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Maximum Speed | AMD FX Sets a Guinness World Record

There are two stories from AMD today. One is of the years of technology development that have led to a Guinness World Record, an achievement made possible by the AMD FX processor, achieving the highest frequency for a computer processor to date. The second is one of devotion, of individuals who, for better or worse, have become computer hardware racers, test pilots of technology who push limits and often break hardware. And break records.

On August 31, an AMD FX processor achieved a frequency of 8.429GHz, a stunning result for a modern, multi-core processor. The record was achieved with several days of preparation and an amazing and inspired run in front of world renowned technology press in Austin, Texas. This frequency bests the prior record of 8.309GHz, and completely blows away any modern desktop processor. Based on our overclocking tests, the AMD FX CPU is a clock eating monster, temporarily able to withstand extreme conditions to achieve amazing speed. Even with more conservative methods, the AMD FX processors, with multiplier unlocked throughout the range, appear to scale with cold.  We also achieved clock frequencies well above 5GHz using only air or sub-$100 water cooling solutions.

The result was achieved in a technology grand prix that must be seen to be believed. The refinement of techniques employed by the world’s finest overclockers creates a stunning scene that looks as if we are about to bring the machine to life. It was recorded by a fantastic video team and validated with a most useful tool called CPU-Z, the de facto standard for overclockers looking to capture a moment of stability under extreme conditions, or more practically under conservative tuning. The video has now launched and we hope you will enjoy the spectacle of extreme overclocking and the record-breaking capabilities of our upcoming AMD FX processors.

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About a month before, we invited the insightful and relentless overclocker Brian McLachlan for initial testing, to validate the AMD FX CPUs overclocking potential and respond to a combination of extreme cold and high voltage overclocking. To our satisfaction AMD FX processors passed the first tests, overclocking with liquid nitrogen at temperatures below -180 degrees centigrade. We could find no cold bug, the bane of overclockers, which often stops modern processors from functioning in extremely cold conditions. The question, which we have answered once before, was whether the AMD FX processor would continue to scale, to achieve higher frequencies, if we dropped the temperate further below this unbelievably cold threshold. Would the extreme cold of the liquid helium, a substance only a few degrees higher than absolute zero, break this processor, or by improving conductivity and decreasing temperatures, allow it to run even faster?

In the week prior to the event we sent a number of processors to Brian and to Sami Mӓkinen, the renowned AMD overclocker in Finland, to identify the candidates for a potential world record run. After a few days of testing, eight processors were found to be able to hit over 8GHz in their expert hands.

We ran through three staged systems in a demonstration for the press. On the third run, everything went perfectly, and a world record fell.

Welcome back, AMD FX. And thank you to the team. Sami Maekinen, Brian Mclachlan, Pete Hardman, Aaron Schradin – AMD FX processor overclockers.

Of course, records are made to be broken and we look forward to seeing the community push the AMD FX CPU even further. We think we are just scratching the surface.

Note:  Overclocking and extreme cooling will void your hardware warranties and could cause serious damage to your PC hardware. We destroy motherboards, processors, and graphics cards at an alarming rate doing it. Liquid Helium and Liquid Nitrogen are incredibly dangerous in untrained hands and among some of the coldest substances in the universe. This record was achieved by some of the most experienced and methodical overclockers in the world and you should not attempt to recreate this experiment without major safety precautions and seriously thinking about the potential consequences of your actions.

Simon Solotko is a Senior Manager at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.

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