AMD Japan Ltd. will release December 29, 95W 8-core model "FX-8300" of the FX series. The price is ¥ 16,980. Start the reservation from December 27.

95W version will be the first 8-core FX series as retail. Ahead of the rest of the world, will be sold from Japan.

But 3.30GHz, Turbo CORE base clock of 4.20GHz has become equivalent to the top FX-8350. L2/L3 8MB cache, respectively. Corresponding socket AM3 +, memory support DDR3-1866.

AMD's FX-8350 processor is a relatively solid performer for the price, but it has two notable downsides: sub-par gaming performance and high power consumption. Its 125W power envelope dwarfs the 77W of comparable Intel CPUs, and under a real-world load, our FX-8350 test rig drew over twice as much power as an equivalent Core i5-3570K system.

Relief may be on the way, though. Japanese site PC Watch reports that an FX-8300 processor with a lower, 95W TDP will come out later this week, on December 29.

The FX-8300 is said to have the same 4.2GHz Turbo speed as the FX-8350, but with a lower base clock speed of 3.3GHz. (The FX-8350's base speed, by contrast, is an even 4GHz.) Just like its power-hungrier sibling, the FX-8300 will have eight threads, 8MB of cache, and support for DDR3 memory speeds up to 1866MHz. PC Watch quotes a price tag of ¥16,980, which works out to about $199—about the same as what the FX-8350 costs. For reference, Amazon charges ¥16,683 ($195.33) for the FX-8350 in Japan and $189.99 for the same chip in the States.

Considering the lower base speed, the FX-8300 may well be slower overall than the FX-8350, which would put it at a disadvantage compared to Intel's offerings. Still, the benefits of a tighter TDP can't be overstated.

FX-8300 should be exactly the same 'bin' as FX-8350
Vishera can operate at very low voltage after even a minor drop in frequency.

I recon the FX-8300s have 1.225V - 1.275V VID fuse for the base frequency, depending on leakage.
FX-8350s usually have 1.325V - 1.375V.

To fit in 95W TDP slot a FX-8350 requires around 0.1V undervoltage (vs. PS0 Fuse VID).
The PS0 Fuse VID already contains a hefty margin as the loadline specification allows massive undervoltage.
The allowed amount of undervoltage depends on the leakage as the loadline slope is in relation to current draw.
With a high leaking part I have seen up to 60mV undervoltage with the default slope.

On average with FX-8xx0 -series CPU:

At 3500-4000MHz - 100MHz increase or decrease in frequency (with the same voltage) is worth of 2W in Pmax.
At 4100-4600MHz - 100MHz increase or decrease in frequency (with the same voltage) is worth of 2.5W in Pmax
At 4700-5000MHz - 100MHz increase or decrease in frequency (with the same voltage) is worth of 3W in Pmax

The leakage is thermally induced so it increases (or decreases) along with the temperature.

AMD had to hit 4.0GHz with the FX-8350 for their target purchaser - the enthusiast who doesn't care about TDP or power usage. Now they have to aim for the OEM

I don't think AMD ***HAS*** a target purchaser for their "highend" cpu's outside of the FanATics, even the majority of them use intel for CPU.

Nobody, enthusiasts included wants a furnace of a CPU in their cases gobbling power, especially one that cannot perform! We can have better performance with less power consumed and less heat produced with the competition.

not to mention the fact that there is no price advantage either aside from a few skus.