AMD FX-8350 showing 6 cores instead of 8

[MaLLiSH525]

Hello.

So, I just got a new cpu and gpu, fx-8350 and msi gtx 960 (64-bit win10)

Everything has worked fine so far, but I noticed something weird.
When I went to see CPU-Z, I saw that it says my cpu has 6 cores and 6 threads. (http://valid.x86.fr/sh2ges)
This should be a 8 core processor right?

Then I went to task manager and checked what it says about my cpu.
There it says that I have 3 cores, and 6 logical cores.

The thing is, my old CPU was AMD FX-6100, which is a 6 core processor.
So right now it feels like im seeing my old CPU's information.

Am i really running on 6 cores now, and is there a way to fix this?

 

[mjslakeridge]

I thought you were probably "the decider". If you still have the 6100, slap that back in, and save up for a board upgrade. That is a good CPU cooler, so you should be able to overclock it some, even with the "weak" board you have.

The good thing about this forum, there is always someone who has specific knowledge of which parts work well together. The trick is to ask first, then purchase. That is what I will be doing when I upgrade from my FX 6300.

 

[MaLLiSH525]

I thought you were probably "the decider". If you still have the 6100, slap that back in, and save up for a board upgrade. That is a good CPU cooler, so you should be able to overclock it some, even with the "weak" board you have.

The good thing about this forum, there is always someone who has specific knowledge of which parts work well together. The trick is to ask first, then purchase. That is what I will be doing when I upgrade from my FX 6300.

Yeah definitely gonna do that in the future haha. Thanks for all the help!

 

[mjslakeridge]

Just for grins, you may want to download Passmark Performance software (free for 30 days, but works after that), and run the test on the 8350. You can then compare it to the benchmarks others have posted. My guess it will come in low, just like my 6300 with a crappy motherboard.

 

[MaLLiSH525]

Did the test, here are the results:

https://gyazo.com/98dbb9b2dea585dac2d41fa4fbe54c3a

https://gyazo.com/0c576c6b3920226a24ffcdacae2aa501

https://gyazo.com/4e1bbe49ee7b36160efb4fe35235edab

Doesnt seem to be that bad, right? 😀

 

[MaLLiSH525]

Hey, so uhh, something weird just happened.

As I was playing some BeamNG.drive, my pc just suddenly froze, so I had to force reboot.

After rebooting, I went to check on some CPU temps with CPUID, and suprisingly, it shows 8 cores.
So then I went to CPU-Z and see whatsup. Same thing, 8 threads 8 cores. http://valid.x86.fr/ekmlri

Even my windows shows the correct numbers now.

weeeeeird...

 

[mjslakeridge]

Your overall Passmark score in the first link you provided shows a composite score of 7245. The Benchmark composite per the High End CPU chart is 8949, so you are somewhat lower. Of course, the people who's scores makeup the benchmark composite probably overclocked the heck out of their CPU's to get as high a score as possible.

As to why your board now sees all 8 cores - who knows. I think the same advice applies, that board is really not meant for that CPU. I see that you have overclocked from the base frequency of 4000 mhz to 4118 mhz. You may want to go back to stock settings until you get a better MB. What are you Passmark scores at stock? Only the first score reported is the composite.

 

[MaLLiSH525]

I haven't done any overclocking, so i'm not sure why is it like that.

On my old CPU I had the AMD OverDrive turbo core control on, so it could be that.
Gonna disable it now.

Edit: I did get some major improvements on all the different tests. https://gyazo.com/4e9087004659508f934b457dca1ce1b8

 

[mjslakeridge]

Something is whacky with your setup. Sees 6 cores then 8, Passmark of 7245, then over 9000. I don't know how you could now be beating the "overclockers" composite score. Is the 9000 with turbo core on or off?

 

[MaLLiSH525]

Hi sorry for late answer.

I had the turbocore on in the first results, which were lower.

Then I turned it off and I got that 9000 result. So now its running on stock speeds.


That thing about the 6 cores though, could have been just some sort of bug since my last cpu had 6 cores, and resetting the bios to defaults somehow fixed that.
I'm still suprised how well its working now, even tho it shouldn't.

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Windows seeing 6-cores is not a bug or a VRM protection method. The CPU that your Windows installation had installed was a 6-core CPU, therefore that's what Windows was running with. Windows doesn't automatically detect CPU changes and install new CPU drivers. Changing the turbo feature may have forced Windows to redetect the CPU, but I've no experience with that so can only guess that's what caused the redetection. If you want to force Windows to redetect the CPU, Windows will install and detect new CPU drivers when there are no entries in the Processors section in Device Manager. Not sure why this isn't being mentioned by anybody else here.

It's not something new, and there are other questions here on Tom's that have had the exact same issue as you when upgrading from a 6-core FX CPU to an 8-core FX CPU.

Previous Tom's question about upgrading from 6-core FX to 8-core FX CPU.

Leaving the turbo on, on your CPU is fine. It doesn't add extra strain to the system as it runs within the same TDP limits that are already present on the CPU. The power system on your motherboard is actually designed to handle up to 140 watts, not just 125 watts that your current CPU requires. If you're concerned with the longevity of the VRM section, add some VRM heat sinks. They are far cheaper than buying a new motherboard.

self-adhesive VRM heat sinks

 

[MaLLiSH525]

Thanks for the reply.

Yes pretty sure that was the case with windows not recognizing my new cpu.

But since everything seems to be running smoothly now, and temps are nice and low, I'll just leave it as it is.
Definitely gonna consider adding those extra vrm heatsinks.


Thank you everybody for great help!

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Disabling turbo is only throwing away potential performance. Turbo doesn't increase the TDP of the CPU, but instead works within it, therefore potential heat produced through power consumption remains the same under turbo as it does without. What was the point of upgrading your processor if you're going to limit it's potential performance?

Have you even looked at Device Manager to see if your cores have been properly identified by Windows yet?

 

[MaLLiSH525]

Yes I have, and now it shows up correctly even in windows, as it should.

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Good deal. And, don't let your 4 + 1 phase power scare you. It's not an indication of quality or current capacity in a VRM section. It really just means that it may produce a tad more ripple, which isn't even something you should be concerned about unless you have major stability issues.