for awhile.