AMD processors: SA pricing roundup

In this article we take a look at prices for AMD processors across various online retailers in the country.

We’ve previously looked at the prices of Intel processors around the country, but what about AMD? The only desktop CPU competitor to Intel has a much more simplified lineup, but finding stock of the chips and compatible motherboards appears to be tricky. For some, it may be wise to ship from two or more retailers to get the best deal possible.

AMD processors, especially the FX family, are great additions into a machine designed for productivity. The lower prices and generally higher core count means that if you have multi-threaded workloads (like putting together an animation in Blender or transcoding video) it’ll run better on the AMD chip compared to the equivalent Intel one.

Gamers will especially appreciate the extra cores in future because AMD has partnered with Sony to put its hardware inside the next-generation PS4. It houses an eight-core AMD Jaguar APU and in the future more cores will equal more performance as the PS4’s x86 hardware allows porting from one machine to the other to be a simple affair. Intel might be bringing in billions and Nvidia might have the most market share on the latest Steam surveys, but AMD is guaranteed to rule the gaming market very soon.

The table below shows the various AMD processors available from local retailers. The lowest prices are highlighted in Bold. If a processor is listed as “Sold Out”, “Contact for availability” or is out of stock, that price does not make it into the table. For reference; “2C” = dual core, “4C” = quad core, “6C = six cores, “8C” = eight cores, “APU” = processor with built-in graphics.

The stock situation with AMD’s processors appears to be rather good. Most of the Bulldozer stock is depleted, only one retailer has a Llano chip available and there seems to be a healthy enough supply of Trinity and Piledriver processors. When AMD’s Richland processors come down to replace Trinity, I expect it’ll take about two months before good enough supply is available for enthusiasts and system builders looking to cut costs.

Only one supplier, Ikonix, stocks the dual-core A4-5300 APU and that’s not a bad thing – the A6-5400K is better value because it has an unlocked multiplier. Unlike any Intel Celeron or Pentium available, it will play any game on its own (low settings and 720p mind you) and with some discrete graphics will probably be just as powerful as a Pentium chip with the same GPU – very good value for money.

The A8-5600K is very popular with system builders looking for a cheap, overclockable quad-core. It might only be a little less than the FX-4100, but it uses less power and has a slightly better board selection. Socket FM2 is also still relatively new, so there’s a guaranteed upgrade path in the future. The A10-5800K has a better GPU, but its benefits are moot unless you’re running it on its own.

In the FX family, Piledriver has taken over and it’s about time it did. However, none of the chips have the low prices we expected. Our local market may be completely different from the US but they’re paying $139 (R1,253.95) for the FX-6300 from Newegg, whereas our pricing settles in at an average of R1,800.

In addition, careful price picking is encouraged because some retailers have priced themselves out of consideration. Rebeltech is cheaper for both oct0-cores in the FX family and actually allows the FX-8320 and FX-8350 to go up against the Intel Core i5-3470 and Core i5-3570K price-wise. Pricing them higher does AMD no favours and it doesn’t drive any sales of the chips either. Contrary to the situation in the US, Europe and east-Asia, it’s cheaper in SA to get an Intel processor.

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