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AMD FD8370FRHKBOX FX-8370 Black Edition CPU — main product image
AMD FD8370FRHKBOX FX-8370 Black Edition CPU
AMD FD8370FRHKBOX FX-8370 Black Edition CPU
AMD FD8370FRHKBOX FX-8370 Black Edition CPU
AMD FD8370FRHKBOX FX-8370 Black Edition CPU
AMD

AMD FD8370FRHKBOX FX-8370 Black Edition CPU

★★★★★4.5 (885 reviews)
125W

Eight unlocked cores at 4.3GHz deliver the raw multi-threaded throughput that CPU-bound workloads demand from the AM3+ platform.

$252.02*
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*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated:Jun 03, 2026.Price and availability are subject to change.

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Overview

The AMD FX-8370 Black Edition is the performance peak of AMD's AM3+ Piledriver platform — an eight-module processor clocked at 4.3GHz base with a 16MB combined cache (8MB L3 shared, 8MB L2 distributed across four modules) and a 125W TDP. Understanding the architecture is essential to understanding the benchmark numbers: the FX-8370 uses a module design in which two integer clusters share a floating-point unit and front-end resources. This means eight "cores" in a workload scheduler's view, but with meaningful resource sharing under mixed instruction workloads. In practice, the FX-8370 is most competitive in heavily threaded, integer-dominant workloads — video encoding, file compression, and multi-threaded compilation — where its eight threads and high clock rate can distribute load effectively.

The Black Edition designation signals the unlocked multiplier, which is the FX-8370's most practical differentiator from locked FX variants. On a capable 990FX or 970 chipset motherboard with a 120mm+ liquid or high-performance air cooler, the chip typically achieves stable overclocks in the 4.5–4.7GHz range with moderate voltage increases. This is a processor for budget-conscious builders or existing AM3+ platform owners who want maximum threaded throughput without a full system rebuild — system integrators, home media encoding rigs, and workstation users on tight budgets who can manage the thermal envelope. For anyone building a new platform today, the AM3+ socket's DDR3 limitation and lack of PCIe 3.0 support make it a legacy choice; for existing AM3+ systems, the FX-8370 represents the platform ceiling.

Key Features

4300Mhz

AM3+

125W

16MB

Specifications

Model
AMD FX-8370 Black Edition CPU
Clock Speed
4300Mhz
Socket Type
AM3+
Thermal Design Power (TDP)
125W
Cache Size
16MB

Pros & Cons

👍 Pros

  • 4.3GHz base clock on eight threads delivers competitive throughput in heavily parallelized workloads like video encoding and 3D rendering that can distribute load across all cores.
  • Unlocked Black Edition multiplier enables straightforward overclocking to 4.5–4.7GHz without requiring BCLK adjustments that can destabilize platform clocking.
  • 16MB combined cache (8MB L3 + 8MB L2) reduces main memory access latency on workloads that fit within the cache hierarchy.
  • AM3+ socket compatibility with a wide range of 990FX and 970 chipset motherboards makes drop-in upgrades viable on existing platforms.

👎 Cons

  • 125W TDP is high for an air-cooled desktop processor — the stock cooler runs near its thermal ceiling under sustained full-load conditions, and the chip's power draw spikes significantly during overclocking.
  • Piledriver module architecture means the eight "cores" share execution resources in pairs; per-core IPC is substantially lower than contemporary Intel Haswell processors, and lightly threaded workloads will reflect this gap.
  • AM3+ is a legacy platform with no upgrade path — this is a terminal CPU investment on the socket, and DDR3 memory support limits available bandwidth versus DDR4 systems.
  • The FX-8370's performance improvement over the FX-8350 is incremental (7.5% clock increase) and unlikely to be perceptible in real-world use without controlled benchmarking.

Frequently Asked Questions

The FX-8370 uses the AM3+ socket. It is physically backward-compatible with AM3 motherboards in most cases, but BIOS support varies by manufacturer and board revision — not all AM3 boards will POST with Vishera-series FX processors. Check your motherboard vendor's CPU compatibility list explicitly before purchasing; some AM3 boards require a BIOS flash with an older CPU first.
The FX-8370 runs at 4.3GHz base versus the FX-8350's 4.0GHz — a 7.5% clock increase. In CPU-bound workloads like video encoding, rendering, and heavily threaded compilation, you'll see a proportional gain. In lightly threaded or IPC-sensitive tasks (many games), the clock bump doesn't overcome the per-core performance gap versus contemporary Intel processors.
The retail box (FD8370FRHKBOX) includes a Wraith-style cooler. Under sustained full-load workloads, the 125W TDP pushes the stock cooler to its thermal limits — CPU temperature will climb into the high 60s°C range in warm ambient environments. For overclocking or extended encoding sessions, an aftermarket cooler is a practical necessity, not an upgrade.
Yes — the unlocked multiplier is the primary reason to choose the Black Edition. The FX-8370 typically overclocks to 4.5–4.7GHz on a capable AM3+ board with adequate cooling and voltage headroom. Beyond that, the chip's power consumption climbs steeply and thermal management becomes the binding constraint, not the silicon ceiling.
The 16MB figure is the combined L2+L3 cache: 8MB of L3 shared across all modules, plus 2MB of L2 per two-core module (4 modules × 2MB = 8MB L2 total). This is a Piledriver module architecture, not eight independent cores in the traditional sense — each module shares some execution resources between two integer clusters.

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