File this one firmly in the “rumor” category, but it’s worth mentioning that there are reports that AMD intends on launching a 95W version of the AMD FX CPU.

When we reviewed the AMD FX-8350, we found it to perform very well – absolutely worthy of consideration against similarly priced products from Intel. However the one issue we had with it was while performance was in line with a Core i5, power consumption was much higher. It draws over 260W from the wall in our tests, while the similarly priced Core i5 didn’t go over 99W. This is with a TDP of 125W, and the Core i5 has a TDP of 77W (though they aren’t directly comparable)

According to Japanese site PC Watch, a new model, AMD FX-8300 with a TDP of 95W, is due to be released on December 29. That is a significant 30W TDP drop from the FX-8350, but with the same 4.2 GHz turbo speed. Base clock is set to 3.3 GHz though – the 8350 has a base clock of 4.0 GHz.

The remaining specs are identical to the FX-8350, and according to PC Watch, it will be sold for ¥16,980 – around the same as the FX-8350 in Japan (around $200 USD).

While 95W still isn’t as low as the TDP on the Core i5, it’s good to see that AMD is addressing the issue. However, with the significantly lower base clock, overall performance may not be comparable to the identically priced FX-8350. Those who aren’t overly concerned about power consumption may still wish to opt for the higher TDP version.

Source: PC Watch
via Tech Report