AMD FX-8300 vs AMD FX-8320

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

The AMD FX-8300 and the AMD FX-8320 are within a few percent of each other for gaming. In a game, you will not see the difference.

The AMD FX-8300 has 8 cores and 8 threads, and the AMD FX-8320 has 8 cores and 8 threads. Core counts are the same, so cache size and clock speed decide the difference. Boost clocks are 4.2 GHz and 4 GHz.

Platform, power and price

Both chips use the AM3+ socket, so they fit the same motherboards. You can swap one for the other without changing the board.

Rated power is 95 W for the first and 125 W for the second. That is close enough that cooling needs will be similar.

At launch the AMD FX-8300 cost $120 and the AMD FX-8320 $169, which gives 12.5 and 8.9 points of gaming performance per $100. Today's prices will differ.

Which graphics cards each one can feed, and which to buy

At 1080p the AMD FX-8300 can feed a card up to the GeForce RTX 3050 6GB before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The AMD FX-8320 reaches the GeForce RTX 3050 6GB. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the AMD FX-8300 if you want the faster gaming chip and the same or more cores. Choose the AMD FX-8320 if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.